Curtis Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American soul, fu… Read Full Bio ↴Curtis Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American soul, funk and rhythm and blues, singer-songwriter and guitarist from Chicago, Illinois.

Mayfield is probably best known for his anthemic music with The Impressions and for the soundtrack to the blaxploitation film Superfly.

Perhaps because he didn't cross over to the pop audience as heavily as Motown's stars, it may be that the scope of Curtis Mayfield's talents and contributions have yet to be fully recognized. Judged merely by his records alone, the man's legacy is enormous. As the leader of the Impressions, he recorded some of the finest soul vocal group music of the 1960s. As a solo artist in the 1970s, he helped pioneer funk and helped introduce hard-hitting urban commentary into soul music. "Gypsy Woman," "It's All Right," "People Get Ready," "Freddie's Dead," and "Superfly" are merely the most famous of his many hit records.

But Curtis Mayfield wasn't just a singer. Born in in Chicago, IL, he wrote most of his material at a time when that was not the norm for soul performers. He was among the first -- if not the very first -- to speak openly about African-American pride and community struggle in his compositions. As a songwriter and a producer, he was a key architect of Chicago Soul, penning material and working on sessions by notable Windy City soulsters like Gene Chandler, Jerry Butler, Major Lance, and Billy Butler. In this sense, he can be compared to Smokey Robinson, who also managed to find time to write and produce many classics for other soul stars. Mayfield was also an excellent guitarist, and his rolling, Latin-influenced lines were highlights of the Impressions' recordings in the '60s. During the next decade, he would toughen up his guitar work and production, incorporating some of the best features of psychedelic rock and funk.

Mayfield began his career as an associate of Jerry Butler, with whom he formed the Impressions in the late '50s. After the Impressions had a big hit in 1958 with "For Your Precious Love," Butler, who had sung lead on the record, split to start a solo career. Mayfield, while keeping the Impressions together, continued to write for and tour with Butler before the Impressions got their first Top 20 hit in 1961, "Gypsy Woman."

Mayfield was heavily steeped in gospel music before he entered the pop arena, and gospel, as well as doo wop, influences would figure prominently in most of his '60s work. Mayfield wasn't a staunch traditionalist, however. He and the Impressions may have often worked the call-and-response gospel style, but his songs (romantic and otherwise) were often veiled or unveiled messages of black pride, reflecting the increased confidence and self-determination of the African-American community. Musically he was an innovator as well, using arrangements that employed the punchy, blaring horns and Latin-influenced rhythms that came to be trademark flourishes of Chicago soul. As the staff producer for the OKeh label, Mayfield was also instrumental in lending his talents to the work of other Chi-town soul singers who went on to national success. With Mayfield singing lead and playing guitar, the Impressions had 14 Top 40 hits in the 1960s (five made the Top 20 in 1964 alone), and released some above-average albums during that period as well.

Given Mayfield's prodigious talents, it was perhaps inevitable that he would eventually leave the Impressions to begin a solo career, as he did in 1970. His first few singles boasted a harder, more funk-driven sound; singles like "(Don't Worry) If There's a Hell Below, We're All Gonna Go" found him confronting ghetto life with a realism that had rarely been heard on record. He really didn't hit his artistic or commercial stride as a solo artist, though, until Superfly, his soundtrack to a 1972 blaxploitation film. Drug deals, ghetto shootings, the death of young black men before their time: all were described in penetrating detail. Yet Mayfield's irrepressible falsetto vocals, uplifting melodies, and fabulous funk pop arrangements gave the oft-moralizing material a graceful strength that few others could have achieved. For all the glory of his past work, Superfly stands as his crowning achievement, not to mention a much-needed counterpoint to the sensationalistic portrayals of the film itself.

At this point Mayfield, along with Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye, was the foremost exponent of a new level of compelling auteurism in soul. His failure to maintain the standards of Superfly qualifies as one of the great disappointments in the history of black popular music. Perhaps he'd simply reached his peak after a long climb, but the rest of his '70s work didn't match the musical brilliance and lyrical subtleties of Superfly, although he had a few large R&B hits in a much more conventional vein, such as "Kung Fu," "So in Love," and "Only You Babe."

Mayfield had a couple of hits in the early '80s, but the decade generally found his commercial fortunes in a steady downward spiral, despite some intermittent albums.
On August 14, 1990, he became paralyzed from the neck down when a lighting rig fell on top of him at a concert in Brooklyn, NY. In 1993, three years after the accident which caused Mayfield's paralysis, Shanachie records released the album People Get Ready: A Tribute to Curtis Mayfield featuring a.o. Jerry Butler, Don Covay and Steve Cropper.

Mayfield received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995.

Curtis Mayfield died December 26, 1999 at the North Fulton Regional Hospital in Roswell, Georgia.

Señorita I Love You
Curtis Mayfield Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I'm the one who loves you
I'm the one who loves you

Little girl again you are blue
Another fellow has gone and left you
I see you've come back to me your best friend
To tell another tragic story again

And once more you look in my eyes
And one more time you ought to realize

That I'm the one who loves you
I'm the one who loves you, love me

I'm the one who loves you
I'm the one who loves you

I must confess, you're not to be blamed
For being caught in those boys vicious games
This time I won't let you go back
Never again, my dear, in fact

I'm going to stop the blueness in you
Also confess what my heart wants me to

That I'm the one who loves you
I'm the one who loves you, love me

I'm the one who loves you
I'm the one who loves you

Just once more you look in my eyes
And one more time you ought to realize

That I'm the one who loves you
I'm the one who loves you, love me

I'm the one who loves you
I'm the one who loves you

I'm the one who loves you
...

Overall Meaning

The Curtis Mayfield & The Impressions song "I'm The One Who Loves You" is a poignant tale of unrequited love. The song tells the story of a young girl who has been abandoned once again by her lover and has turned to her best friend for comfort. The singer, who has secretly been in love with the girl, promises to be the one who will always love and support her. In the end, he declares his love for her, hoping that she will finally see him as more than just a friend.

The lyrics are simple, yet powerful, conveying the pain of love unreturned. The singer sees the girl's sadness and wants to stop her from feeling that way again. He wants her to know that he is the one who truly loves her and will never leave her. He acknowledges her mistakes in falling for boys who do not appreciate her, but reassures her that he will not let her go back to that life. The chorus, "I'm the one who loves you, love me," is a plea for the girl to see him as a potential partner.

The song speaks to the universal experience of unrequited love and is still relevant today. The music is characterized by Curtis Mayfield's signature falsetto voice and the Impressions' smooth harmonies. Its soulful sound has made it a classic in the genre.

Line by Line Meaning

I'm the one who loves you
The singer is saying that they are the only person who truly loves the listener.

Little girl again you are blue
The listener is upset again, and the singer is addressing them with a term of endearment.

Another fellow has gone and left you
The listener has been disappointed by yet another man's departure.

I see you've come back to me your best friend
The listener has turned to the artist, who they consider a close friend, to share their troubles.

To tell another tragic story again
The listener is recounting yet another sad tale of heartbreak.

And once more you look in my eyes
The listener is making eye contact with the singer, perhaps seeking comfort or assurance.

And one more time you ought to realize
The singer believes that the listener needs to recognize the truth about their relationship.

That I'm the one who loves you
The artist is reiterating that they are the only one who truly loves and cares for the listener.

I must confess, you're not to be blamed
The artist absolves the listener of any wrongdoing in their failed romantic relationships.

For being caught in those boys vicious games
The artist acknowledges that the listener has been hurt by manipulative men in the past.

This time I won't let you go back
The singer is determined to keep the listener from returning to a harmful situation.

Never again, my dear, in fact
The artist promises to protect the listener from future heartbreak.

I'm going to stop the blueness in you
The singer plans to cheer up the listener and make them happy again.

Also confess what my heart wants me to
The singer is declaring their feelings for the listener; they love them and want to be with them.

Just once more you look in my eyes
The singer is again drawing the listener's attention to their eyes, perhaps seeking a deeper connection or understanding.

And one more time you ought to realize
The artist insists that the listener needs to understand the truth about their feelings for them.

That I'm the one who loves you
The artist is reaffirming that they are the only one who truly loves the listener.

I'm the one who loves you
The singer repeats the song's main message one final time, driving home the point that they are the listener's true love.

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: CURTIS MAYFIELD

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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