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.
Trippin' Out
Curtis Mayfield Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm tripping out, tripping out over you babe - over you babe
I'm tripping out, tripping out over you babe over you
Each day I'm not with you, is like a day without sunshine,
I'm the whole of you babe, You've become a part of me - ooowee
You're not like other girls, or is it my imagination
I'm tripping out, tripping out over you babe – yeah mama
I'm tripping out, tripping out over you – come on
Instrumental [16 bars]
(Its a good feeling)
(All over you)
Let me be your slave, because I've learnt to worship you
I'll do anything you say, anything you want me to
To me you are my queen, and I'm your knight in shining armour
Standing guard over your love, the love you've given me
You've got me...
Tripping out, tripping out, over you babe – your so good to me mama
Tripping out, tripping out, tripping out, over you – I love you baby
Your so good to me little mama
In Curtis Mayfield's song "Trippin' Out," the artist appears to be deeply in love with someone, expressing his admiration and adoration for this person through lyrics that emphasize his emotional investment in the relationship. The song is structured around the main idea of "tripping out" over the subject of his affection - it's a personal usage of slang referring to a strong feeling of love or infatuation. The first two lines of the chorus, "I'm tripping out, tripping out over you babe - over you babe," reinforces the idea that the artist is in love with the person constantly, thinking about them and feeling their presence in his life, even in their absence.
The next verse highlights this matter once again. Each day that he's not with them, it's like a day without sunshine, revealing the depth of this love and how it impacts his life. However, the instrumental part that follows is meant to give the audience a break from the intense emotional connection expressed in the other parts of the song, providing a moment to relax and reflect upon the lyrics. The song quickly moves from the instrumental to the next verse, where the artist vocalizes his willingness to do anything for the person, to the point of being their slave. The lyrics "let me be your slave, because I've learned to worship you. I'll do anything you say, anything you want me to" represent a seemingly one-sided relationship where the artist makes it clear they are willing to do anything for their partner.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm tripping out, tripping out over you babe - over you babe
I'm deeply infatuated with you and can't seem to get enough of you.
I'm tripping out, tripping out over you babe over you
My feelings for you are intense and consuming.
Each day I'm not with you, is like a day without sunshine,
Being away from you feels like a huge loss that leaves me feeling empty and unfulfilled.
I'm the whole of you babe, You've become a part of me - ooowee
You've become such an integral part of my life that being without you feels like losing a part of myself.
You're not like other girls, or is it my imagination
I can't help but notice that there's something special about you, but I wonder if it's just my own perception.
This pounding in my heart, is all because of you
You make my heart race and I can't get you out of my mind.
Let me be your slave, because I've learnt to worship you
I'm willing to do anything for you because I hold you in such high regard.
I'll do anything you say, anything you want me to
My desire to please you knows no bounds.
To me you are my queen, and I'm your knight in shining armour
I see you as royalty, and will do everything in my power to protect you and make you happy.
Standing guard over your love, the love you've given me
I cherish the love you've given me and will do whatever it takes to keep it safe.
Tripping out, tripping out, over you babe – yeah mama
My feelings for you are so strong that I can't help but be swept away by them.
Tripping out, tripping out, over you – come on
I'm completely under your spell and can't resist my intense attraction to you.
Its a good feeling
Being so deeply infatuated with you feels amazing.
All over you
My thoughts and feelings are consumed by you.
Tripping out, tripping out, over you babe – your so good to me mama
You treat me so well that it intensifies my feelings of love and desire for you.
Tripping out, tripping out, tripping out, over you – I love you baby
My love for you is all-consuming and never-ending.
Your so good to me little mama
You are an amazing partner and I feel so lucky to have you in my life.
Writer(s): BUNNY SIGLER
Contributed by Charlie R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.