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.
We Gotta Have Peace
Curtis Mayfield Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You say we got have
You say we got have
You say we got have
You say we got have
You say we got have
You say we got have
You say we got have
You say we got have
You say we got have
You say we got have
You say we got have
You say we got have
You say we got have
You say we got have
You say we got have peace
We got have peace
To keep the world alive
And war to cease
We got to have joy
True in our hearts
With strength we can't destroy
People hear us
Through our voice the world knows
There's no choice
We're begging to save the children
The little ones
Who just don't understand
Give them a chance
To breed their young
And help purify the land
We got have
We got have peace
People hear us
Through our voice the world knows
There's no choice
And the people in the neighborhood
Who would if they only could
Meet and shake the other's hand
Work together for the good of the land
Give us all an equal chance
It could be such a sweet romance
And the soldiers who are dead and gone
If only we could bring back one
He'd say, "We got to have peace
To keep the world alive
And war to cease
We got to have peace"
Let the world know
We got to have peace, peace
We got to have peace
Let the people say peace
We got to have peace
To keep the world alive
And war to cease
We got to have joy
True in our hearts
With strength we can't destroy
We got to have peace
I said, peace, peace, peace
Look [Incomprehensible]
We got to have peace
Curtis Mayfieldโs song โWe Gotta Have Peaceโ is a plea for world peace, asking listeners to recognize the importance of peace and a need to end war. Mayfield stresses the importance of joy true to our hearts, helping to ensure that peace is not broken. The lyrics of the song emphasize the need to speak up and be heard, as it is the only way to communicate the importance of peace. The song also speaks to the need to take care of our children, as they are the future and the ones who will ultimately shape the world.
Mayfieldโs use of repetition, with the line โYou say we got haveโ reinforces the idea that peace is necessary and should be a priority over the violence and chaos of war. Mayfieldโs use of the word โbeggingโ in the lyrics states that peace is not just a request, but a plea for the sake of humanity. One of the most powerful aspects of the song is Mayfieldโs call for unity by bringing people together to work for the good of the land.
Overall, โWe Gotta Have Peaceโ is a timeless classic that speaks to the importance of peace and unity across nations. Mayfieldโs timeless message is one that resonates in todayโs ever-changing world.
Line by Line Meaning
You say we got have
The singer repeats this phrase to convey the importance of the message
You say we got have peace
The singer stresses the need for peace
To keep the world alive
Peace is essential for the survival of the world
And war to cease
If there is peace, then war will end
We got to have joy
Joy is important for personal well-being
True in our hearts
The joy must be authentic and come from within
With strength we can't destroy
This joy must be strong enough to withstand difficult times
People hear us
The artist wants others to listen to their message
Through our voice the world knows
The artist believes their message can be spread through their voice
There's no choice
There is no alternative - peace is necessary
We're begging to save the children
The singer is pleading to save the children from the effects of war
The little ones
Refers to young children
Who just don't understand
Children may struggle to comprehend the reasons behind war
Give them a chance
Children deserve to have a chance at a peaceful life
To breed their young
To have children of their own
And help purify the land
A peaceful environment can lead to progress and development
And the people in the neighborhood
The artist now shifts focus to the local community
Who would if they only could
The people are willing to help if given the opportunity
Meet and shake the other's hand
Encourages people to come together and reconcile their differences
Work together for the good of the land
Cooperation and collaboration are necessary for the betterment of everyone
Give us all an equal chance
Everyone deserves an equal opportunity
It could be such a sweet romance
Working together can lead to positive outcomes
And the soldiers who are dead and gone
The singer pays respect to those who have lost their lives fighting for their country
If only we could bring back one
The artist wishes that the fallen soldiers could be brought back to life
He'd say, "We got to have peace
The hypothetical soldier would emphasize the importance of peace for everyone's sake
Let the world know
The singer wants everyone to be aware of the need for peace
Let the people say peace
The singer wants others to join in their call for peace
I said, peace, peace, peace
The artist repeats the word 'peace' several times to emphasize its importance
Look [Incomprehensible]
Unclear what this is referring to
Writer(s): Curtis Mayfield Copyright: Warner-tamerlane Publishing Corp.
Contributed by Kaitlyn K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@rhino
PEOPLE NEVER GIVE UP, a compilation of Curtis Mayfield's most impactful protest and civil rights-themed songs curated by Curtisโ son Cheaa and wife Altheida Mayfield, is available now. Curtisโ music is a clarion call to action to build a more equal society, and get your groove on at the same time. Listen here https://Rhino.lnk.to/PeopleNeverGiveUpNAYT
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@KeN-nj6uw
I hope for a world with no war and racism.
@navinlamervich9874
I never heard before or since a sound so gloriously spiritual as the saxophone completing Curtis here. Incredible! I have been trying to discover the artist playing that instrument,doing that artistry. Must be our god in him/her manifesting, speaking to us directly for a few seconds
@bertspierings7922
We're all God's children. That's why need peace more than ever.
@J.A.Hansen
We got to hang in there,and get back into this kind of spirit.
Old school R and B and Soulmusic is de real thing,cause it goes straight from your ears into your heart,spirit and soul...People of the world,get on board of that soultrain๐ตโ๐๐๐โฎ
@avidnongetit8710
You and I are from the same cloth. I think the same way about music
@jee-d784
God sent curtis to us as a messenger, so he will always be โ๐ป