AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY MOMENT December 26, 1999: Curtis Mayfield died from diabetes at the North Fulton Regional Hospital in Roswell, Georgia; his health having steadily declined following his paralysis. On August 13, 1990, Mayfield was paralyzed from the neck down after stage lighting equipment fell on him at an outdoor concert at Wingate Field in Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York. He was unable to play guitar, but he wrote, sang, and directed the recording of his last album, New World Order. Mayfields vocals were painstakingly recorded, usually line-by-line while lying on his back. In February 1998, he had to have his right leg amputated due to diabetes. Curtis Lee Mayfield was a soul, R&B, and funk singer, songwriter, and record producer. He achieved success with The Impressions during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and recorded the soundtrack to the blaxploitation film Super Fly, Mayfield is regarded as a pioneer of funk and of politically conscious African-American music. He was also a multi-instrumentalist who played the guitar, bass, piano, saxophone, and drums. Mayfield is a winner of both the Grammy Legend Award (in 1994) and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (in 1995). He was a double inductee into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted as a member of The Impressions into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991. He was inducted again on March 15, 1999 as a solo artist, health reasons prevented him from attending the ceremony, which included fellow inductees Paul McCartney, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, Dusty Springfield, George Martin, and 1970s Curtom signee and labelmate The Staple Singers. He is also a two-time Grammy Hall of Fame inductee. LEGACY: ●Mayfield has left a remarkable legacy for his introduction of social consciousness into R&B and for pioneering the funk style. ●Many of his recordings with the Impressions became anthems of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, and his most famous album, Super Fly, is regarded as an all-time great that influenced many and truly invented a new style of modern black music. ●Mayfields solo Super Fly is ranked No. 69 on Rolling Stones list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. ●The Impressions album/CD The Anthology 1961–1977 is ranked at No. 179 on Rolling Stone Magazines list of the 500 Greatest Albums of all time. ●As a member of The Impressions, he was posthumously inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2003. ●Along with his group The Impressions, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991. ●In 1999, he was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist making him one of the few artists to become double inductees. ●Posthumously, in 2000, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. ●He was a winner of the prestigious Grammy Legend Award in 1994. ●He received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995. ●He is a 2-time Grammy Hall of Fame inductee: for the song People Get Ready with The Impressions, and for the award-winning album Super Fly as a solo artist. ●The Impressions 1965 hit song, People Get Ready, composed by Mayfield, has been chosen as one of the Top 10 Best Songs Of All Time by a panel of 20 top industry songwriters and producers, including Paul McCartney, Brian Wilson, Hal David, and others, as reported to Britains Mojo music magazine. ●The Impressions hits, People Get Ready and For Your Precious Love are both ranked on Rolling Stone Magazines list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, as No. 24 and No. 327 respectively. ●In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Mayfield No. 98 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. ●Curtis Mayfields song P.S. I Love You was sampled at the end of 2007 film, Superbad ●Mayfield is ranked No. 34 on Rolling Stone Magazines the list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. ●Mayfield is currently nominated on the 56th Grammy Awards for Song Of The Year with Same Love, performed by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring Mary Lambert, due to the duo sampling the piano from People Get Ready. #MYBLACKISBEAUTIFUL365
Posted on: Sat, 27 Dec 2014 23:10:48 +0000
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