Curtis Lee Mayfield was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer, and one of the most influential musicians behind soul and politically conscious African-American music. Dubbed the "Gentle Genius", he first achieved success and recognition with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-inducted group the Impressions during the civil rights movement of the late 1950s and the 1960s, and later worked as a solo artist.
Super Fly is the third studio album by American soul musician Curtis Mayfield, released on July 11, 1972 on Curtom Records. It was released as the soundtrack for the Blaxploitation film of the same name. Widely considered a classic of 1970s soul and funk music, Super Fly was a nearly immediate hit. Its sales were bolstered by two million-selling singles, "Freddie's Dead" and the title track. Super Fly is one of the few soundtracks to out-gross the film it accompanied.
"Theme from Shaft", written and recorded by Isaac Hayes in 1971, is the soul and funk-styled theme song to the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film Shaft. The theme was released as a single two months after the movie's soundtrack by Stax Records' Enterprise label. "Theme from Shaft" went to number two on the Billboard Soul Singles chart and to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States in November 1971, and number one in Canada in December. The song was also well received by adult audiences, reaching number six on Billboard's Easy Listening chart and number four in Canada. The song is considered by some to be one of the first disco songs.
"Love Train" is a hit single by the O'Jays, written by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. Released in 1972, it reached No. 1 on both the R&B Singles and the Billboard Hot 100 in February and March 1973 respectively, and No. 9 on the UK Singles Chart and was certified gold by the RIAA. It was the O'Jays' first and only number one record on the US pop chart. The song has been considered one of the first songs of disco music.
"The Breaks" is a song by American rapper Kurtis Blow from his self-titled debut album. It was released as a single in June 1980 and peaked at No. 87 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was the first certified gold rap song, and the second certified gold 12-inch single. In 2008, the song ranked #10 on VH1's 100 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs.
"Freddie's Dead" is a song by Curtis Mayfield. It was the first single from his 1972 soundtrack album for the film Super Fly. The single was released before the Super Fly album, and before the film was in theaters. The song peaked at #4 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and #2 on the R&B chart. Billboard ranked it as the No. 82 song for 1972.
"I'll Be Around" is a song recorded by the American R&B vocal group The Spinners. It was co-written by Thom Bell and Phil Hurtt and produced by Bell.
"Wake Up Everybody" is an R&B song written by John Whitehead, Gene McFadden and Victor Carstarphen.
"Let's Do It Again" is a song by the Staple Singers. Written by Curtis Mayfield, it was part of the soundtrack for the Bill Cosby/Sidney Poitier film, Let's Do It Again. The single reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart on December 27, 1975, the day before Roebuck "Pops" Staples' 61st birthday, and also spent two non-consecutive weeks at the top of the Hot Soul Singles chart. It was the last major hit by the group.
"He Will Break Your Heart", is a song originally performed and co-written by Jerry Butler. It was a top-ten hit in 1960.
"I Gotcha" is a song by Joe Tex. Originally intended for King Floyd, instead Tex recorded it himself in the late 1960s, but did not release it at that time. He decided to re-record it in late 1971 and released it as the B-side of "A Mother's Prayer", the first single from his 1972 album "I Gotcha". Mostly spoken in the form of an early rap song, with few singing passages, "I Gotcha" has the singer admonishing a woman for playing with his affections: "You never shouldn't have promised if you weren't gonna do it".
"Keeper of the Castle" is a song recorded and released by American singing group the Four Tops, notable as the first hit the group scored on the ABC-Dunhill label after leaving Motown in 1972. The song, a social commentary on men's roles in relationships, was co-written by Dennis Lambert, who also produced the song and other songs off their album of the same name.
"Funkin' for Jamaica (N.Y.)" is a song by jazz trumpeter Tom Browne. The single—a memoir of the Jamaica neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens where Browne was born and raised—is from his second solo album, Love Approach. Browne got the idea for the song while he was at his parents' home. The vocals for the single were performed by Toni Smith, who also helped compose the song. The song hit number one on the US Billboard R&B chart for a month. "Funkin' for Jamaica" peaked at number nine on the dance chart and made the top 10 on the UK Singles Chart, but it never charted on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Move On Up" is a song by Curtis Mayfield from his 1970 debut album, Curtis. Nearly nine minutes long on the album version, it was released as a single in the United States, but failed to chart. An edited version of the song spent 10 weeks in the top 50 of the UK Singles Chart in 1971, peaking at number 12, and it has become a soul classic over the years. In 2021, it was listed at No. 474 on Rolling Stone's "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
"Choice of Colors" is a 1969 pop/soul song, written by Curtis Mayfield for The Impressions. The song hit #1 on Billboard's R&B chart for one week, and went to #21 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Return of Superfly (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the original soundtrack to Sig Shore's 1990 film The Return of Superfly. It was released on August 13, 1990, via Capitol Records, and consisted of soul music songs by Curtis Mayfield and hip hop tracks by various rappers, including Capital Punishment Organization, Def Jef, Eazy-E, Ice-T, King Tee, Mellow Man Ace, Tone Lōc and Uzi Bros. The soundtrack wasn't much of a success, only making it to 72 on the US Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
"It's All Right" is a 1963 song recorded by The Impressions and written by the group's lead singer, Curtis Mayfield. The single was the most successful chart entry of the group's career. "It's All Right" was one of two top-ten singles for the group on the Billboard Hot 100, and the first of six number ones on the Billboard R&B chart. It also reached No.1 on the Cash Box R&B chart.
"Funny How Time Slips Away" is a song written by Willie Nelson and first recorded by country singer Billy Walker. Walker's version was issued as a single by Columbia Records in June 1961 and peaked at number 23 on the Hot C&W Sides chart. The song has been featured in several live action films and television shows, such as in the first episode of the second season of AMC’s Better Call Saul and in the 2020 Netflix drama The Devil All the Time.
"Amen" is a traditional gospel song that was popularized by The Impressions with their 1964 version.
"Super Fly Meets Shaft" is a break-in record co-written by Dickie Goodman and recorded by John & Ernest. It consists of lines from popular R&B/soul songs of the day, which tell a story about the main characters from the films Super Fly (1972) and Shaft (1971).
