Curtis Mayfield Biography

Quick Facts

NAME: Curtis Mayfield
OCCUPATION: Singer
BIRTH DATE: June 03, 1942
DEATH DATE: December 26, 1999
PLACE OF BIRTH: Chicago, Illinois
PLACE OF DEATH: Roswell, Georgia
Full Name: Curtis Lee Mayfield
AKA: Curtis Mayfield

Best Known For

Curtis Mayfield was a singer-songwiter known for his racially conscious soul and funk who had a number one album with his score for the film Superfly.

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Curtis Mayfield

APA Style

Curtis Mayfield. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 03:49, May 21, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/curtis-mayfield-9542244.

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Curtis Mayfield. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/curtis-mayfield-9542244 [Accessed 21 May 2013].

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MHRA Style

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"Curtis Mayfield," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/curtis-mayfield-9542244 (accessed May 21, 2013).

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Curtis Mayfield [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 21] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/curtis-mayfield-9542244.

Bluebook Style

Curtis Mayfield, http://www.biography.com/people/curtis-mayfield-9542244 (last visited May 21, 2013).

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Curtis Mayfield. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/curtis-mayfield-9542244. Accessed May 21, 2013.

In 1996, the year after he received a Grammy Award for Lifetime Achievement, Mayfield released his final album, New World Order.

In the years following his accident, Mayfield's health continued to deteriorate, and in 1998, his right leg was amputated due to complications from diabetes. On December 26, 1999, Mayfield died at the age of 57, in Roswell,

Georgia. A two-time inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (he gained admission with the Impressions in 1991 and as a solo performer in 1999), Mayfield had been living in Atlanta, Georgia, with his wife, Altheida. He had 10 children and seven grandchildren.

Powerful Influence

Curtis Mayfield's influence on other performers over the past several decades is undeniable. As early as the 1960s, performers like Sam Cooke, James Brown and Marvin Gaye had followed Mayfield's lead and brought a new kind of social awareness to their music. In the 1990s, the musician inspired two different tribute albums (including 1994's All Men are Brothers: A Tribute to Curtis Mayfield, featuring Whitney Houston, Elton John, the Isley Brothers and Aretha Franklin). Over the past several years, his songs have been sampled or covered by a host of performers, from rappers like Snoop Dogg, LL Cool J, Coolio and Dr. Dre to singers like Herbie Hancock, Deneice Williams, En Vogue and Mary J. Blige.