Traveling Soul - The Life of Curtis Mayfield - Todd Mayfield

 

Curtis Mayfield is another 60's icon that I've been a fan of ever since I knew who he was - I know I dug the Impressions' work, although I didn't know any of the members' names, but when he hit big with the Superfly soundtrack, everyone knew'n'loved him! I never knew his history and just randomly came across this book while perusing the library and decided to give it a go.

Curtis' son tells the tale of the family moving from the South to Chicago and Curtis' grandmother using her Spiritualist background as a source of income - even during the Depression. The family is a bunch of survivors, but just barely, and Curtis had to become the "man" of the house early on - helping raise the other children (he had a deadbeat dad who nonetheless fathered 5 children with Curtis' mother) and doing what he could to help everyone get through life in the ghetto.

His grandmother continued to do ok, though, even opening her own church, while Curtis and his immediate family struggle to eat once in a while. Traveling Soul was taken from her church's name, but is appropriate for Curtis' life, as well.

Curtis fell in love with music early on and as a teen he fell in with like-minded fellows and started his own doo-wop group, where he played guitar and sang. Jerry Butler convinced Curtis to join Butler's group and they soon had a hit song. Naturally, that came with its baggage but plenty of good times, as well, as they toured to adoring fans. But, it also came with record company schemes and Jerry was soon lured away as a solo artist.

But Mayfield did not give up, continued to write and soon his version of the band ("The Original Impressions") had a hit with "Gypsy Woman" and their career soared. There were a few misfires before Mayfield got on a winning streak with hit songs, but once he did, there was no going back. He also wrote numerous hits for other artists - and he made certain that he kept his publishing - so his fortune was secure.

The Impressions career dovetailed with the Civil Right Movement and so both stories are told here, as each influenced the other. Mayfield's writings became more political (although he would not always put it in so many words) and the movement used his songs as rallying cries. The world itself changed with the assassinations of JFK, RFK, Dr. King, Malcolm X and others - it damn near brings tears to the eyes to think of how this country could have flourished without these evil deeds. Mayfield took the events and turned the emotions he felt into hit songs.

Curtis and the Impressions went through many changes and had many hits before Mayfield went solo (and the Impressions continued with a new lead singer) and while he was successful, it was his soundtrack to Superfly that sent his career into the stratosphere! He continued to soar for a few years after that but inevitably, he spread himself too thin (multiple albums each year for himself and other projects as well as running his own record label) and tastes changed and he lost his label and his star no longer shone quite so brightly.

Of course, he had ups as well as downs over the years, but never the record-selling success of his height. Touring remained lucrative and he hit many stops that had escaped him earlier until a true tragedy cut down his performing career abruptly and shortened his life significantly. An incredibly sad ending to an incredible life.

Todd and his collaborator Travis Atria do a great job in telling the tale and keeping the story moving from the exciting early years through to the depressing career slump and crash. Curtis' music has remained relevant as untold numbers of hip-hop artists have sampled his music and paid homage to him. He was a true soul super star - any fan of soul and (real) R'n'B should check this out!