Curtis Mayfield "Little Child"

Curtis Mayfield was active throughout the 1970s and 1980s, though he had a somewhat lower public profile. 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. This tragedy set him back, but Mayfield forged ahead. He was unable to play guitar, but he wrote, sang and directed the recording of his last album, New World Order. Mayfield's vocals were painstakingly recorded, usually line-by-line while lying on his back.

Mayfield received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995. In February, 1998, he had to have his right leg amputated due to diabetes. Mayfield was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on March 15, 1999. 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.

Mayfield died on December 26, 1999 in Roswell, Georgia surrounded by his family. His last work came to be the song "Astounded", with the group Bran Van 3000, recorded just before his death and released in 2000. As a member of The Impressions, Mayfield was posthumously inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2003.

Category:

Music

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• Curtis
• Mayfield
• Little
• Child
• Music
• Soul
• R&B
• Impressions
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• Olbermann
• Countdown

[92860101]

bring tears to my eyes.... mad respect..

[mychejonze]

real music

[fightjapanrc]

Bass player is awesome. The whole band is great.

[TemiZee]

@n8tureboy well said!

[filipitotube]

Mas bass line! So powerful...

Lady Gaga and other justin timberlake / bieber can go hide themselves now.

What, EMI say they can't?

[n8tureboy]

@bobbyaustin1

Musically, culturally, economically, spiritually and every other way. We're in serious decline and it's only going to get worse, I'm afraid.

If music is any indication, then just two words-Lady GAGA! Nuff' said!

Lord help us!

[TearzGypsy]

This has just as much meaning today as ever. Long live Curtis and love.

[Gentilseulement]

I thought that the applauds at the end were rather timid.

[Gentilseulement]

@macboogaluejames It still exists? :)

[JelaniWAZO]

@JelaniWAZO, do you have to write so much...ugh...

[JelaniWAZO]

when we speak of punchlines, puns, metaphors and similes, we must consider the impact the inner city had in making our music our own....Curtis melded a groovy beat (lol) with a conscious flow that affects us while we let our bodies loose and this enlightening spirit in....the fact is....I cant but help see Kanye West In this man...I just cant help but see this flow, so simple, yet profoundly influential (also, by a certain standard...those two cant sing....how interesting....?....nope)

[bobbyaustin1]

AS FAR AS MUSIC IS CONCERNED,I BELIEVE AMER ICA HAS SEEN ITS BEST DAYS!