Curtis Mayfield: Influencial Musician

Image source: This Is My Country album art. (1968, November). Retrieved from: http://www.curtismayfield.com/photos.html?ga=15&pg=2

"Some people think we don’t have the right to say it’s my country. Before they give in they’d rather fuss and fight than say it’s my country. I’ve paid three hundred years or more of slave-driving sweat and welts on my back. This is my country.” From This Is My Country. [1968].

When Illinois senator Barack Obama walked on to the stage at the Democratic National Convention in 2004, a Curtis Mayfield song, “Pushing,” ushered him to the stage. Curtis Mayfield made music by writing songs, performing with bands like the Roosters and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame group, The Impressions, and as a solo artist. According to Mr. Mayfield’s website, his song, “People Get Ready,” has been recorded by over 100 artists. A tragic accident in 1990 paralyzed Mayfield from the neck down, but Mr. Mayfield did not stop. He recorded his final album, “New World Order,” despite his paralysis. Mr. Mayfield passed away in 1999.

To learn more about Mr. Mayfield and his remarkable life, see the following websites:

Curtis Mayfield 

The Impressions, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

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Sources: Curtis Mayfield Estate. (2018). Curtis Mayfield Biography. Retrieved from: http://www.curtismayfield.com/biography.html

O’Brien, G., ed. (2012). Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations, 18^th ed. New York: Little, Brown and Company. pp. 855.