Superfly
In honor of Curtis Mayfield's birthday, let's take a look at his iconic "Superfly" album.
It wasn't Mayfield's first film project
Mayfield had previously contributed two songs to "Krakatoa, East of Java", however the film was a critical and commercial failure. However, due to "Super Fly's" success, Mayfield was tapped for several film soundtracks over the course of the decade.
Mayfield originally was only supposed to have a cameo and one song
"Super Fly" director Gordon Parks Jr. asked Mayfield and his backing band to cameo as a nightclub act in the background of a scene. Parks wanted a full song to play in the scene, which led to the beginning of soundtrack sessions.
After recording the song "Pusherman", Mayfield took a hiatus
Mayfield took a several months-long hiatus to work on "The Times Have Changed" for his former group tMhe Impressions and formulated his next solo effort, "Back to the World".
The instrumentals for the remaining songs were produced in a three-day session
The sessions involved an in-studio band of as many as 40 performers.
The album was primarily written by Mayfield from a basement apartment in Chicago while undergoing a trial separation from his wife and children
Mayfield was married twice. He had 10 children from different relationships. At the time of his death he was married to Altheida Mayfield. Together they had six children.
"Super Fly", along with Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" (1971), was one of the pioneering soul concept albums
"Super Fly's" then-unique socially aware lyrics about poverty and drug abuse made it stand out. Unlike the film's dissonant and ambiguous views on drug dealers, Mayfield's position was far more critical.
Check out my Music Monday piece on "What's Going On": https://www.thehotchildinthecity.com/post/marvin-gaye-s-what-s-going-on
"Superfly" was RIAA certified Gold within three months of release
Rolling Stone also cited it as Mayfield's "creative breakthrough".