Curtis Mayfield Super Fly 50th Anniversary Soundtrack Numbered Vinyl 2LP
 
50th Anniversary Expanded Set Featuring Bonus Tracks!
 
Curtis Mayfield was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, record producer and one of the most influential musicians in the soul genre and politically conscious African-American music. He originally achieved success and recognition with the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame-inducted group The Impressions and later worked as a solo artist. He started his career in a gospel choir in Chicago, where he met vocalist Jerry Butler in 1956 and joined the Impressions.
 
Mayfield became noted as one of the first musicians to bring more prevalent themes of social awareness into soul music. In 1965 he wrote "People Get Ready" for the Impressions, which displayed his more politically charged songwriting. Ranked at no. 24 on Rolling Stone's list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time," the song received numerous other awards, and was included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame "500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll," as well as being inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998.
 
Mayfield began work on his own self-titled album in 1970. Although he never intended to leave the Impressions permanently, he would officially leave them in 1971, under recommendation from his business manager Marv Stuart and given the trend for both R&B and rock artists to go solo. Produced by Mayfield, it was released on his own label, Curtom Records.
 
The musical styles of Curtis moved further away from the pop-soul sounds of Mayfield's previous group The Impressions and featured more of a funk and psychedelic-influenced sound. The album's subject matter incorporates political and social concerns. Like with some of his later Impressions work, Mayfield's lyrics reflected the social and political concern rising in black America at the time. Mayfield was one of the earliest artists to speak openly about African-American pride and community struggle.
 
Curtis' most iconic statement was the soundtrack to the blaxploitation film, Super Fly; his third studio album that was released in July 1972. Widely considered a classic of '70s soul and funk, Super Fly was an immediate hit upon release. Its sales were bolstered by two million-selling singles, "Freddie's Dead" (number two R&B charts, number four Pop charts) and the title track (number five R&B, number eight Pop).
 
Super Fly is one of the few soundtracks to out-gross the film it accompanied. Super Fly, along with Marvin Gaye's What's Going On (1971), was one of the pioneering soul concept albums, with its then-unique socially aware lyrics about poverty and drug abuse making the album stand out. The film and the soundtrack may be perceived as dissonant, since the film holds rather ambiguous views on drug dealers, whereas Curtis Mayfield's position is far more critical.
 
Curtis Mayfield Super Fly 50th Anniversary Soundtrack Track Listing:
 
LP1
 
1. Little Child Runnin Wild
2. Pusherman
3. Freddie's Dead
4. Junkie Chase
5. Give Me Your Love
6. Eddie You Should Know Better
7. No Thing On Me
8. Think
9. Superfly
 
LP2
 
1. Freddie's Dead (single mix)
2. Superfly (single mix)
3. Ghetto Child (demo of "Little Child Runnin Wild")
4. Pusherman (alt mix w/ horns)
5. Freddie's Dead (instrumental)
6. Junkie Chase (full length instrumental version)
7. No Thing On Me (instrumental / score version)
8. Militant March
9. Eddie You Should Know Better (instrumental)
10. Radio Spot #1
11. The Underground (1970 demo)
12. Check Out Your Mind (instrumental)
13. Radio Spot #2