On this day in 1942, one of the greatest musicians to ever live was born.

Curtis Lee Mayfield was born in Chicago on June 3rd, the son of Marion Washington and Kenneth Mayfield. Kenneth left the family five years later and Marion, Curtis and his siblings moved to various housing projects before settling at the infamous Cabrini-Green project on Chicago's near north side. Around this time, Curtis' love for music grew as he taught himself how to play the guitar (tuning the strings to piano keys) and joined a band called the Roosters which was soon to become the Impressions.

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• WE'RE A WINNER.

Curtis was a prolific composer, writing & co-writing many hits for the Impressions and songs for many other artists such as Jerry Butler, Major Lance, Gene Chandler, Donny Hathaway & June Conquest, the Fascinations, the Five Stairsteps, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Aretha Franklin & more.

(More after the cut.)

The Impressions were known as one of the important pioneers of socially conscious music, with tracks such as "Amen," "We're a Winner," "Keep On Pushing," "People Get Ready" & more. The Impressions also left their mark on many Jamaican ska/rocksteady groups and the Wailers, who covered a number of their songs. Mayfield left the Impressions after the release of the 1970 LP Check Out Your Mind, but they continued to record for Curtom, a label that Mayfield started in 1968 with an associate of the Impressions named Eddie Thomas.

Mayfield's first solo record entitled Curtis was a landmark LP that incorporated more funk and psychedelia than his work with the Impressions. Tracks such as "Move On Up" have been sampled many times, perhaps most famously by Kanye West in 2005 on "Touch The Sky". Mayfield released 19 LPs as a solo artist, his most famous being the soundtrack for the 1972 film Super Fly. He wrote and produced the music for other movies as well, including Claudine with Gladys Knight, Sparkle with Aretha Franklin & A Piece Of The Action with Mavis Staples.

In the 1980s, Curtis Mayfield's output slowed down as he took a lower public profile. A tragic accident onstage accident in 1990 left Mayfield paralyzed from the neck down. Mayfield continued to record but at a much slower pace. Mayfield was given a Grammy Legend Award in 1994 and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995 and was a double inductee into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as a member of The Impressions in 1991, and again in 1999 as a solo artist. He is also a 2 time Grammy Hall of Fame inductee. Mayfield died on December 26th, 1999 in Roswell, Georgia due to factors involving his paralysis.

My favorite Curtis Mayfield era is 1970-1972, during which he released the classic Curtis/Live! LP, a brilliant collection of early solo tracks along with Impressions tracks & a Carpenters cover. The group is incredible as well, Craig McMullen on guitar, Joseph "Lucky" Scott on bass, Henry Gibson on congas, bongos, percussion & Tyrone McCullen on drums.

His influence on music is immeasurable and continues today. Here's a number of videos to enjoy: