Curtis Lee Mayfield Quotes

Curtis Lee Mayfield was born in Chicago, Illinois. He was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer, who was one of the most influential musicians behind soul and politically conscious African-American music. He started his musical career in a gospel choir. Moving to Chicago's North Side he met Jerry Butler in 1956 at the age of 14, and joined vocal group the Impressions. As a songwriter, 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. He won a Grammy Legend Award in 1994 and a 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 was also a two-time Grammy Hall of Fame inductee.