Traveling Soul
The Life of Curtis Mayfield
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4.5 • 6 Ratings
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- $15.99
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
Curtis Mayfield was one of the seminal vocalists and most talented guitarists of his era, and his music played a vital role in the civil rights movement: "People Get Ready" was the black anthem of the time. In Traveling Soul, Todd Mayfield tells his famously private father's story in riveting detail. Born into dire poverty, raised in the slums of Chicago, Curtis became a musical prodigy, not only singing like a dream but growing into a brilliant songwriter. In the 1960s he opened his own label and production company and worked with many other top artists, including the Staple Singers. Curtis's life was famously cut short by an accident that left him paralyzed, but in his declining health he received the long-awaited recognition of the music industry. Passionate, illuminating, vivid, and absorbing, Traveling Soul will doubtlessly take its place among the classics of music biography.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
According to this biography by his second eldest son, talented vocalist and musician Curtis Mayfield was an intensively private, overly ambitious man who loved his family. The author, aided by music journalist Atria, follows Mayfield's legacy from the cotton fields of Louisiana to the urban wilds of Chicago, where his strong willed mother surrounded the gifted child with church, faith, and family. As a leading member of the popular Impressions and as a solo star act, Mayfield never forgot the poverty of his time in the projects, his Jim Crow experiences on the Chitlin Circuit, or the glory years with one of the premier soul groups. His son devotes much ink to the bloody protests of the 1960s and his father's masterful writing of powerful anthems, including "I'm So Proud," "Keep On Pushing," "People Get Ready," and "We're a Winner." Mayfield the man and entertainer wanted the spotlight and money, and was never really a social person. He was often controlling and abusive in his relationships. Following the soaring achievement of Superfly, the singer's success declined during the 1980s, and his failed comeback ended when a 1990 stage mishap rendered him paralyzed and hopeless. This is an affectionate portrait and a fascinating, balanced account of a tormented soul.
