I first heard Curtis Mayfield in 1994-95 when I was still rocking the Nirvana T-Shirt/Dock Martins/lank greasy hair look. The song was “Move on up” and i was listening to Blur being interviewed on Radio 1. They were talking about their influences and playing some songs from their own collections. (another song from the day that stood out was Glen Campbell’s “Witchata Lineman”). I remember just being hit by those trumpets like a steam train. I was hooked.
I got hold of a copy and was determined to sample the trumpets for a musical project of my own. I managed to loop them on my old Amiga 1200. However I couldn’t do anything with the sample that didn’t sound rubbish. That didn’t stop Kanye West a good 10 years later....
To this day it remains possibly my favourite song of all time. It was on a CD called “Soul Survivors” which had 40 or so Northern Soul gems compiled by Wigan Casino DJ Russ Winstanley. It was the start of my love affair with Northern Soul and Keeping the faith in general.
There has always been something quite Righteous about Curtis’ music. From the gritty “tell-it-like-it-is-on-the-streets” narrative of songs such as “Pusherman” and “Freddie’s dead” to the almost fisher-price description of a hustler in “Superfly”. These “keep it real” in a way that Ganngster rappers, who harp on about guns and bling will never really understand.
In the 1990’s Curtis’ was paralysed in an accident involving some stage lighting. He carried on recording however up to his death in 1999, one line at a time while laid out vertically in the studio. The last recording of his voice was as a guest on the Bran Van 3000 tune “Astounded”, which includes lyrics from “Move on up”. I own a copy on 12”.
Click on the Link below to hear 10 essential Curtis Songs.
Soul Brother #1 Every Weds (From Feb) at Dry Bar, Northern Qtr, Manchester. Become a fan.
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