Source Material: Curtis Mayfield 'Superfly'

June 3rd would've marked the 66th birthday of the late Curtis Mayfield, a legendary soul artist with a wide range of work, from his beginnings with the Impressions to his stark social commentary during the 1970s. Though Mayfield had many achievements, none of his other works are as heavily cited (and sampled) as his soundtrack for the 1972 Gordon Parks, Jr. film 'Super Fly'. Both 'Superfly' and 'Freddie's Dead' were hit songs (#8 and #4 respecitvely) and had an indelible effect on the future of hip-hop; not only in it's sound, but also it's view of the drug trade.

No other song sampling the album makes this link more evident than Ice-T's 1988 single 'I'm Your Pusher / Pusherman' that samples Mayfield's similarly titled and themed 'Pusherman'. In 1989, the Beastie Boys and the Dust Brothers lifted the familiar bassline and opening percussion from 'Superfly' for the odd ball 'Egg Man' on the sample boundary pushing album 'Paul's Boutique'. Four years later, the Digable Planets would lift a sample from 'Give Me Your Love' for the third, overlooked single from their 'Reachin'' album: 'Nickel Bags'.

In 1997, Rhino released a 25th anniversary edition of the album, including a disc of previously unreleased alternate takes and instrumentals from the album - a beat maker's dream. One of the highlights of the disc is an instrumental version of 'Freddie's Dead'.

Without a doubt, more of Mayfield's discography will be analyzed in future posts. Be sure that you sit back with a few tunes from 'Superfly' tomorrow in celebration of his work. If you are Snoop Dogg, you may even take a listen to Mayfield in the bathtub.

The Lowdown:
Curtis Mayfield 'Superfly', 'Freddie's Dead', 'Pusherman', and 'Give Me Your Love'
all from 'Superfly' (1972) (MP3/CD)
Curtis Mayfield 'Freddie's Dead' (Instrumental)
from 'Superfly: Deluxe 25th Anniversay Collection' (MP3/CD out of print)
Ice-T 'I'm Your Pusher / Pusherman'
from 'Power' (1988) (MP3/CD)
Beastie Boys 'Egg Man'
from 'Paul's Boutique' (1989) (MP3/CD)
Digable Planets 'Nickel Bags'
from 'Reachin' (A New Refutation of Time and Space)' (1993) (MP3/CD)

BONUS CUT:
Junior Murvin (under the name Junior Soul) was one of the many artists to cover 'Give Me Your Love'. This reggae version is among the best covers of Mayfield's unfadeable love jam.
Junior Murvin 'Give Me Your Love'