Super Fly is the third studio album by American soul and funk musician Curtis Mayfield, released in July 1972 on Curtom Records. It was released as the soundtrack for the Blaxploitation film of the same name. Widely considered a classic of 1970s soul and funk music, Super Fly was a nearly immediate hit. Its sales were bolstered by two million-selling singles, "Freddie's Dead" (#2 R&B, #4 Pop) and the title track (#5 R&B, #8 Pop). Super Fly is one of the few soundtracks to out-gross the film it accompanied.(Wikipedia)
Freddie,s Dead
"
Freddie's Dead" is a song by
Curtis Mayfield. It was the first
single from his
1972 soundtrack album for the film
Super Fly. The single was released before the
Super Fly album, and in fact before the film itself was in theaters. The song peaked at #4 on the
U.S. Pop Chart and #2 on the
R&B chart.
The song laments the death of Fat Freddie, a character in the film who is run over by a car.
Superfly
"
Superfly" is a song by
Curtis Mayfield, the title track from his
1972 soundtrack album for the
film of the same name. It was the second single released from the album, following "
Freddie's Dead (Theme From Superfly)", and reached #8 on the
Billboard Pop chart. The
lyrics celebrate the craftiness and determination of the film's main character. The song plays over the film's
closing credits.
Pusherman
Curtis Mayfield used each song on the album,
Super Fly, to
demonstrate a different aspect of the problems he noticed were plaguing
inner-city America. "Pusherman," the second track, uses the metaphor of
drug dealing. We see the Pusherman (the drug dealer) as a businessman,
trying to make a living and a better life for himself in the tough
situation. The Pusherman is both good and evil. Mayfield sings, "Ain't I
clean, bad machine, super cool, super mean," to show the man's tough
exterior, but he implies that the Pusherman is just as much a victim as
he is a villain with, "A man of odd circumstance, a victim of ghetto
demands."
Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999)
was an American
soul,
R&B, and
funk singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He achieved success and recognition with
the Impressions during the Civil Rights Movement of the late 50's and 1960s. Mayfield is also known for his efforts in writing the
soundtrack to the
blaxploitation film
Super Fly
which was considered unusual as a soundtrack for a blaxploitation film,
as its songs contained themes focusing more on the social problems of
impoverished African American urban areas during the time. Mayfield is
regarded as a pioneer of funk and of politically conscious
African-American music.
Being one of the most celebrated figures in the genre of soul and 20th century music, Mayfield is a winner of both the
Grammy Legend Award (in 1994) and the
Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (in 1995), and he was a double inductee into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted as a member of the Impressions into
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991, and again in 1999 as a solo artist. He is also a two-time
Grammy Hall of Fame inductee.
