Curtis Mayfield,
R&B star, dies at 57
Songwriter produced string of ’60s hits
LOS
ANGELES, Dec. 26 — Paralyzed soul legend Curtis
Mayfield, whose stylings influenced artists of all musical
genres, died Sunday, a North Fulton Regional Hospital
spokeswoman said. He was 57.
WARNER BROS. Records spokeswoman Karen Lee
announced the death Sunday. A nurse at the North Fulton
Regional Hospital in Roswell, Ga., confirmed that Mayfield
died there Sunday morning.
Other
details about his death were not immediately available.
Mayfield
was too ill to attend a March ceremony in which he was
inducted him into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He became a
Grammy Legend Award winner in 1994 and a Grammy Lifetime
Achievement Award winner the next year.
Mayfield
was paralyzed in a 1990 accident in which he was struck by a
rig that toppled while he was on stage performing in Brooklyn.
Born in
Chicago on June 3, 1942, Mayfield’s distinctive tenor voice
was developed with his pre-teen band, The Alphatones. In 1956,
he joined church choir member Jerry Butler, brothers Arthur
and Richard Brooks, and Sam Gooden in a new group, The
Roosters.
In
1958, The Roosters were renamed The Impressions and recorded
“For Your Precious Love,” which was No. 11 in the United
States. Although Butler left the group, Mayfield continued
with a string of hits including, “He Will Break Your
Heart,” “Need To Belong To Someone,” and “Find
Yourself Another Girl.”
ABC
Paramount Records later gave The Impressions a recording
contract and the group followed with a Top 20 hit, “Gypsy
Woman,” which was followed by many others.
