courtesy of The Buddah Group
Listen to the PowerhouseRadio.com production of The Curtis Mayfield Story featuring Curtis
10 minutes, 13 seconds
During that time, Curtis co-wrote Jerry's first big solo hit, "He Will Break Your Heart." With the addition of Fred Cash, who had moved up to Chicago and replaced Butler, the new Impressions were still five men (the Brooks brothers remained for another two years before they quit).
Curtis brought all the men East and reactivated them with the very beautiful "Gypsy Woman," recorded in 1961. The Impressions were reborn in fine style.
"Gypsy Woman" was the first of a long line of songs written by Curtis Mayfield for The Impressions which established the group's strength both artistically and commercially.
The songs that followed -- "Amen," "I'm So Proud," "Keep On Pushin'," "People Get Ready," "We're A Winner," "Choice Of Colors."
"This Is My Country" and many, many more through the years -- confirmed Curtis' position as one of the most important and influential black songwriters in the country. "I was always writing," Curtis recalls. "I was writing when I was ten, eleven years old, I guess.
I suppose a lot of it had to do with my mother and grandmother. My mother used to love poetry; she would recite a lot of poems written by Paul Lawrence Dunbar. And my grandmother was a preacher with the Traveling Soul Spiritualist Church.
. Continued
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