WANDERING SOUL. THE LIFE OF CURTIS MAYFIELD, TODD MAYFIELD WITH TRAVIS ATRIA

Curtis Mayfield was one of the most influential performers and songwriters in the history of American popular music, decisively inspiring artists of styles as varied as Bob Marley, Jimi Hendrix, and the pioneers of hip hop. His politically charged lyrics had the same liberating effect on soul and rhythm & blues as Dylan's did on pop, but perhaps even more important was his role as a social touchstone and the impact his music had on the Civil Rights Movement. “People Get Ready” became the anthem of Black America in the 1960s, while its soundtrack for the film Super Fly She captured one of the most incisive portraits of life in the ghettos of the seventies. Passionate, meticulous, illuminating, and absorbing, Wandering soul It is the best vindication of his enormous legacy.
Born into abject poverty and raised by his single mother in one of Chicago's worst neighborhoods, Curtis Mayfield became a musical prodigy, not only as a gospel singer but also as a completely self-taught guitarist and songwriter. After rising to fame as the creative force behind the trio The Impressions and as one of the key figures in the "Chicago Soul" sound, Curtis also distinguished himself as a pioneer in the African American music industry by founding his own record label, through which he produced and composed for numerous artists, including The Staple Singers, Aretha Franklin, and Baby Huey. In 1970, after more than a decade of success leading The Impressions, he embarked on a solo career that would make him one of the most popular musicians of the decade thanks to albums such as Curtis, Roots, Back to the World and the soundtrack of Super Fly. A tragic accident at the age of forty-eight left him a quadriplegic, withdrawing him from public life until his death in 1999. Perhaps this fact, coupled with the discretion and protectiveness of his privacy that he displayed throughout his life, explains the scarcity of literature about him. Wandering Soul, Todd Mayfield rectifies this injustice by narrating in vivid detail the exciting story of his father and returning him to the foreground he should never have left.

"One of the most surprising things about this new and definitive biography of Curtis Mayfield is that it has taken so long to be written. In terms of influence and popularity, Mayfield's stature during the 1960s and 70s places him on par with R&B legends like Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, and James Brown. Yet his life has never been told in the same level of detail." Wandering soul "Correct that mistake."
—Oliver Wang, Pitchfork

"Curtis Mayfield was a national treasure, and now, at last, we have his story in all its majesty and hardship. Musical biographies are rarely described as 'thrilling,' but this one is. It chronicles the trials and tribulations of an artist as influential as he was underrated during a tumultuous period in American history. What a magnificent musical and cultural legacy."
—William McKeen, author of Outlaw Journalist

"Finally, a book reveals the heart and soul of one of the great geniuses of American music."
—David Ritz, author of Divided Soul: The Life of Marvin Gaye

• Paperback with flaps.
• 424 pages. 14 x 21.5 cm.
• ISBN: 978-84-17645-07-6