| Super Fly | |
| Type: | soundtrack |
| Longtype: | / studio album |
| Artist: | Curtis Mayfield |
| Cover: | CurtisMayfieldSuperfly.jpg |
| Released: | July 11, 1972 |
| Recorded: | December 1971 - May 1972 |
| Studio: |
|
| Length: | 36:58 |
| Label: | Curtom |
| Producer: | Curtis Mayfield |
| Prev Title: | Roots |
| Prev Year: | 1971 |
| Next Title: | Back to the World |
| Next Year: | 1973 |
Super Fly is the third studio album by American soul musician Curtis Mayfield, released on July 11, 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" (number 2 R&B charts, number 4 Pop charts) and the title track (number 5 R&B, number 8 Pop). Super Fly is one of the few soundtracks to out-gross the film it accompanied.[1]
Super Fly, along with Marvin Gaye's What's Going On (1971), was one of the pioneering soul concept albums, with its then-unique socially aware lyrics about poverty and drug abuse making the album stand out.[2] [3] The film and the soundtrack may be perceived as dissonant, since the film holds rather ambiguous views on drug dealers, whereas Curtis Mayfield's position is far more critical. Like What's Going On, the album was a surprise hit that record executives felt had little chance at significant sales. Due to its success, Mayfield was tapped for several film soundtracks over the course of the decade.
Mayfield had previously contributed two songs to Krakatoa, East of Java; the film was a critical and commercial failure, but marked his first foray into soundtrack work. His contribution began when Super Fly director Gordon Parks Jr. asked Mayfield and his backing band to cameo as a nightclub act in the background of a scene. Parks wanted a full song to play in the scene, which led to the beginning of soundtrack sessions.[4]
The recording session for the song "Pusherman" took place at Bell Sound Studios in New York, and was followed by a several months-long hiatus (during which Mayfield wrote The Times Have Changed for his former group The Impressions and formulated his next solo effort, Back to the World). The instrumentals for the remaining songs were produced in a three-day session at Curtom Studios, which involved an in-studio band of as many as 40 performers. Guitarist Craig McMullen states, "The advantage of it is, if you have a full orchestra, when you place your licks, you don't have to worry about your licks bumping. You can hear everything that's going to go down." The album was primarily written by Mayfield from a basement apartment in Chicago while undergoing a trial separation from his wife and children.
Super Fly was originally released in 1972 on Curtom Records in both LP and eight-track formats.[5] It also featured distribution in countries outside of the United States, including Italy, Germany, France, Canada, and the United Kingdom.[5] On November 11, 1997, Rhino Records released a 25th Anniversary collection of the album with a bonus disc of demo versions of songs, radio spots, and interviews.[6] In 1999, Rhino Records reissued the album with two bonus tracks.[7] On December 11, 2001, the British record label Charly Records re-released the album with several bonus tracks.[8]
Music critics lauded Super Fly.[2] The album was RIAA certified Gold within three months of release.[9] Rolling Stones Bob Donat was favorable of Mayfield's anti-drug and self-liberation themes, and called Super Fly "not only a superior, imaginative soundtrack, but fine funky music as well and the best of Curtis Mayfield's four albums made since he left the Impressions". Rock critic Robert Christgau of The Village Voice gave the album an A− and lauded Mayfield's songwriting. Christgau also wrote that "these songs speak for (and to) the ghetto's victims rather than its achievers (cf. 'The Other Side of Town', on Curtis), transmitting bleak lyrics through uncompromisingly vivacious music. Message: both candor and rhythm are essential to our survival". Robin Katz of Disc praised the album stating to not mistake the album as a "big bad blaring instrumental LP. This is Curtis Mayfield combining a fine musical message with gentle vocals but powerful lyrics." and that the "nine tracks on the album and what never fails to amaze me is how Mayfield balances his instrumental work and lyrics without overdoing either. It is a touchy situation, but Mayfield handles it brilliantly."The album itself as well as songs "Freddie's Dead" and "Junkie Chase" received nominations at the 15th Annual Grammy Awards.[10]
In a 2004 review of the album, Rolling Stone gave Super Fly five out of five stars and cited it as Mayfield's "creative breakthrough". John Bush of AllMusic praised the album's lyrical substance and sound, calling it a "melange of deep, dark grooves, trademarked wah-wah guitar, and stinging brass". On its significance, Bush concluded by stating:
In a positive retrospective review for Pitchfork, writer Mychal Smith notes the political relevance of Super Fly
In the Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (2002), writer Colin Larkin gave the album a five-star rating.[12] In 2003, VH1 named Super Fly the 63rd greatest album of all time.[13] The title track was selected by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the "500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll".[14] In 2003, the album was ranked number 69 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time,[15] 72 in a 2012 revised list,[16] and 76 in a 2020 revised list.[17] The album is ranked number 986 in All-Time Top 1000 Albums (3rd edition, 2000).[18] In 2019, the album was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[19]
Super Fly was a formative work in the development of the hip hop and rap genres, and has been cited as an influence and sampled by the likes of Beastie Boys, The Notorious B.I.G., Erykah Badu, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Chance the Rapper, and Beyoncé. The singer Bilal names it among his 25 favorite albums, explaining that, "I just think that's one of the best movie soundtrack albums ever. Just the way he described the whole movie, you don't even really have to see the movie, just listen to the soundtrack and you already know the whole movie. It's just killer the way he did that."[20] Mychal Smith notes the impact Super Fly had on the genre of blaxploitation soundtracks in particular, noting Mayfield had "inspired imitations [...] such as Bobby Womack’s "Across 110th Street", James Brown’s Black Caesar, and Willie Hutch’s The Mack."
All songs were written and composed by Curtis Mayfield.[21]
| Year | Chart | Peak position | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Pop Albums | 1 (4 weeks) | |
| 1972 | Black Albums | 1 (6 weeks) | |
| 1973 | Jazz Albums | 2 | |
| 1988 | Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums | 88 |
| Year | Single | Chart | Peak position | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | "Freddie's Dead" | US Pop Singles | 4 | |
| 1972 | "Freddie's Dead" | US Black Singles | 2 | |
| 1973 | "Superfly" | US Pop Singles | 8 | |
| 1973 | "Superfly" | US Black Singles | 5 | |
| 1973 | "Give Me Your Love" | US Pop Singles | 31 |