[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 105 (Monday, September 11, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1440]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             AN APPRECIATION AND TRIBUTE TO CURTIS MAYFIELD

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JOHN LEWIS

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 11, 2000

  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I join my fellow colleagues in the 
Congressional Black Caucus to salute and pay tribute to Curtis 
Mayfield, a great American songwriter, singer, guitarist, producer, and 
film composer. He was indeed a poet who wrote lyrics of hope and 
profound optimism. He was a philosopher and balladeer of the people 
seeking social action and commitment to the civil rights struggle of 
the 1960's.
  Curtis Mayfield stood on the mountaintop of American music. As a 
native of Chicago, he was the architect and builder of what has become 
known as ``Chicago Soul.'' His roots were purely American--originating 
in the gospel music of his boyhood church. But the heart and soul of 
his music reached around the world. At the age of 57, after years of 
fragile health from a near tragic accident, he died on December 26, 
1999, during the waning days of the 20th century. Yet, he gave us four 
decades of song beginning with the formation of The Impressions in the 
late 1950's, writing soul hits in the 1960's, composing a provocative 
and memorable soundtrack for the film ``Superfly'' in the 1970's and 
recording the Grammy-nominated album ``New World Order'' in the 1990's.
  During the 1960's, his music tapped into the consciousness of a 
generation. With songs like ``It's All Right,'' ``People Get Ready,'' 
and ``Keep on Pushin','' his call to social action was undeniably 
clear: he urged us to care about a nation whose great promise was so 
dear yet woefully denied to people of color and the poor. Wherever 
people were, wherever they lived, whatever they did, Curtis Mayfield 
made people think. You could not listen to his songs without being 
stirred to tears of hope. It was like he knew the soul of America 
because his music changed us in some way. He lifted our spirits and 
opened our minds with a sharp-edged social commentary on America in the 
1960's.
  Whether you listened to his powerful songs in a beauty shop in Harlem 
or on a sunny afternoon at a midwestern university, without his music, 
the civil rights movement would have been like a bird without song. 
Simply, Curtis Mayfield wrote the soundtrack to the civil rights 
movement. With his songs, he demanded and we accepted his challenge to 
not rest until we build a new America based on peace and justice.
  We are lucky. We are more than lucky to have been touched by the 
creative genius of Curtis Mayfield. He has fed our hearts and minds 
with spiritual food. He has moved the feet of a nation toward a better 
society. He has never left us in spirit because his music still 
inspires us to remember his optimism, his hope, his sense of righteous 
indignation, and his abiding faith in a better America.
  Another great songwriter and musician, Stevie Wonder, once said of 
Curtis Mayfield:

       For as long as there is romance in love, the joy of pride, 
     the power of words, the teaching of right, and songs with 
     haunting melodies there will always be a need for the music 
     of Mayfield.

  As we honor this great American, the legacy of his music is still 
alive. A new generation of musicians are writing and performing new 
songs, but they stand on the shoulders of Curtis Mayfield, who created 
a powerful vision of America through word and song.
  Like the men and women before him, who shed blood and tears for a 
better America, Curtis Mayfield was, above all else, a founder of the 
New America. His music was inspiring, profoundly creative and 
courageous. And as a civil rights activist, his contribution to the 
cause in music will never be forgotten.

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