Album of the Day

Few people had their finger on the pulse of black America like Curtis Mayfield, whose soulful voice as co-founder of The Impressions in the 1960s would illuminate social issues during his solo career in the 1970s. Mayfield's third studio set was the soundtrack to the 1972 film SUPER FLY, and if the movie glorifies pushers and hustlers, the nine originals here make the toll they exact on the ghetto devastatingly clear. Bleak as the subject matter sometimes gets, the album includes a pair of Top 10 singles (“Freddie's Dead” and the title track) and was a Gold-certified hit. Curtis Mayfield was born on this day in 1942, and we'll give the vastly influential SUPER FLY another spin to remember the R&B legend.