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 actually the soundtrack to SUPER FLY; released on this day in 1972, the film stars Ron Neal as a cocaine dealer out for one last score. If the movie glorifies pushers and hustlers, the nine original songs here make the toll they exact on the ghetto devastatingly clear, and the chart-topping album also includes a pair of Top 10 singles (“Freddie's Dead” and the title track). Vastly influential, the Gold-certified SUPER FLY has been hailed by VH1, Rolling Stone and the Library of Congress as one of the greatest albums ever.