Curtis Mayfield Was Paralyzed by a Freak On-Stage Accident 30 Years Ago Today [EUR Video Throwback]

August 13, 2020

*Former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Kamala Harris of the new 2020 Democratic presidential ticket chose Curtis Mayfield’s “Moving on Up” for their coming out party on Wednesday, almost 30 years to the day that the legendary musician and singer-songwriter became paralyzed in a tragic accident.

Mayfield was about to take the stage at an outdoor concert in Brooklyn when a gust of wind from a fast moving storm knocked a lighting rig onto his neck, paralyzing him from the neck down. Several subsequent surgeries weren’t able to restore his mobility, nor his ability to continue playing guitar. He could no longer write down musical ideas or even sing the way he used to. The career trajectory of a newly-minted legend, one of the greatest singer-songwriters of his time, was suddenly and cruelly cut short.

In this EUR Video Throwback, we’re celebrating Mayfield’s string of classic hits leading up to the horrific accident, beginning in the early 60s with his takeover of The Impressions following the departure of Jerry Butler. With Mayfield out front, they scored a number of early hits, like “Gypsy Woman” and “It’s All Right.”

Throughout the ’60s, Mayfield’s socially conscious fare sparked a shift in focus that brought the group even greater success, with singles like “Keep on Pushing,” “People Get Ready” and “Choice of Colors” doubling as anthems for the civil rights movement.

Mayfield left the Impressions in 1970 and launched a successful solo career, beginning with his debut album “Curtis” and its hit, “Move On Up.”

SIDE NOTE: Because Kanye West sampled “Move On Up” in his 2005 hit “Touch the Sky,” Twitter swears that the Biden/Harris camp used the 1970 original as a dis to the rapper, who says he’s also currently running for president.

But we digress. Two years after the “Curtis” album, Mayfield would release his masterpiece – the soundtrack for the blaxploitation film “Super Fly.” Its tracks addressing crime, poverty and drug abuse in the inner city reflected the setting of the film, directed by Gordon Parks, Jr. and starring Ron O’Neal as a pimp and drug dealer trying to quit the drug game.

Mayfield’s “Super Fly” album was ranked No. 72 on Rolling Stone’s list of 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. By the late 80s, his material was widely respected as both influential and politically conscious. Mayfield was promoting his newest album “Take It to the Streets” when he was about to perform at Windgate Field in Brooklyn on Aug. 13, 1990.

“I don’t remember anything. I don’t even remember falling,” Mayfield told the Independent in 1994 regarding his paralyzing accident. “The next thing I knew I was lying on my back. So I must have went out for a moment. And then I discovered that neither my hands nor my arms were where I thought they were, and I couldn’t move. … Then it began to rain. Big drops. I could hear people screaming and hollering. From what I could observe, all of everything above us had come out of the sky. I chose not to shut my eyes for fear of dying. The rain was falling. Some of the fellows found me and saw that I was paralyzed so they went and found a big piece of plastic sheeting to protect me in the rain until the paramedics arrived. Luckily, the hospital was right around the corner.”

Mayfield died from complications of type 2 diabetes on December 26, 1999, at the North Fulton Regional Hospital in Roswell, Georgia. He was survived at the time by his wife Altheida Mayfield, his mother Mariam Jackson; 10 children; two sisters, Carolyn Falls and Judy Mayfield; a brother, Kenneth Mayfield; and seven grandchildren.

Below, Aretha Franklin and Donny Simpson, during an interview at her home, remember the artistry, legacy and overlooked activism of Mayfield. The Queen of Soul performs his song “The Makings of You,” her track on the all-star compilation album “A Tribute to Curtis Mayfield,” released five years before his death.