Curtis Mayfield, Oral History
Title
Curtis Mayfield, Oral History
Description
Curtis Mayfield (b. Jun 3, 1942, d. Dec 26, 1999), singer, composer, member of the original Impressions vocal group, looking back on his history and motivations in 1995. The interviewer was Omar Neal, of 1600 AM WXVI radio in Montgomery Alabama.
Creator
Curtis Mayfield
Omar Neal
Publisher
Birmingham Black Radio Museum
Date
1995
Contributor
Bob Friedman
Joe Wright
Emily Bibb
Format
JPG
MP3
PDF
Language
English
Identifier
MayfieldOH
Interviewer
Omar Neal
Interviewee
Curtis Mayfield
Transcription
Transcript from audio snippet:
Omar Neal: Talk about your experience with The Impressions how you got with them and how that came about.
Curtis Mayfield: Well when I met The Impressions I think I was about 12, 13 years old and actually we started out as The Roosters…
ON: The Roosters..
CM: Fellas out of Chattanooga, TN, came up to Chicago looking for a break and they in turn met Jerry Butler whom I sang with years ago when I was about 7, 8 years old in my grandmother’s church. we were known as the Northern Jubilees. Anyway we somehow, we all hooked up together, I hadn’t seen Jerry in years. And I managed to move to the near north side which was known as Cabrini Green you might have heard about...
ON: Yeah I’ve heard..
CM: Carbrini Green from one of the movies called “Good Times” with Jay Jay...
Omar Neal: Talk about your experience with The Impressions how you got with them and how that came about.
Curtis Mayfield: Well when I met The Impressions I think I was about 12, 13 years old and actually we started out as The Roosters…
ON: The Roosters..
CM: Fellas out of Chattanooga, TN, came up to Chicago looking for a break and they in turn met Jerry Butler whom I sang with years ago when I was about 7, 8 years old in my grandmother’s church. we were known as the Northern Jubilees. Anyway we somehow, we all hooked up together, I hadn’t seen Jerry in years. And I managed to move to the near north side which was known as Cabrini Green you might have heard about...
ON: Yeah I’ve heard..
CM: Carbrini Green from one of the movies called “Good Times” with Jay Jay...
Duration
Full interview: 60 minutes
Audio snippet: 2 minutes
Audio snippet: 2 minutes
Files
Collection
Citation
Curtis Mayfield and Omar Neal, “Curtis Mayfield, Oral History,” The Birmingham Black Radio Museum, accessed September 7, 2026, https://thebbrm.org/item/85.
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