Curtis Mayfield merged R&B with complex grooves and trenchant lyrics for some of the most striking songs of the ‘70s funk era. He rose to fame with the Impressions, penning several Top 10 hits in the 1960s for them before departing in 1970. Mayfield scored his biggest solo hit in 1972 with the soundtrack to Super Fly, which set the template for his career: soulful lyrics about the urban experience backed by sweeping funk tracks. A debilitating accident in 1990 cut Mayfield's career short before his death in 1999, but his legacy remains as one of funk's most socially conscious figures.