• January 01, 2000
• Vol. 53
• No. 1

Heart and Soul

Rock and Roll Legend Curtis Mayfield Leaves a Lasting Impression—as Much for His Life as for His Music

In his dreams, Curtis Mayfield was still whole, singing in his fragile falsetto or composing another epic song. "Very few times have I dreamed I was a quadriplegic," he told PEOPLE in 1997. Having suffered from diabetes and complications of a devastating 1990 concert accident, he sometimes woke with tears in his eyes. "But that's as far as I allow it to go," he said, "because during the day there will be something uplifting, and you shoot for the sky."

Mayfield, who died Dec. 26 at age 57 in Atlanta, was himself a source of inspiration. Twice elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame—first with the Impressions and last year as a solo artist—he was one of the top soul singers of the '60s, praised for injecting a social conscience into rhythm and blues as well as for penning such hits as "People Get Ready" and "Superfly." "Curtis is to soul music," Aretha Franklin said, "what Bach was to the classics."

He was equally admired for his spirit. A product of Chicago public housing, Mayfield was paralyzed from the neck down when a lighting rig collapsed on him. He never grew bitter. His wife, Altheida, says that she "watched him die a little each day for 10 years," but he always fought back. So when he lapsed into a coma before Christmas, she did not see the end coming. He woke once Christmas night to ask for water and tell her he loved her. By morning he was gone. "But you know what I think?" she says. "I think Curtis is walking again and is up there singing with the angels."