Curtis Mayfield Net Worth | Celebrity Net Worth

What was Curtis Mayfield’s Net Worth?

Curtis Mayfield was an iconic American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and record producer, who had an estimated net worth of $4 million at the time of his passing. This is equivalent to approximately $7 million in today’s currency when adjusted for inflation. Mayfield is celebrated as one of the most significant African-American artists who infused social commentary into music, becoming a musical backdrop for the civil rights movement of the 1960s.

Early Years

Curtis Lee Mayfield was born on June 3, 1942, at Cook County Hospital in Chicago. The son of Kenneth and Marion (Washington) Mayfield, he grew up with four siblings. When Mayfield was just five, his father abandoned the family, leading his mother, Mariam, to relocate them to various public housing projects.

At the age of seven, Curtis took the stage for the first time, performing live in church with the Northern Jubilee Gospel Singers. He soon became an active member of the gospel choir.

In 1956, Mayfield’s family moved to Chicago’s north side, where he enrolled in William H. Wells Community Academy High School—a public school he would eventually leave after two years. That same year, he received his first guitar, taught himself to play, and formed a musical group called the Alphatones.

The Impressions

In 1957, Curtis Mayfield developed a friendship with Jerry Butler. Together with the Brooks brothers, Arthur and Richard, they formed a group known as The Roosters. The following year, the group rebranded as The Impressions, welcoming Sam Gooden into the mix. After Butler’s departure, Fred Cash joined the group. The Impressions’ music resonated with the civil rights movement of the 1960s, featuring powerful songs like “We’re A Winner” and “Move On Up.”

In 1965, Mayfield composed “People Get Ready,” the title track for their album, which became their defining hit. It peaked at number three on the Billboard R&B chart and number fourteen on the Billboard Hot 100. Rolling Stone later ranked it as the 24th greatest song of all time, and it was recognized in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998.

Mayfield continued with The Impressions, who were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, until 1970.

Going Solo

In 1970, after his departure from The Impressions to embark on a solo career, Curtis Mayfield released his debut solo album, “Curtis,” which achieved success, entering the top 20. He collaborated on soundtracks with notable artists like Aretha Franklin and Mavis Maples, and began penning music for other performers such as Walter Jackson and Jan Bradley.

In 1972, he composed the soundtrack for “Super Fly,” an American crime drama about a drug dealer’s quest for freedom from the underworld. The album made it to number 72 on Rolling Stone’s list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and sold over 12 million copies. Two tracks, “Freddie’s Dead” and “Super Fly,” each received gold certification for over a million copies sold.

The following year, Mayfield released “Back to the World,” which addressed the impacts of the Vietnam War, reaching number one on the R&B albums chart.

In 1982, he relocated his family to Atlanta, shutting down his recording studio in Chicago, where he operated his Mayfield, Windy C, and Curtom labels.

(Photo by Jack Vartoogian/Getty Images)

Tragedy

On August 13, 1990, a tragic accident occurred when a gust of wind knocked a stage light loose during a sound check at Wingate Field in Brooklyn, New York. The light fell and struck Mayfield just as he was being introduced, leaving him pinned under the rigging, resulting in a broken neck and three crushed vertebrae, which left him paralyzed from the neck down. Despite this devastating injury preventing him from playing the guitar, he discovered that he could still sing while lying down. He adapted to this new reality and recorded his final album, “New World Order,” in 1996, recording it line by line while reclined.

Accolades

In 1994, Curtis Mayfield was awarded a Grammy Legend Award, followed by a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award the next year. He was again inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999, this time as a solo artist.

The song “People Get Ready” was recognized as one of the Top 10 Best Songs of All Time by Mojo magazine. In 2019, “Super Fly” was selected for preservation by the Library of Congress, celebrated for its cultural, historical, or aesthetic significance.

Just before his passing, Mayfield was honored by being inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

The Music Lives On

Annually, the Curtis Mayfield Scholarship is granted to one outstanding graduating senior at the Chicago High School for the Arts and another at the DeKalb School for the Arts in Atlanta, Georgia. These $3,000 scholarships are awarded based on financial need and musical talent, with a preference for students pursuing college majors in performance, composition, or songwriting. They are funded by the BMI Foundation.

Personal Life

Curtis Mayfield was married twice and had ten children: two with his first wife Helen, two with a partner named Diane, and six with his second wife Altheida Marie (Sims), who passed away in 2021 following a two-year battle with cancer. Seventeen years prior to her death, Altheida Mayfield established the Curtis Mayfield Foundation to assist economically disadvantaged students in obtaining music scholarships.

In 1998, Curtis underwent amputation of his right leg due to diabetes complications. He passed away on December 26, 1999, at North Fulton Regional Hospital in Roswell, Georgia, from complications related to type 2 diabetes.