Curtis Mayfield: Our 1996 “New World Order” Interview (Audio)

A Legendary Songwriter Details His Final Album

Curtis Mayfield’s uplifting songs with the Impressions and on his solo releases became part of the soundtrack of the lives of countless listeners in the 1960s and beyond. Like Bob Marley, he excelled at creating music equally suited for the prison yard and the cathedral. He framed his songs with an exquisite guitar style set in the unusual tuning of F#, A#, C#, F#, A#, F#, from low to high. (Jimi Hendrix’s guitar playing on “Little Wing” is a veritable textbook of Curtis Mayfield-isms.)

Curtis’s performing career came to a sudden halt in 1990, when he was struck onstage by a piece of windblown lighting equipment. This accident left him paralyzed from the neck down. Unable to play guitar, Curtis continued to compose music from his bed. In 1996 he released New World Order, his first album of new songs since the accident. His lyrics stayed true to his lifelong message of love and acceptance.

Warner Brothers sent me an advance CD of New World Order and arranged for me to do this phone interview on August 30, 1996:

An article based on this conversation was published in the December 1996 issue of Guitar Player magazine. New World Order would be Curtis Mayfield’s final album. He passed away on December 26, 1999.

Thanks to engineer/producer Nik Hunt for filming the intro and outro and enhancing the sound of the original master interview tapes.

To help us continue producing podcasts of guitar-intensive interviews, please become a paid subscriber ($5 a month, $40 a year) or hit that donate button. Paid subscribers have complete access to all of the 130+ articles and podcasts posted in Talking Guitar. Thank you for your support!

©2024 Jas Obrecht. All rights reserved.