He was born July 3, 1942 in the Cabrini-Green housing projects, Chicago’s North Side, part of a single parent, seven member family in a small apartment. Mayfield first sang before the public in his grandmother’s Traveling Soul Spiritualists’ Church at age 7, the church where he obtained and retained his lifelong appreciation of black gospel music. He would also appreciate the electric blues music, newly flourishing around him in Chicago, a form of black music soon to have such an impact on young white rockers the world over. Completing the circle of Mayfield’s talent was his mother’s enthusiasm for poetry that he inherited and turned into the song lyric.
A Learning Curve. Self taught on guitar by his very early teens, Mayfield’s approach to this instrument was also distinctive, tuning the guitar to the black keys of the piano. It was to provide him with a idiosyncratic sound throughout his career (learning bass guitar, piano, saxophone and drums came later). He was also singing, in a gentle tenor voice that made much use of falsetto.
High School Drop Out. At age 16. Mayfield quit school, leaving to form a five piece group called The Roosters. Later the name would change to The Impressions. The lead singer was Jerry Butler, fellow member of Mayfield’s grandmother’s congregation. In 1958, a year after Mayfield left school, The Impressions scored a national hit “For Your Precious Love” – one of the songs heralding the emergence of Chicago Soul of the Sixties. Butler (and his lead voice) went solo after “For Your Precious Love,” leaving most of the responsibilities for The Impressions to Mayfield, who shouldered it well.
Making An Impressions. Mayfield was now in charge of a group that had morphed from five to three pieces, a rarity, vocally, in the r&b/soul field at that time. But Mayfield turned it to his advantage, taking over (that distinctive falsetto, again) as lead singer and putting together arrangements and harmonies for three voices that worked to set the group apart. Result: The Impressions became a powerhouse group of the Soulful Sixties, with a consistent string of chart hits. The group even managed to take a stand against the arrival of The Beatles as chart dominators. When the British Invasion started - 1964 - The Impressions racked up no less than five Top 20 hits that year, all crafted and tailored by Mayfield. [
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