He was paralysed in 1990 after being hit by a falling rig while he was performing on stage in Brooklyn, New York. Last year diabetes meant his right leg had to be amputated. In March, Mayfield was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame but he was too ill to attend the ceremony. It was the second time he had been inducted into the US rock establishment's elite list. In 1995 he received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement award to go with the Grammy Legend award he was presented with the previous year.
People Get Ready.
Born in Chicago on 3 June 1942, he was 14 when he formed The Roosters with Arthur and Richard Brooks and Jerry Butler. Will Break Your Heart. What's Going On. Move On Up, while his 1972 soundtrack to the film Superfly earned him four Grammy nominations, as well as providing fertile samples for hip-hop and dance producers in the decades to come. After You, a diatribe against then-prime minister Margaret Thatcher.