- 01Super FlyCurtis MayfieldBut it did Super Fly .from the chapter
- 02ShaftIsaac HayesTo understand the category around Super Fly , you have to go back a year, to another movie, Shaft .from the chapter
- 03LifeSly & the Family StoneHe had been a pioneering photographer with Life magazine in the 1950s and ’60s, had written a memoir, and had made a movie based on it.from the chapter
- 04“Praise You”Fatboy SlimOnscreen, though, Shaft turned Black, in the person of Richard Roundtree, and the co-stars included Moses Gunn, a classically trained actor with perhaps the coolest name in history, and Camille Yarbrough, a performance poet and stage actress , the sultry voice that holds the …from the chapter
- 05“By the Time I Get to Phoenix”Isaac HayesHayes reemerged as a performer, and a specific kind of performer, delivering albums filled with long, orchestrated versions of pop songs like “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” and “Walk On By,” not to mention originals like “Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic.” He was the label’s …from the chapter
- 06“Walk On By”Isaac HayesHayes reemerged as a performer, and a specific kind of performer, delivering albums filled with long, orchestrated versions of pop songs like “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” and “Walk On By,” not to mention originals like “Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic.” He was the label’s …from the chapter
- 07“Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic”Isaac HayesHayes reemerged as a performer, and a specific kind of performer, delivering albums filled with long, orchestrated versions of pop songs like “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” and “Walk On By,” not to mention originals like “Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic.” He was the label’s …from the chapter
- 08“Soulsville”Isaac HayesHayes was actually considered for the lead role in Shaft , but instead he got the soundtrack gig.from the chapter
- 09“Ellie’s Love Theme”Isaac HayesHayes was actually considered for the lead role in Shaft , but instead he got the soundtrack gig.from the chapter
- 10“It’s Your Thing”Isley BrothersThen there’s the immortal wah-wah guitar played by Charles “Skip” Pitts, who only a year or so before had played an equally immortal part on the Isley Brothers’ “It’s Your Thing.” Then the rest of the band, flute, horns, piano.from the chapter
- 11CurtisCurtis MayfieldRecorded by Curtis Mayfield as his third studio solo album, after Curtis in 1970 (that’s the one where he’s in the foreground of the cover photo wearing yello …from the chapter
- 12RootsCurtis Mayfield… ed by Curtis Mayfield as his third studio solo album, after Curtis in 1970 (that’s the one where he’s in the foreground of the cover photo wearing yellow pants) and Roots in 1971 (brown jacket, sitting at the base of a tree), Super Fly was, from the looks of the album cover, a collision of messages.from the chapter
- 13“Little Child Runnin’ Wild”Curtis MayfieldIt was a battle, and from the first seconds of the album, Mayfield won the war.from the chapter
- 14“Runaway Child, Running Wild”the Temptations“Little Child Runnin’ Wild,” the opener, nods to the Temptations’ “Runaway Child, Running Wild,” which had been released back in 1969, moving further into the hardening (and darkening) counterculture of the ’70s.from the chapter
- 15“Pusherman”Curtis MayfieldIt was a battle, and from the first seconds of the album, Mayfield won the war.from the chapter
- 16“Strange Fruit”Billie HolidayBrooks’s movie was both as brutal and as empathetic an act of Jewish articulation of Black pain as “Strange Fruit” (and not in a carpetbagging way—the movie was famously co-written by Richard Pryor), but it wouldn’t come out until 1974.from the chapter
- 17New World OrderCurtis MayfieldHe heroically managed one more record, New World Order in 1996, and died in 1999.from the chapter
- 18“Think”the “5,” RoyalesBy 1972, there were already two classic soul songs called “Think.” There was the Lowman Pauling version, recorded by the Royals and then the “5” Royales and famously covered by James Brown in 1960.from the chapter
- 19“Think”Aretha FranklinAnd then there’s of course the Aretha Franklin version, which first burst out of the gate in ’68 and was back for the Blues Brothers (not to mention a 1989 cover by the Queen herself).from the chapter
- 20“Think”Curtis MayfieldMayfield’s album ends with the classic title track, but for me its signal song is the next-to-last, a longish instrumental called “Think.” The title is audacious, in its own subtle way.from the chapter
- 21“Say Aha”Questlove’s pickSantigoldSanti’s pop-writing zone was masterful, as she proved on the 2001 Res album How I Do .from the chapter
- 22How I DoSantigoldSanti’s pop-writing zone was masterful, as she proved on the 2001 Res album How I Do .from the chapter
- 23“I Need Your Lovin”Questlove’s pickHuman LeagueI asked Jimmy Jam why he didn’t save this song for Alexander O’Neal—he would have torn it out the frame.from the chapter
- 24“Mr. Knight”Questlove’s pickJohn ColtraneI know the world thinks mostly about A Love Supreme .from the chapter
- 25A Love SupremeJohn ColtraneI know the world thinks mostly about A Love Supreme .from the chapter
- 26“Whisper Softly”Questlove’s pickKool & the GangI study no band harder than Kool and the Gang.from the chapter
- 27“Girl I Think the World About You”Questlove’s pickCommodoresThere was a time period on albums by Black artists where the hits were the songs that didn’t scare middle America and the filler was showing off how good your report card was.from the chapter
- 28“Soup for One”Questlove’s pickChicProbably my all-time favorite Chic song and underrated because it’s on a soundtrack.from the chapter
- 29“Reach Your Peak”Questlove’s pickSister SledgeIt’s really hard to capture an understated compelling keyboard performance, especially in the post-disco period.from the chapter
- 30“My Old Piano”Questlove’s pickDiana RossI’m probably the only listener of this song who doesn’t see this as “Diana’s Chic song,” even though they are all over her entire album.from the chapter
- 31“Sing a Happy Song”Questlove’s pickWarThink of the irony of the whole presentation: a band called War singing “Sing a Happy Song” on a soundtrack called Youngblood .from the chapter
- 32YoungbloodWarThink of the irony of the whole presentation: a band called War singing “Sing a Happy Song” on a soundtrack called Youngblood .from the chapter
- 33“Shortberry Strawcake”Questlove’s pickSheila E.Prince breezed through this instrumental in maybe forty-five minutes.from the chapter
- 34“(If You Want My Love) Put Somethin’ Down on It”Questlove’s pickBobby WomackRod Stewart gave this song the shaft by stealing its melody for “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?” But Rod was smart about knowing exactly which part to elevate.from the chapter
- 35“Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?”Rod StewartRod Stewart gave this song the shaft by stealing its melody for “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?” But Rod was smart about knowing exactly which part to elevate.from the chapter