#94 Super Fly by Curtis Mayfield
The 100 Greatest Albums of All Time
- 2025 Album Rank
- 94
- 2011 Album Rank
- 82
- Total Points
- 688.5
- Year Released
- 1972
- Billboard 200 Chart Peak
- 1
- Weeks at #1
- 4
- RIAA Sales Certification
- 500,000 (Gold)
- Buy Album
- Apple Music Amazon
Super Fly Album Details
Released in July 1972, Super Fly is Curtis Mayfield's landmark soundtrack for the blaxploitation film of the same name. More than a companion to the movie, the album functions as a socially conscious counter-narrative, critiquing the glamorization of drug culture and inner-city violence depicted in the film. With its blend of gritty funk, lush orchestration, and poignant lyricism, Super Fly became both a commercial success and a political statement, solidifying Mayfield's place as one of soul music's most profound voices.
Driven by hits like Freddie's Dead and Superfly, the album delivers commentary on poverty, addiction, and survival with rare clarity and compassion. Mayfield's falsetto and sharp production work, layered with wah-wah guitars, congas, and cinematic strings, created an atmosphere both urgent and deeply melodic. Super Fly remains one of the few soundtracks to surpass the film it accompanied, and it helped redefine the role of Black music in American cinema.
Interesting Facts About Super Fly
- Super Fly was one of the first soundtracks to outsell the film it was based on. It reached No. 1 on both the Billboard pop and R&B charts.
- Though the film often portrayed drug dealers as stylish antiheroes, Mayfield's lyrics offered a sobering critique, especially in tracks like Pusherman and Freddie's Dead.
- Freddie's Dead was released as a single before the album and became a Top 10 hit, despite its grim subject matter. The song is not actually heard in the film, only its instrumental version is used.
- Pusherman opens with a whispering falsetto and features one of the most iconic basslines in 1970s soul, along with a minimal but unforgettable wah-wah guitar groove.
- Mayfield produced, arranged, and wrote the entire album himself. His control over the project allowed him to embed themes of Black empowerment and critique into every track.
- While most blaxploitation soundtracks celebrated the protagonist's swagger, Mayfield took a more nuanced approach, painting the characters as both victims and participants in systemic failure.
- Little Child Runnin' Wild begins the album with a stark portrait of urban disillusionment, setting the tone for the rest of the record's realism and emotional depth.
- The album's sophisticated string and horn arrangements were overseen by Johnny Pate, who had previously worked with Mayfield in The Impressions and contributed to the record's cinematic feel.
- Mayfield recorded most of the album at RCA Studios in Chicago, where he had set up Curtom Records, giving him full autonomy over production and distribution.
- The album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998 for its cultural and historical significance.
Super Fly Tracklist
- Little Child Runnin' Wild
- Pusherman
- Freddie's Dead - Reached #4 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart
- Junkie Chase
- Give Me Your Love (Love Song)
- Eddie You Should Know Better
- No Thing on Me (Cocaine Song)
- Think
- Superfly - Reached #8 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart
