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Wonder, Gaye, or Mayfield?

parallaxparallax no-style-having mf'er 1,266 Posts
edited April 2011 in Strut Central
Musically, which artist had the greatest impact on you?

I added Curtis Mayfield but forgot to add his name to the poll title (fail!)...
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  Comments

  • dammsdamms 704 Posts
    Gaye for me
  • pickwick33pickwick33 8,946 Posts
    No offense, but this seems like the umpteenth time around on Soul Strut for this topic.
  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    Off The Wall
  • leonleon 883 Posts
    Stevie FTW
  • SoultakerSoultaker 9 Posts
    Mayfield
  • KineticKinetic 3,739 Posts
    leon said:
    Stevie FTW
    LOL
  • RaystarRaystar 1,106 Posts
    Gotta be Stevie, he's been doing it before and after the others... Stevie is my favorite of all time.
  • pickwick33pickwick33 8,946 Posts
    Raystar said:
    Gotta be Stevie, he's been doing it before and after the others... Stevie is my favorite of all time.

    Mayfield was probably around the longest, since 1958. "For Your Precious Love" (recorded when Mayfield was still with the Impressions) was kicking up noise long before Wonder or Gaye came on the scene.
  • RaystarRaystar 1,106 Posts
    Curtis has been dead since 99... Curtis started in 56... he had like a seven year head start on Stevie... Stevie's career as of today has been longer. [url-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevie_Wonder]Stevie[/url] did "Fingertips" in 63. Then again I guess the Wiki is correct.
  • hendravishendravis 689 Posts
    It would be sort of like going from prime rib to???I don't know???weird brother of prime rib
  • Bon VivantBon Vivant The Eye of the Storm 2,018 Posts
    Raystar said:
    Gotta be Stevie, he's been doing it before and after the others... Stevie is my favorite of all time.

    Not really Marvin's fault that his Dad killed him 27 years ago. Maybe Stevie's been luckier?
  • SnappingSnapping 995 Posts
    Terrence Trent D'Arby
  • dirtydirty 93 Posts
    But Stevie did the snit without sight......




    without sight.
  • BernedoBernedo 70 Posts
    Curtis Mayfield is the musician who made the biggest impact on me by far. I think is one of the best songwriters and performers of his generation. Marvin and Stevie are genius too. I probably prefer the Wonder's way of singin', more 'luminous', Marvin is more 'sexual'. In my opinion, Curtis is the most talented. Stevie and Marvin are more 'stars', with a great personality and impact on the audience, each one in his way. But Curtis for me, no question.

    EDITED: 'There's no Place like America Today' and 'Billy Jack' in particular kicks everything.
  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts
    Bernedo said:

    'There's no Place like America Today' and 'Billy Jack' in particular kicks everything.

    Yes!


    Curtis Mayfield.
  • buttonbutton 1,475 Posts
    IMO What's Going On? is the best soul LP of all time, and yet I still have to vote Curtis.
  • buttonbutton 1,475 Posts
    pickwick33 said:
    No offense, but this seems like the umpteenth time around on Soul Strut for this topic.

    True, but now its official poll-style.
  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
    I voted Marvin. What's Going On, Let's Get It On I think have a greater emotional impact on me today than any of the others records.

    Which has had the greatest impact on my life I don't know.
    Each has a powerful impact.

    There is an Impression's song that lives in my head all the time, Who's The Fool? That's a big impact.

    Stevie was on tv this afternoon. I was so struck by how great his melodies are. The best. Up there with Brahms. Plus his Harmonies are so sophisticated, strange that jazz cats don't cover more of his songs.

    Hey! It's Raystar!
  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
  • incompletejigsawincompletejigsaw 756 Posts
    I voted for Mr. Mayfield. But that doesn't take away from the impact that both Marvin and Stevie have had on me. Every album Curtis made you can tell he put his all into it and I was moved by them. Curtis' voice to me is angelic. Something about the way he evoked a seriousness and sensualness into every syllable he uttered made me a fan.
  • waxjunkywaxjunky 1,848 Posts
    LaserWolf said:


    Hey! It's Raystar!
  • RockadelicRockadelic Out Digging 13,993 Posts
    Gaye & Stevie both have a run of 3-4 great LP's......Gaye's early stuff holds up better than Stevie's.

    Curtis had virtually no peaks and valleys in his career....consistent from beginning to end.
  • CastenedaCasteneda 100 Posts
    All are great, but I would definitely put Mayfield #1, because he wrote a million great tracks with The Impressions for 10+ years, then his first three solo albums were amazing.

    Wonder a close #2. 1971-75 he went on a great run of five straight albums that are all masterpieces, or at least near masterpieces.

    Gaye a distant #3, although still great. "What's Going On" is amazing, and he had some great singles, but I'm not as high on Gaye as I am with Mayfield and Wonder (whom I consider, along with Sam Cooke, James Brown, and Bill Withers, as the five best male soul artists of all-time).
  • IronfeetIronfeet 516 Posts
    Well this never ending argument LOL I love it.... Pending on the day but most of the time It's Mayfield and Wonder for me... Gaye he's not bad was he on Motown?
  • HorseleechHorseleech 3,830 Posts
    Mayfield, for having the widest ranging talent (writer, producer, singer) and the sheer consistency of his work over several decades.
  • buttonbutton 1,475 Posts
    I remember reading somewhere that David Ruffin was Marvin Gaye's favorite singer. I wonder who Stevie and Curtis would have picked.
  • CadenceCadence 4 Posts
    As great as Marvin was (and he WAS), it's a two man race between Stevie and Curtis for me. I voted Stevie, but might have gone the other way on another day.

    As others noted, Curtis gets points for consistency, but I also think of that as a weakness in a way. A lot of songs were cut form the same couple of molds over the course of his career--granted they were a GREAT molds though...

    Stevie gets points for the variation in his catalog over his career. If you listen to his early Motown stuff, it's almost hard to imagine it came from the same artist who made Songs in the Key of Life. Of course some of that is becuase he grew up--we never heard "Little Curtis Mayfield," right? So we don't know as much about his progression.

    But really, you can't go wrong with any of the three.
  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    Here My Dear > over both dudes catalogs
  • jamesjames chicago 1,863 Posts
    I like Curtis a lot, and his music might mean more to me these days, but when I think about it I realize that I appreciate him mostly through things I learned from listening to Stevie.

    So, Stevie for me.
  • InnerSpaceInnerSpace 443 Posts
    Stevie for me. He has the ability to write songs that rip my heart out, feel real joy and dance without caring. All the while musically blowing my mind. God is Love. Love is Blind. Stevie Wonder is Blind. Stevie Wonder = God.
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