Super Fly (soundtrack)

Super Fly
Soundtrack album / studio album by Curtis Mayfield
Released	July 11, 1972
Recorded	December 1971 – May 1972
Studio	RCA (Chicago) Bell Sound (New York City)
Genre	Psychedelic soul[1] funk[2] progressive soul[3] cinematic soul[4]
Length	36:58
Label	Curtom
Producer	Curtis Mayfield
Curtis Mayfield chronology
Roots (1971) Super Fly (1972) Back to the World (1973)
Alternative cover
Deluxe 25th anniversary edition cover
Singles from Super Fly
"Freddie's Dead" Released: July 1972 "Superfly" Released: October 1972

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[5]
Billboard	(favorable)[6]
Christgau's Record Guide	A−[7]
Los Angeles Times	[8]
Pitchfork	9.1/10[9]
Q	[10]
Rolling Stone	(favorable) 1972[11]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	2004[12]
Sputnikmusic	[13]
Vibe	(favorable)[14]

Super Fly is the third studio album by American soul musician Curtis Mayfield, released on July 11, 1972, by Curtom Records. It was released as the soundtrack for the Blaxploitation film of the same name. A classic of 1970s soul and funk music, Super Fly was a nearly immediate hit. Its sales were bolstered by two million-selling singles, "Freddie's Dead" (number 2 R&B charts, number 4 Pop charts) and the title track (number 5 R&B, number 8 Pop). Super Fly is one of the few soundtracks to out-gross the film it accompanied.^[15]

Super Fly, along with Marvin Gaye's What's Going On (1971), was one of the pioneering soul concept albums, with its then-unique socially aware lyrics about poverty and drug abuse making the album stand out.^[16][17] The film and the soundtrack may be perceived as dissonant, since the film holds rather ambiguous views on drug dealers, whereas Curtis Mayfield's position is far more critical. Like What's Going On, the album was a surprise hit that record executives felt had little chance at significant sales. Due to its success, Mayfield was tapped for several film soundtracks over the course of the decade.