Curtis Mayfield - Superfly (Rhino High Fidelity)

Rhino High Fidelity 180g Black Vinyl, Numbered Edition of 5,000

This is Super Fly in Rhino High Fidelity, the label's audiophile series, in which Kevin Gray cuts every lacquer at Cohearent Audio and Optimal Media presses every disc. For this title Gray cut from the original analog stereo master tapes for an all-analog (AAA) result, pressed on 180-gram black vinyl in Germany. The record comes in a heavyweight glossy gatefold jacket with an exclusive insert carrying liner notes by Aaron Cohen, and the run is limited to 5,000 copies, each number printed on the back of its jacket.

Rhino first offered the edition through Rhino.com and select Warner Music Group stores. This UPC is its brick-and-mortar retail issue, street-dated August 14, 2026, with catalog number RHF1 728259 on the spine card.

The album first arrived in July 1972 on Curtom, Mayfield's own label, as his third studio album and the soundtrack to Gordon Parks Jr.'s film Super Fly, starring Ron O'Neal. It reached No. 1 on the Billboard album chart and earned a Grammy nomination for its score. "Freddie's Dead," the first single, was released ahead of the album and peaked at No. 4 on the Hot 100 and No. 2 on the R&B chart; it and the title song each sold a million copies and were certified gold.

Mayfield's lyrics comment on the drug trade the film portrays and criticize several of its characters directly. Writing in Rolling Stone in 1972, Bob Donat judged the soundtrack's anti-drug message far stronger and more definite than the movie's. On screen most of the songs, "Freddie's Dead" among them, are heard only as instrumentals; on the record, "Junkie Chase" and "Think" are the two pieces without vocals.

Later recognition followed. Rolling Stone placed Super Fly at No. 72 on its 2003 list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, the Library of Congress added it to the National Recording Registry in 2019, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame counts the title song among its 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll.

Tracklist

Side One

1. Little Child Runnin' Wild
2. Pusherman
3. Freddie's Dead
4. Junkie Chase (Instrumental)

Side Two

1. Give Me Your Love (Love Song)
2. Eddie You Should Know Better
3. No Thing on Me (Cocaine Song)
4. Think (Instrumental)
5. Superfly

Complete the Collection

Curtis Mayfield at Evergreen Vinyl: 4 albums, including this one.

• Curtis
• Curtis / Live!
• Roots