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Roots (Curtis Mayfield album)

1971 studio album by Curtis Mayfield

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 22, 2026
Entity authorityQ7366623 ↗
Source-derived summary

Roots is the second studio album by American soul musician Curtis Mayfield, released in October 1971. Having received critical praise from a variety of publications, the album is regarded as not just one of Mayfield's best works but also as a classic release of the '70s soul era, with AllMusic critic Bruce Eder stating that "the album soars on some of the sweetest and most eloquent... soul sounds heard up to that time". The album peaked at No. 6 on Billboard's Top R&B Albums chart.

Track listing

Original release

All songs written and composed by Curtis Mayfield, except as noted.

"Get Down" – 5:45

"Keep On Keeping On" – 5:08

"Underground" – 5:15

"We Got to Have Peace" – 4:44

"Beautiful Brother of Mine" – 7:23

"Now You're Gone" (Mayfield, Joseph Scott) – 6:50

"Love to Keep You in My Mind" – 3:48

Bonus tracks

In 1999, Rhino Records re-released the album with four bonus tracks including a demo version of "Underground" and single edits for "Get Down", "We Got to Have Peace", and "Beautiful Brother of Mine".

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Roots (Curtis Mayfield album)” is 1971 studio album by Curtis Mayfield. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Roots, Curtis and Mayfield, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA productive route into publication, performance and collection histories when the underlying object or edition remains clearly identified. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1971, 1999—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1971-10. For this dossier, Roots, Curtis and Mayfield is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “1971 studio album by Curtis Mayfield” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7366623. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1971 and 1999.

Critical limits

Titles can refer to several editions, objects or performances, making precise identification essential before interpretation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

Best used for
  • Identifying works and editions
  • Tracing reception history
  • Finding collection records
Verify next

The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Roots (Curtis Mayfield album)”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Roots (Curtis Mayfield album) primary sources, Roots (Curtis Mayfield album) archive and Roots research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Roots (Curtis Mayfield album)”?
  2. Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
  3. Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
Subject index

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Roots (Curtis Mayfield album)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.