Traveling Soul (32 page)

Curtis's grandmother Annie Bell; his father, Mannish; his aunt Mercedes's son Junior; and Mannish's wife Rosie, Chicago, date unknown.
COURTESY JUDITH MAYFIELD

The White Eagle Hotel, Chicago, where Curtis and his family lived in the late 1940s.
COPYRIGHT 2015, THE CHICAGO MAROON. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION

Curtis in Chattanooga in 1958 after the release of “For Your Precious Love.” He would soon lose the processed hair look.
AUTHOR'S COLLECTION

Curtis in his family's Cabrini-Green row house, May 1959.
AUTHOR'S COLLECTION

Curtis at age eighteen with his first car, a 1952 Mercedes, at Cabrini-Green in 1960.
AUTHOR'S COLLECTION

Curtis's mother, Marion, outside the family's Cabrini-Green home, Chicago 1963.
AUTHOR'S COLLECTION

Curtis at the Apollo Theater in New York City, performing with the Impressions circa 1959.
AUTHOR'S COLLECTION

The Impressions rehearsing in the studio, Chicago circa 1965.
AUTHOR'S COLLECTION

Curtis and Jackie Wilson, circa 1967.
AUTHOR'S COLLECTION

Curtis and Todd Mayfield, Chicago 1968.
AUTHOR'S COLLECTION

The Impressions in Los Angeles circa 1969.
AUTHOR'S COLLECTION

Curtis at the Miss Black America pageant 1969.
AUTHOR'S COLLECTION

Backstage before a concert, circa 1973. Curtis's partner Diane and her son Tracy; Curtis, daughter Sharon, and son Todd; and Grandma Sadie.
COURTESY DIANE MAYFIELD