Curtis Mayfield | "Here But I'm Gone"

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This was on Curtis Mayfield's final album New World Order, which was released in 1997. He was paralyzed from the neck down several years earlier by falling stage lighting. By this point, he was in such bad condition that he recorded this entire album (his first since the accident) lying on his back because it was the only way he could get enough air into his lungs to sing. He had to record the entire album one line at a time.

This is the highlight of his final album and one of my favorites by him.

Lauryn Hill recorded a remix using his vocals for the soundtrack to film remake of The Mod Squad, which came out several months before Mayfield's death in 1999. Eric Clapton has also performed this live many times in concert.

Album version



Part 2 featuring Lauryn Hill



Eric Clapton live in Hyde Park in 2008