When H.E.R. won an Oscar for Best Original Song for “Judas and the Black Messiah” in 2021, she used her acceptance to thank some of her biggest influences, including Sly and the Family Stone, Stevie Wonder, and Curtis Mayfield. But when articles about her speech began popping up online, she noticed that Mayfield was the name that websites always cut from the headlines.
That experience convinced H.E.R. that Mayfield, a soul legend whose legacy spanned ’60s hits with The Impressions…