A Piece of the Action

by Andrew HamiltonMusic by Curtis Mayfield is featured on the soundtrack album from the 1977 movie A Piece of the Action, which starred Bill Cosby and Sidney Poitier. After composing scores for Superfly, Let's Do It Again, Claudine, and Short Eyes, movie scores were old hat to Mayfield, but nothing clicked this time around. Supposedly, this was originally Roberta Flack's project (or this was told to Mavis Staples to motivate her). Staples got a call to add her vocals to tracks Mayfield had finished except for some sweetening. But it's hard -- no, impossible -- imagining Flack singing these funky songs, so the story about her cancelling out of the project because of personal problems seems far-fetched. In addition, Mayfield's manager, Marv Stuart, told Staples he was paying her half what was promised Flack; this was intended to further ignite Staples, who insisted on and received what was (supposedly) offered Flack. These were mind games to get Staples chomping at the bit. As further motivation, Mayfield insisted that the vocals be completed in only three days. Artistically, the psyche job worked; the album is one of the '70s overlooked gems. Warner Bros. (Curtom's distributor) simply fumbled the ball. They soured on the project when the title track only managed a scrawny showing of 47 on the R&B chart. Though a commercial failure, the album is loaded with funky joints ("Chocolate City," "Orientation") and sexual innuendo pieces ("Getting Deeper," "Koochie, Koochie, Koochie," "Good Lovin' Daddy"). For eye candy, the album features a Vogue quality picture of Staples that's so sweet you'll kiss the cardboard cover.