Released July ’72 Superfly was Curtis Mayfield’s 3rd solo studio album and was the first of his solo soundtrack work. Widely considered as the “Sgt Peppers” of Blaxspoitation soundtracks Super Fly became an immediate hit with sales of two million singles for the track “Freddie’s Dead” wich reached number 2 on the R&B charts and number 4 Pop the pop charts. The title track “Superfly” reached number 5 on the R&B charts and number 8 Pop charts. Super Fly is one of the few soundtracks to out-gross the film it accompanied.

Superfly, along with Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” were pioneering Soul/Funk albums that talked about social issues concerning the Black community of America. These albums mark the musical beginnings of commercial music exposing social issues of the time. Due to its success, Mayfield was tapped for several film soundtracks over the course of the decade.