Song of the Day 10/14: Curtis Mayfield, “(Don’t Worry) If There’s a Hell Below, We’re All Going to Go”

When Curtis Mayfield left his group for a solo career in 1970, most people were expecting his solo LP “Curtis” to feature the sort of melodic, uplifting soul music that the Impressions had made their trademark. It did — “Move On Up,” one of Mayfield’s greatest songs, kicked off the LP’s second side and served as its second single.

But the track that opened the album and was released as its first single couldn’t be more different. “If There’s a Hell Below” offers a grim litany of the ills besetting the country and the world 50 years ago, and still beset it today. If it doesn’t sound revolutionary to you, consider that it came out the year before Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” and Sly Stone’s “There’s a Riot Goin’ On” made socially relevant funk and soul a big thing. Mayfield’s song didn’t achieve that level of mainstream success, but it reached No. 3 on the R&B chart, helping propel the LP to No. 1 on the R&B album chart.

The Afghan Whigs covered the song on a live EP in 1998. In deference to more modern sensibilities, and cognizant of their race, they substituted “blacks” for the n-word in the original.