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    'We're A Winner' Married Black Pride To An Irresistible Beat

    Curtis Mayfield's previous songs for The Impressions had often been broadly inspirational — but here, he aimed his pen directly at black listeners, pledging that better times were ahead.
    by Eric Deggans Aug 02, 2019 5 minutes
    The Impressions circa 1970. Left to right: Curtis Mayfield, Fred Cash and Sam Gooden.

    This story is part of American Anthem, a yearlong series on songs that rouse, unite, celebrate and call to action. Find more at NPR.org/Anthem.

    From its first few bars, filled with funky drums, a percolating guitar line and the glorious noise of people laughing and enjoying themselves, "We're a Winner" — written by Curtis Mayfield and performed by his group The Impressions — unfolds like a soundtrack to the coolest party in town. But the song's lyrics, a direct message about black pride rarely heard on the radio in 1967, were as serious as death and taxes.

    We're a winner, and never let anybody say
    Boy, you can't make it 'cause a feeble mind is in your way
    No more tears do we cry, and we have finally dried our eyes
    And we're movin' on up

    I was 2 years old when "We're a Winner" was released, but I grew

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