Often called the Poet of the Blues, Mayfield was as adept with urbane plaints as he was with rowdy R&B numbers. Perhaps more successful as a songwriter, he scored big in 1950 with the classically understated "Please Send Me Someone to Love." His legendary groover, "Hit the Road Jack," is one of Ray Charles's most famous songs ever and was the product of a mutually fruitful relationship during the '60s, as Charles released of number of Mayfield's own solo recordings on his Tangerine label. Mayfield performed into the '70s and '80s; however, life-long battles with the bottle led to a fatal 1984 heart-attack.