SHORT TAKES : Mayfield Critical but Stable

Rhythm and blues singer Curtis Mayfield remained in critical but stable condition early today, three days after being hit by a lighting tower at a concert, a hospital administrator said.

Mayfield, 48, suffered head and neck trauma Monday night when the tower landed on top of him as he took the outdoor stage at a Brooklyn high school, authorities said. The tower was toppled by sudden winds of up to 50 m.p.h., police said.

Mayfield, a founding member of the Impressions who also composed the soundtrack for the movie “Superfly,” was being treated at Kings County Hospital, said Clarence Vickers, a hospital administrator.

Vickers confirmed that Mayfield suffered paralysis, but declined to specify its extent or whether it was considered permanent.