Major Lance
Encyclopedia
Major Lance was an American
R&B
singer
. After a number of US hits in the 1960s, including "The Monkey Time" and "Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um
", he became an iconic figure in Britain in the 1970s among followers of Northern soul
.
. 'Major' was his given forename; it was not a nickname or stage name. As a child, he relocated with his family to Chicago, attending Wells High School — the same school as Curtis Mayfield
and Jerry Butler
— taking up boxing
and also singing as a member of the Five Gospel Harmonaires. In the mid-1950s, he and singer Otis Leavill
formed a group, the Floats, who broke up before recording any material. Lance became a featured dancer on a local TV
show, and presenter Jim Lounsbury secured him a one-off record deal with Mercury Records
, who released his single "I Got a Girl", written and produced by Curtis Mayfield, in 1959. The record was not successful, and Lance worked at various jobs over the next few years.
In 1962 he signed with OKeh Records
on Mayfield's recommendation. His first single, "Delilah", was not successful, but established his partnership with a writing and arranging team of Mayfield, Carl Davis
, and Johnny Pate
, often with members of Mayfield's group The Impressions on backing vocals. Together they developed a distinctive, Latin-tinged sound which epitomised Chicago soul
in contrast to music recorded elsewhere.
The second Okeh single, "The Monkey Time" (written by Curtis Mayfield
), became a #2 Billboard
R&B chart
and #8 pop
hit in 1963. A succession of hits followed quickly, including "Hey Little Girl", "Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um" (his biggest hit, reaching #5 in the US pop chart and #40 in the UK, where it was his only chart success), "The Matador" (the only one not written by Mayfield), "Rhythm", "Sometimes I Wonder", "Come See", and "Ain't It A Shame".
Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote:
In 1965, Pate left OKeh and Mayfield began to concentrate on working with his own group. Lance and Davis continued to work together, and "Too Hot To Hold" was a minor hit, but they had diminishing success before Davis in turn left the company. During this period, Lance toured in the UK, where he was supported by Bluesology
, a band including pianist Reggie Dwight, later known as Elton John
. Lance then worked with country music
producer Billy Sherrill
in Nashville
, producing another minor hit, "It's the Beat". Over the next two years he worked with several producers, with only "Without a Doubt" becoming a minor hit in 1968. Soon afterwards Lance left OKeh and moved to Dakar Records, where he had the Top 40 R&B hit "Follow the Leader." He then moved to Mayfield's Curtom
label, which resulted in his last two Top 40 R&B hits, "Stay Away From Me (I Love You too Much)" and "Must Be Love Coming Down." He left Curtom in 1971, and recorded briefly for the Volt and Columbia
labels.
In 1972, he relocated to England
, so as to capitalise on the success of his older records among fans of Northern Soul
music, in dance clubs which played mostly rare and obscure American soul and R&B records. According to one writer, "the Major's contribution was truly phenomenal and unforgettable...[He] was to become legendary as a UK club act, known to deliver 110% at every performance." While in England he recorded an album, Live at the Torch, a club in Stoke on Trent, which has been described as "perhaps the best Northern Soul album ever made".
Lance returned to Atlanta in 1974, and recorded an updated disco
version of "Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um" for Playboy Records
. He set up a new label, Osiris, with former Booker T and the MG's drummer Al Jackson, but again with little success, and his career hit a downward spiral. After recording briefly for the Motown Records
subsidiary label Soul, he was convicted of cocaine
possession in 1978 and served a four year prison term. On his release, he found that his recordings had become popular on the beach music
circuit in the Carolinas, where he continued to undertake live performances. He recorded a comeback album, The Major's Back, and several tracks for the Kat Family label.
However, his attempts to revive his career were thwarted by a heart attack in 1987, and he made no recordings thereafter. In 1994, he gave his final triumphant performance at the Chicago Blues Festival
. He died later that year at the age of 55, as a result of heart disease
, in Decatur, Georgia
. He was interred
at Washington Memory Gardens Cemetery in Homewood, Illinois
.
* Billboard magazine did not publish an R&B chart during 1964; these chart positions are from Cashbox magazine.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
singer
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
. After a number of US hits in the 1960s, including "The Monkey Time" and "Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um
Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um
"Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um" is a 1964 single by Major Lance. The single was written by Curtis Mayfield and produced by Okeh label president, Carl Davis. The song was Major Lance's third release to make the Billboard Hot 100 and his most successful hit. "Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um" went to number five on...
", he became an iconic figure in Britain in the 1970s among followers of Northern soul
Northern soul
Northern soul is a music and dance movement that emerged from the British mod scene, initially in northern England in the late 1960s. Northern soul mainly consists of a particular style of black American soul music based on the heavy beat and fast tempo of the mid-1960s Tamla Motown sound...
.
Life
Major Lance was born in Winterville, MississippiWinterville, Mississippi
Winterville is an unincorporated community located in Washington County, Mississippi, United States near Mississippi Highway 1. Winterville is approximately north of Greenville and approximately south of Lamont....
. 'Major' was his given forename; it was not a nickname or stage name. As a child, he relocated with his family to Chicago, attending Wells High School — the same school as Curtis Mayfield
Curtis Mayfield
Curtis Lee Mayfield was an American soul, R&B, and funk singer, songwriter, and record producer.He is best known for his anthemic music with The Impressions during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's and for composing the soundtrack to the blaxploitation film Super Fly, Mayfield is highly...
and Jerry Butler
Jerry Butler (singer)
Jerry Butler is an American soul singer and songwriter. He is also noted as being the original lead singer of the R&B vocal group, The Impressions, as well as a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee.Butler is also an American politician...
— taking up boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
and also singing as a member of the Five Gospel Harmonaires. In the mid-1950s, he and singer Otis Leavill
Otis Leavill
Otis Leavill was an American R&B singer, songwriter and record company executive.-Life and career:Otis Leavill Cobb was born in Dewey Rose, Elbert County, Georgia, and moved with his family to the West Side of Chicago at the age of two...
formed a group, the Floats, who broke up before recording any material. Lance became a featured dancer on a local TV
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
show, and presenter Jim Lounsbury secured him a one-off record deal with Mercury Records
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
, who released his single "I Got a Girl", written and produced by Curtis Mayfield, in 1959. The record was not successful, and Lance worked at various jobs over the next few years.
In 1962 he signed with OKeh Records
Okeh Records
Okeh Records began as an independent record label based in the United States of America in 1918. From 1926 on, it was a subsidiary of Columbia Records.-History:...
on Mayfield's recommendation. His first single, "Delilah", was not successful, but established his partnership with a writing and arranging team of Mayfield, Carl Davis
Carl Davis (record producer)
Carl H. Davis is an American record producer and music executive, who was particularly active in Chicago in the 1960s and 1970s when he was responsible for hit R&B records by Gene Chandler, Major Lance, Jackie Wilson, The Chi-Lites, Barbara Acklin, Tyrone Davis and others.-Life and career:He was...
, and Johnny Pate
Johnny Pate
Johnny Pate is a jazz bassist who late became a music arranger/producer, and a leading figure in Chicago soul as well as pop/R&B music....
, often with members of Mayfield's group The Impressions on backing vocals. Together they developed a distinctive, Latin-tinged sound which epitomised Chicago soul
Chicago soul
Chicago soul is a style of soul music that arose during the 1960s in Chicago. Along with Detroit, the home of Motown, and Memphis, with its hard-edged, gritty performers , Chicago and the Chicago soul style helped spur the album-oriented soul revolution of the early 1970s.The sound of Chicago...
in contrast to music recorded elsewhere.
The second Okeh single, "The Monkey Time" (written by Curtis Mayfield
Curtis Mayfield
Curtis Lee Mayfield was an American soul, R&B, and funk singer, songwriter, and record producer.He is best known for his anthemic music with The Impressions during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's and for composing the soundtrack to the blaxploitation film Super Fly, Mayfield is highly...
), became a #2 Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
R&B chart
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
and #8 pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
hit in 1963. A succession of hits followed quickly, including "Hey Little Girl", "Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um" (his biggest hit, reaching #5 in the US pop chart and #40 in the UK, where it was his only chart success), "The Matador" (the only one not written by Mayfield), "Rhythm", "Sometimes I Wonder", "Come See", and "Ain't It A Shame".
Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote:
"Blessed with a warm, sweet voice, Major Lance was one of the leading figures of Chicago soul during the '60s and the top-selling artist for OKeh Records during the decade. Lance not only had a lovely voice, but his material was excellent... It was urban, uptown soul and while it was considerably less gritty than its Southern counterpart, its breezy rhythms and joyous melodies made songs like "The Monkey Time" and "Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um" some of the most popular good-time R&B of its era."
In 1965, Pate left OKeh and Mayfield began to concentrate on working with his own group. Lance and Davis continued to work together, and "Too Hot To Hold" was a minor hit, but they had diminishing success before Davis in turn left the company. During this period, Lance toured in the UK, where he was supported by Bluesology
Bluesology
Bluesology was a 1960s English R&B group, best remembered as being the first professional band of which Reggie Dwight - later known as Elton John - was a member.-History:...
, a band including pianist Reggie Dwight, later known as Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
. Lance then worked with country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
producer Billy Sherrill
Billy Sherrill
Billy Sherrill is a record producer and arranger who is most famous for his association with a number of country artists, most notably Tammy Wynette...
in Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, producing another minor hit, "It's the Beat". Over the next two years he worked with several producers, with only "Without a Doubt" becoming a minor hit in 1968. Soon afterwards Lance left OKeh and moved to Dakar Records, where he had the Top 40 R&B hit "Follow the Leader." He then moved to Mayfield's Curtom
Curtom Records
Curtom Records was a record label started by Curtis Mayfield of The Impressions along with Impressions associate Eddie Thomas in 1968 although the name was used as early as 1963. The labels name was a combination of Mayfields first name and Thomas' surname...
label, which resulted in his last two Top 40 R&B hits, "Stay Away From Me (I Love You too Much)" and "Must Be Love Coming Down." He left Curtom in 1971, and recorded briefly for the Volt and Columbia
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
labels.
In 1972, he relocated to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, so as to capitalise on the success of his older records among fans of Northern Soul
Northern soul
Northern soul is a music and dance movement that emerged from the British mod scene, initially in northern England in the late 1960s. Northern soul mainly consists of a particular style of black American soul music based on the heavy beat and fast tempo of the mid-1960s Tamla Motown sound...
music, in dance clubs which played mostly rare and obscure American soul and R&B records. According to one writer, "the Major's contribution was truly phenomenal and unforgettable...[He] was to become legendary as a UK club act, known to deliver 110% at every performance." While in England he recorded an album, Live at the Torch, a club in Stoke on Trent, which has been described as "perhaps the best Northern Soul album ever made".
Lance returned to Atlanta in 1974, and recorded an updated disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
version of "Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um" for Playboy Records
Playboy Records
Playboy Records was a record label in Los Angeles, California, and a unit of Playboy Enterprises. Artists recording for the label included Barbi Benton, Blue Ash, Bobby Taylor and the Vancouvers, Brenda Patterson, Jeanne French , Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds, Ivory, Wynn Stewart, Mickey Gilley...
. He set up a new label, Osiris, with former Booker T and the MG's drummer Al Jackson, but again with little success, and his career hit a downward spiral. After recording briefly for the Motown Records
Motown Records
Motown is a record label originally founded by Berry Gordy, Jr. and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation in Detroit, Michigan, United States, on April 14, 1960. The name, a portmanteau of motor and town, is also a nickname for Detroit...
subsidiary label Soul, he was convicted of cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
possession in 1978 and served a four year prison term. On his release, he found that his recordings had become popular on the beach music
Beach music
Beach music, also known as Carolina beach music, is a regional genre which developed from various musical styles of the forties, fifties and sixties. These styles ranged from big band swing instrumentals to the more raucous sounds of blues/jump blues, jazz, doo-wop, boogie, rhythm and blues,...
circuit in the Carolinas, where he continued to undertake live performances. He recorded a comeback album, The Major's Back, and several tracks for the Kat Family label.
However, his attempts to revive his career were thwarted by a heart attack in 1987, and he made no recordings thereafter. In 1994, he gave his final triumphant performance at the Chicago Blues Festival
Chicago Blues Festival
The Chicago Blues Festival is an annual event held in June that features three days of performances by top-tier blues musicians, both old favorites and the up-and-coming. It is hosted by the City of Chicago Mayor's Office of Special Events, and always occurs in early June...
. He died later that year at the age of 55, as a result of heart disease
Heart disease
Heart disease, cardiac disease or cardiopathy is an umbrella term for a variety of diseases affecting the heart. , it is the leading cause of death in the United States, England, Canada and Wales, accounting for 25.4% of the total deaths in the United States.-Types:-Coronary heart disease:Coronary...
, in Decatur, Georgia
Decatur, Georgia
Decatur is a city in, and county seat of, DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. With a population of 19,335 in the 2010 census, the city is sometimes assumed to be larger since multiple zip codes in unincorporated DeKalb County bear the Decatur name...
. He was interred
Burial
Burial is the act of placing a person or object into the ground. This is accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing an object in it, and covering it over.-History:...
at Washington Memory Gardens Cemetery in Homewood, Illinois
Homewood, Illinois
Homewood is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 19,543 at the 2000 census. Homewood is a sister city to Homewood, Alabama.- Geography :...
.
Singles
| Year | Title | Label & Cat. No. |
U.S. R&B Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,... |
U.S. Pop Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
UK UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | "I Got a Girl" | Mercury 71582 | |
|
|
| 1962 | "Delilah" | Okeh 7168 | |
|
|
| 1963 | "The Monkey Time" | Okeh 7175 | |
|
|
| 1963 | "Hey Little Girl" | Okeh 7181 | |
|
|
| 1964 | "Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um" | Okeh 7187 | |
|
|
| 1964 | "The Matador" | Okeh 7191 | |
|
|
| 1964 | "Girls" | Okeh 7197 | |
|
|
| 1964 | "It Ain't No Use" | Okeh 7197 | |
|
|
| 1964 | "Think Nothing About It" | Okeh 7200 | |
|
|
| 1964 | "Rhythm" | Okeh 7203 | |
|
|
| 1965 | "Sometimes I Wonder" | Okeh 7209 | |
|
|
| 1965 | "Come See" | Okeh 7216 | |
|
|
| 1965 | "Ain't It a Shame" | Okeh 7223 | |
|
|
| 1965 | "Too Hot to Hold" | Okeh 7226 | |
|
|
| 1965 | "Everybody Loves a Good Time" | Okeh 7233 | |
|
|
| 1966 | "Investigate" | Okeh 7250 | |
|
|
| 1966 | "It's the Beat" | Okeh 7255 | |
|
|
| 1967 | "Ain't No Soul (In These Old Shoes)" | Okeh 7266 | |
|
|
| 1967 | "You Don't Want Me No More" | Okeh 7284 | |
|
|
| 1968 | "Without a Doubt" | Okeh 7298 | |
|
|
| 1969 | "Follow the Leader" | Dakar 608 | |
|
|
| 1969 | "Sweeter As the Days Go By" | Dakar 612 | |
|
|
| 1970 | "Stay Away From Me (I Love You Too Much)" | Curtom 1953 | |
|
|
| 1970 | "Must Be Love Coming Down" | Curtom 1956 | |
|
|
| 1971 | "Girl Come On Home" | Volt 4069 | |
|
|
| 1971 | "I Wanna Make Up (Before We Break Up)" | Volt 4079 | |
|
|
| 1972 | "Ain't No Sweat" | Volt 4085 | |
|
|
| 1974 | "Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um" New version |
Playboy 6017 | |
|
|
| 1975 | "Sweeter As the Days Go By" New version |
Playboy 6020 | |
|
|
| 1975 | "You're Everything I Need" | Osiris 001 | |
|
|
| 1975 | "I've Got a Right To Cry" | Osiris 002 | |
|
|
| 1977 | "Come What May" | Columbia 10488 | |
|
|
| 1978 | "I Never Thought I'd Be Losing You" | Soul 35123 | |
|
|
| 1982 | "I Wanna Go Home" | Kat Family 3024 | |
|
|
| 1982 | "Are You Leaving Me" | Kat Family 4182 | |
|
|
* Billboard magazine did not publish an R&B chart during 1964; these chart positions are from Cashbox magazine.
Selected albums
- Monkey Time (Edsel 1963)
- Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um (OKeh 1964)
- The Rhythm of Major Lance (OKeh 1968)
- Major Lance's Greatest Hits - Recorded Live At The Torch (Contempo 1973)
- Now Arriving (Soul 1978)
- The Major's Back (1983)
- Live At Hinkley (1986)
- Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um (Collectables 2003)
See also
- List of soul musicians
- List of disco artists
- List of acts who appeared on American Bandstand
- Guests on Soul TrainGuests on Soul TrainThis is a list of performers who have appeared on the American musical dance program Soul Train.-A:-B:-C:-D:-E:-F:-G:-H:-I:-J:-K:-L:-M:-N:-O:-P:-R:-S:-T:-U:-V:-W:-XYZ:...