Ground control to Major Lance

If there isn't a plaque on a wall or a monument somewhere at Wells High School in Chicago celebrating it's role in the cities musical history there certainly should be, because at one point Curtis Mayfield, Jerry Butler and Major Lance were all pupils there. Lance may be the least widely-known of the three these days but he was the top-selling act on Okeh Records during the 60s with a string of big hits like "The Monkey Time" and "Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um" (is that enough Ums?)

Lance had a warm, sweet voice and his records had the signature smooth and airy sound of Chicago Soul very similar to what The Impressions were also doing at the time. Not surprising really because the majority of his hits were written by Curtis Mayfield and the backing harmonies were usually by The Impressions themselves. "Rhythm" was a 1964 single and another big seller from the pen of Mayfield. Though Lance's records were usually too cool and sophisticated to work up a real sweat the swinging Latin-flavoured beat and vampy brass on this gives off quite a bit of sultry steam. The snazzy production by Carl Davis is right on the uptown money.

Unfortunately Lance's success at Okeh petered out by the end of the 60s and he spent years jumping between record labels and lived in England for a while milking his popularity on the Northern Soul scene. Then he spent four years in prison for dealing cocaine and... well, who cares about that stuff? Lance died in 1994. If you like that sweet Chicago Soul sound you'll want to get "The Very Best of Major Lance."

[Download]
Rhythm - Major Lance