Major Lance (Born 4 April 1941, Winterville, Mississippi - Death 3 Septembe… Read Full Bio ↴Major Lance (Born 4 April 1941, Winterville, Mississippi - Death 3 September 1994, Decatur, Georgia) was an American R&B singer.
As a child he relocated to Chicago, attending the same school as Curtis Mayfield and Jerry Butler. He formed a group, the Floats, and became a featured dancer on local TV.
His 1959 Mercury release, I Got A Girl, was written and produced by Mayfield, but his career did not take off until he signed with OKeh Records in 1962. Another Curtis Mayfield song, The Monkey Time, in 1963, reached number 2 on the R & B charts and number 8 pop, and the partnership continued with further hits including Um Um Um Um Um Um.
The Mighty Majors("You Can Never Go Back") also were his back up band once.
He had less success after breaking his relationships with Mayfield and OKeh, releasing records on several labels into the early 1970s, including Osiris Records which he set up with Al Jackson. He then moved to England for two years in the 1970s, and after returning to the USA served a prison term for cocaine possession. He made few performances after a heart attack in 1987.
As a child he relocated to Chicago, attending the same school as Curtis Mayfield and Jerry Butler. He formed a group, the Floats, and became a featured dancer on local TV.
His 1959 Mercury release, I Got A Girl, was written and produced by Mayfield, but his career did not take off until he signed with OKeh Records in 1962. Another Curtis Mayfield song, The Monkey Time, in 1963, reached number 2 on the R & B charts and number 8 pop, and the partnership continued with further hits including Um Um Um Um Um Um.
The Mighty Majors("You Can Never Go Back") also were his back up band once.
He had less success after breaking his relationships with Mayfield and OKeh, releasing records on several labels into the early 1970s, including Osiris Records which he set up with Al Jackson. He then moved to England for two years in the 1970s, and after returning to the USA served a prison term for cocaine possession. He made few performances after a heart attack in 1987.
Mama Didn't Know
Major Lance Lyrics
We have lyrics for these tracks by Major Lance:
Ain't It a Shame I have to love To keep from crying Ain't that a shame Ain't…
Ain't No Soul Ain′t no soul left in these old shoes Since you been…
Ain't No Soul (In These Old Shoes) Ain't no soul left in these old shoes Since you been…
Come See Hey, mama, won't you come and see What the music has…
Girls Hey, little girl (Hey, little girl) I watch you dance And yo…
Hitchhike I'm goin' to Chicago That's the last place my baby said (Hit…
I Just Can't Help It Today, I passed you on the street, And my heart fell…
I'm The One Who Love You I'm the one who loves you I'm the one who loves…
It Ain't No Use What good are you to me When you found somebody else No…
Land Of A Thousand Dances One, two, three! One, two, three! You gotta know how to pony…
Monkey Time There's a place right across town, whenever you're ready Whe…
Rhythm What's that sound (That's rhythm) Everybody round (Got rhyth…
Sometimes I Wonder Sometimes (sometimes) You make me wonder (wonder) I get the …
The Matador Hey, everybody, everybody Have you been informed Hey, everyb…
The Monkey Time There's a place right across town, whenever you're ready Whe…
Too Hot to Hold Too hot to hold now, baby Too hot to hold, baby Love's…
Um Um Um Um Um Um Walking through the park, it wasn't quite dark There was a…
UmUmUmUmUmUm Standing on a mountain looking down on a city The way…
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Gary Morris
Major Lance + Curtis Mayfield = dynamite!
standingbeark
Major was a hit machine. This song is an adaptation of mama didn't lie, by Jan Bradley. That song was also written by sir curtis Mayfield...
Freddie Brown
December covid-19 2021
Yeah! Major Lance is all that he is and was on-record thanks to Writer, Curtis Mayfield. We also give a shout out to Arranger, Johnny Pate, and Producer, Carl Davis, they all collaborated on most of Major Lance's many hits. These gentlemen were the contributors and co-founding Architects of The Chicago Soul-Sound for many artists back in the day. "Mama didn't know" Is a catchy, cleverly written, bouncy-groove. I love the musical production on this song,
It's tight.Curtis Mayfield and The Impressions do a wonderful job on the background harmonies.Majors lyrical phrasing is pretty cool too. When this song came out, yes! we was doin' The Monkey, The Twist, The Slop, and the Watusi too. The music of Little Richard, Bo Diddley, and Chuck Berry, was what we also danced to. Hey! I love the whole Major Lance music catalog. His music is forever "Soul-Posterity" for the ages.
Glad you came here and got a chance to listen... Can you dig-it?
Alfonzo Butler,Jr
This is still some real soul moving music. Being born in Chicago is still the real thing.
ID odi et amo
Not quite Chicago, but my dad considered Harvey at the time Chicago 1960-1968.
Jimmie Webb
I am from chicago i am here now
Clennis High
Love Major, and all Chitown boys and girls. Major came to Wheatley HS (Houston, TX) about 1965 and sing this song, I played guitar with some other students that day behind him...it was wild. Later, I travelled three months on a show with the impressions and several other acts with our group. Never got another chance to work with the Major again, but on that show we had Jerry and Billy Butler, Mitty Collier, the 5-Stairsteps, the Unifics, Delfonics, and several others that I loved. Could not catch up with the Major, I think he was in Europe during this time. I miss that stuff...it was GREAT!
Jonathan Cline
My Brother wore this song out! Love it!
rollerchickable
I LOVE THIS SONG, THANKS FOR SHARING, THIS A OLDIE BUT GOODIE FOR SURE.
ID odi et amo
When I use to visit my dad for summer vacation in Harvey Illinois ,he had this and many other Motown jams at the time,and just seeing the 45 record label above bring back so many summer memories of '64.