R&B Soul Man, Major Lance, dies at 55

[Eric LeBlanc-CISTI]

R&B Soul singer MAJOR LANCE was born Tuesday, April 4, 1939, Chicago, IL.

"Few vocalists better epitomize the breezy danceability of 60s Chicago
soul than whippet-thin Major Lance. Local deejay Jim Lounsbury discovered the
loose-limbed singer and arranged his first contract with Mercury in 1959, but
Lance needed expert guidance -- and he received plenty from innovative
producer Carl Davis after joining the Okeh label in 1962. Armed with
exceptional dance material by Curtis Mayfield and the brass-heavy, often
Latin-tinged charts of Johnny Pate, Lance blasted off with "The Monkey Time"
and "Hey Little Girl" in 1963 and followed with the mysterious "Um Um Um Um Um
Um" and "The Matador" the next year. When the influence of Mayfield and Davis
dimmed, the hits became lesser in magnitude, and Lance left OKeh in 1968,
bouncing from Dakar to Curtom to Volt with moderate success."
(Bill Dahl, All-Music Guide Biography)

MAJOR LANCE died Saturday, September 3, 1994, Decatur, GA. He was survived by
his wife Christine Boular Lance & 9 children. By all accounts, his
performance was a highlight at the June 1994 Chicago Blues Festival & a new
album is expected soon. According to the BLACKWELL GUIDE TO SOUL RECORDINGS
(edited by Robert Pruter), "he was the largest-selling artist from Chicago in
the mid-1960s". The album EPIC 40432 is, according to this Blackwell guide,
"one of the most outstanding albums of Chicago Soul ever produced" & it
belongs in everyone's basic soul collection. It awaits to be reissued on CD.
If you want to know more about Chicago Soul, in particular MAJOR LANCE, I
suggest you read Robert Pruter's book CHICAGO SOUL (University of Illinois
Press, 1991). As for the new BLACKWELL GUIDE TO SOUL RECORDINGS (Blackwell
Publishers, 1993, ISBN : 063118595X), I'll be reviewing it as soon as I finish
re-reading it - but I can tell you right now it's a must if you need a guide
to Soul Music.

DISCOGRAPHY
=============================================================================
BACK-TRAC 17702 : MAJOR LANCE - Swingin'est Hits of
CBS CD 37321 : VARIOUS - Okeh Soul (8 cuts)
CONTEMPO 523 : MAJOR LANCE - Live at the Torch (1977)
CONTEMPO 1001 : MAJOR LANCE - Greatest Hits
EDSEL : MAJOR LANCE - Monkey Times
EPIC 40432 : MAJOR LANCE - Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um - the Best of
EPIC 81519 : MAJOR LANCE - Best of
MOTOWN 751 : MAJOR LANCE - Now Arriving
PHANTOM CD 30482 : MAJOR LANCE - Best of Major
OKEH 1728 : MAJOR LANCE - Rhythm Of
OKEH 14105 : MAJOR LANCE - Monkey Time
OKEH 14106 : MAJOR LANCE - Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um
OKEH 14110 : MAJOR LANCE - Greatest Hits

[karla p ortega]

I would like to know the last CD of the old Fleetwood Mac with Peter Green.
I would like the name of the last CD of Wynton Marsalis.
Do you know when and where Wynton Marsalis was born?

[John P. Willis]

In a previous article, kort...@SOLIX.FIU.EDU (karla p ortega) says:

>On Mon, 26 Sep 1994, Eric LeBlanc-CISTI wrote:

I don't know how long you have been following blues-l but please
don't do what you just did. Eric has an address given so you could have
written directly. When you change the subject, AND quote back an original
that is no relevent to what you want it is a waste of space and bandwidth!!

Why the quote? Learn how to use your mail reader, please. Some of us pay
for messages via our service providers, you see. :-(