Personnel includes: Major Lance (vocals); Curtis Mayfield (background vocals).
Producers: Carl Davis, Curtis Mayfield, Gerald Sims, Billy Sherrill.
Recorded between 1962 & 1967.
Includes liner notes by Bill Dahl.
Liner Note Author: Dave Godin.
Recording information: Chicago, IL (1963-1967); N.Y.C (1963-1967); Nashville, TN (1963-1967).
Even amid such illustrious company as Curtis Mayfield and Jerry Butler, Mississippi-born Major Lance was one of the most distinctive stylists on the 1960s Chicago soul scene. Like the Impressions, he sported a sound that mixed Smokey Robinson, Jackie Wilson, Sam Cooke, and '50s doo-wop into a glorious, hit-bound stew. Impressions leader Curtis Mayfield himself wrote most of the tunes found here, but none is more resonant than the percolating "The Monkey Time," a dance tune that made "The Twist" sound like "The Hokey Pokey," with horn stabs, vibrant drums, and a testifying vocal bringing it all home. Though "Hey Little Girl" is something of a sequel to that hit, Lance had more than one trick up his sleeve. The melodically sophisticated, vibes-laden ballad "I'm Lost" and the maraca-laced, Latin-tinged "The Matador" show that he was ready to dance to anything he could put his heart and soul into, regardless of the steps.