Um, um, um, um, um, um, Cherry Red’s RPM Records imprint is ready to do the Monkey!  The label has just released Ain’t No Soul (In These Old Shoes): The Complete OKeh Recordings 1963-67 from the late Major Lance.  With this 53-track anthology of prime Chicago soul, Major Lance can reclaim his place in the R&B pantheon.

Though born in Mississippi (sometime between 1939 and 1941 – no official birthdate was ever confirmed before Lance’s death in 1994), Major Lance and his large family relocated to Chicago as a child.  One of twelve children, Major attended Wells High School, befriending future singer-songwriter-executive Otis Leavill; the school was also the alma mater of Curtis Mayfield and Jerry Butler.  Lance and Leavill took up boxing as a matter of survival in the neighborhood, but music and dancing were foremost on their minds.  In 1959, Lance recorded his very first single, for Mercury Records, with Mayfield as producer.  Three years later, in mid-1962, Carl Davis of Columbia Records’ OKeh offshoot signed Lance at the urging of Curtis Mayfield.

Mayfield penned Lance’s first A-side, “Delilah,” and co-wrote its flipside, “Everytime,” but it was Lance’s second 45 RPM release which set his star in the ascendant.  The original plug side was “Mama Didn’t Know,” an answer song to Mayfield’s own “Mama Didn’t Lie” as recorded by Jan Bradley on the Chess label.  But DJs preferred the flip, a little dance novelty called “The Monkey Time” which had been based on a dance craze observed by Mayfield while touring with The Impressions in Washington, DC.  “The Monkey Time” hit the charts in August 1963, climbing to No. 2 R&B and No. 8 Pop.  The team of Major Lance, Curtis Mayfield, producer Carl Davis, and arranger Johnny Pate would largely define the sound and style of Chicago soul with their recordings together.  All told, Mayfield wrote or co-wrote a full 28 songs on these two CDs, or more than half of the entire collection.

Major Lance was a reliable chart presence throughout 1964 and 1965 with such songs as “Hey Little Girl” (No. 12 R&B, No. 13 Pop), “The Matador” (No. 4 R&B, No. 20 Pop), “Rhythm” (No. 3 R&B, No. 24 Pop) and “Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um” (No. 1 R&B, No. 5 Pop).  All of these seminal tracks are, of course, featured on this RPM set as well as his renditions of songs from the catalogues of Marvin Gaye (“Pride and Joy,” “Hitchhike”), Chris Kenner (“Land of 1,000 Dances”) and Doris Troy (“Just One Look”).

By late 1965, however, Curtis Mayfield was concentrating on his own career.  Carl Davis left OKeh after a spat with parent Columbia, and the new management wasn’t as certain how to proceed with Major Lance.  He was sent to Nashville to work with renowned country producer Billy Sherrill and to New York, where he was met by the team of producer Ted Cooper and arranger Herb Bernstein.  The latter team had Lance recording tunes from New York-based songwriters like Artie Resnick and Joey Levine (“Ain’t No Soul (In These Old Shoes)” and Bob Crewe and Gary Knight (“I”).  Other late-period highlights include songs by Van McCoy (“Wait Till I Get You in My Arms,” “Everybody Loves a Good Time” – the latter a Carl Davis production with a Riley Hampton chart) and Wilson Pickett and Steve Cropper (“Don’t Fight It”).

In 1968, Major Lance departed OKeh to join Carl Davis at his new enterprise, Dakar Records.  He later reteamed with Mayfield at his friend’s Curtom, and would even record at onetime rivals Stax and Motown before the 1970s was out.  His later years were marked by unfortunate events, such as a prison term for drug use and later, a heart attack and blindness due to glaucoma that rendered him unable to perform any longer.  He died in 1994.

Ain’t No Soul (In These Old Shoes) definitely proves that there was plenty of soul in Major Lance’s pivotal stay at OKeh, as he released some of the finest recordings ever in the Chicago soul mold.  A 12-page booklet contains new liner notes by Clive Richardson.  Simon Murphy has remastered all tracks at Another Planet Music.  This collection is available now at the links below!

Major Lance, Ain’t No Soul (In These Old Shoes): The Complete Okeh Recordings 1963-1967 (RPM/Cherry Red Records, 2017) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Disc 1

1. Delilah
2. Everytime
3. The Monkey Time
4. Mama Didn’t Know
5. Watusi
6. The Bird
7. Pride and Joy
8. Land of a Thousand Dances
9. Hitchhike
10. Soldierboy
11. Just One Look
12. What’s Happening
13. Keep on Loving You
14. Hey Little Girl
15. Crying in the Rain
16. Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um
17. Sweet Music
18. Gypsy Music
19. Gotta Right to Cry
20. Little Young Lover
21. That’s What Mama Say
22. It’s All Right
23. Think Nothing About It
24. You’ll Want Me Back
25. I’m the One
26. The Matador
27. Gonna Get Married

Disc 2

1. It Ain’t No Use
2. Girls
3. Rhythm
4. Please Don’t Say No More
5. Sometimes I Wonder
6. I’m So Lost
7. Come See
8. You Belong to Me My Love
9. Ain’t It a Shame
10. Gotta Get Away
11. Too Hot to Hold
12. Dark and Lonely
13. Everybody Loves a Good Time
14. I Just Can’t Help It
15. Investigate
16. It’s the Beat
17. Ain’t No Soul (In These Old Shoes)
18. I
19. You Don’t Want Me No More
20. Wait Till I Get You In My Arms
21. Without a Doubt
22. Forever
23. Little Miss Love
24. Play a Song for Me
25. Get My Hat (Nothing Can Stop Me)
26. Don’t Fight It

Disc 1, Tracks 1-2 from Okeh Single 4-7168, 1963
Disc 1, Tracks 3-4 from Okeh Single 4-7175, 1963
Disc 1, Tracks 5-13 from The Monkey Time, Okeh LP OKS 14105, 1963
Disc 1, Tracks 14-15 from Okeh Single 4-7181, 1963
Disc 1, Tracks 16-17 from Okeh Single 4-7187, 1963
Disc 1, Tracks 18-25 from Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um – The Best of Major Lance, Okeh LP OKS-12106/OKS-14106, 1964
Disc 1, Tracks 26-27 from Okeh Single 4-7191, 1964
Disc 2, Tracks 1-2 from Okeh Single 4-7197, 1964
Disc 2, Tracks 3-4 from Okeh Single 4-7203, 1964
Disc 2, Tracks 5-6 from Okeh Single 4-7209, 1964
Disc 2, Tracks 7-8 from Okeh Single 4-7216, 1965
Disc 2, Tracks 9-10 from Okeh Single 4-7223, 1965
Disc 2, Tracks 11-12 from Okeh Single 4-7226, 1965
Disc 2, Tracks 13-14 from Okeh Single 4-7233, 1965
Disc 2, Track 15 from Okeh Single 4-7250, 1966
Disc 2, Track 16 from Okeh Single 4-7255, 1966
Disc 2, Tracks 17-18 from Okeh Single 4-7266, 1966
Disc 2, Tracks 19-20 from Okeh Single 4-7284, 1967
Disc 2, Tracks 21-22 from Okeh Single 4-7298, 1967
Disc 2, Tracks 23-26 from Everybody Loves a Good Time!, Epic CD E2K 66988, 1995