Today’s classic song of the day has a title that’s difficult to verbalize. The song is “Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um” (that’s six “um’s”) by Major Lance. Released as a single in December of 1963, this classic piece of Chicago Soul hit #5 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100 in February of 1964.
“Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um” was written by Curtis Mayfield and the single was released by Okeh Records. Despite the title, which sounds a little dumb, it’s not a dumb song—not that you would expect anything dumb coming from the masterful pen of Mr. Mayfield. It’s a tune about running into a guy on a park bench moaning to himself over a failed romance:
Walking through the park, it wasn’t quite dark
There was a man sitting on a bench
Out of the crowd as his head lowly bowed
He just moaned and he made no sense
He’d just go
Um, um, um, um, um, um
Um, um, um, um, um, um
Major Lance was a Chicago singer whose lifelong friend was Curtis Mayfield. Lance had several big hits (most written by Mayfield) over the course of his career, including “The Monkey Time,” “Hey Little Girl,” and “The Matador.” While his hits dried up in the mid-60s, his music lived on thanks to fans of Carolina Beach Music and the UK’s Northern Soul scene. (I got to know this song while listening to a Beach Music collection; it definitely fits that style, with its loping rhythm.)
Major Lance passed away in 1994. He was 55 years old.
And here’s today’s daily classic of the day, Major Lance lip-syncing “Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um” on Shivaree in 1964. Um um um…
