Major Lance - Um Um Um Um Um Um / The Monkey Time

Year Released: 1963
Genre: Soul / Chicago R&B

Description:
Both of these Curtis Mayfield-penned singles defined the Chicago soul sound of the early 1960s. “The Monkey Time,” released on Okeh Records, became Major Lance’s first big hit — a dance-floor anthem driven by The Impressions’ backing vocals and Mayfield’s signature syncopated guitar lines. “Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um,” issued later that same year, followed with an irresistible, conversational lyric and a laid-back shuffle rhythm.

The breezy vocal phrasing and rhythm of “The Monkey Time” influenced countless later funk and R&B records, while Lulu, Gene Chandler, and The Action all recorded cover versions. Both tracks were revisited in the late 1980s by rare-groove and mod DJs, and their crisp, dance-floor production style helped shape the Northern Soul to Brit-soul continuum.