Major Lance was one of the leading figures of Chicago Soul during the 1960s and the top-selling artist for Okeh Records during the decade. During this time, the majority of his songs were written by his childhood friend Curtis Mayfield. Fittingly for Major Lance's smooth voice, Mayfield crafted urban, uptown and polished songs like 'The Monkey Time' and 'Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um'. Major Lance's mid-sixties output consists of some of the most popular good-time R&B of its era. The Impressions sing background on most of the tracks on 'Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um' (1964)