Although he stopped making records in 1982, Major Lance continued to perform at concerts and on tours until his death in 1994.

[10] Lance, who was one of 12 children,[11] moved as a child with his family to the midnorth side of Chicago in the Cabrini-Green projects,[12] a high-crime area,[13] where he developed a boyhood friendship with Otis Leavill, both of whom attended Wells High School.

His hero was Jackie Wilson, and he was always coming round and looking through my bag for songs that I'd written but didn't want to do with the Impressions.

[17] Lance was constantly showing up at the Okeh offices, offering to run errands for Carl Davis, telling him about the record he'd once made and how he and Curtis Mayfield were friends from their childhood.

Together they developed a distinctive, Latin-tinged sound which epitomised Chicago soul in contrast to music recorded elsewhere.

[10][17] The second Okeh single, "The Monkey Time" (also written by Curtis Mayfield), was Major Lance's first hit,[21] became a No.

40 in the UK, where it was his only chart success), "The Matador" (the only one not written by Mayfield), "Rhythm", "Sometimes I Wonder", "Come See", and "Ain't It a Shame".

[17] During the 1960s, Lance toured the UK, where he was supported by Bluesology, a band including pianist Reggie Dwight, later known as Elton John.

Soon afterwards Lance left Okeh and moved to Dakar Records, where he had the Top 40 R&B hit "Follow the Leader."

According to one writer, "[T]he Major's contribution was truly phenomenal and unforgettable... [He] was to become legendary as a UK club act, known to deliver 110% at every performance.

[28] He set up a new label, Osiris, with former Booker T and the MG's drummer Al Jackson, but again with little success,[10] and his career hit a downward spiral.

He later found that his recordings had become popular on the beach music circuit in the Carolinas, where he continued to undertake live performances.

[31] After recording briefly for the Motown subsidiary label Soul, he was convicted of cocaine possession in 1978 and served a four-year prison term.

AllMusic reviewer Richie Unterberger gave the CD 4+1⁄2 stars, calling it a "Delightful 40-song, double-CD compilation of Lance's best work for Okeh between 1962 and 1967, including all of the chart singles, quite a few misses and B-sides, five previously unreleased cuts, and some Curtis Mayfield songs from his debut LP.