Major Harris was born in Richmond, VA, on 9 Feb 1947 and
died 9 Nov 2012 so would have been 76 today. He will be forever remembered
for his biggest selling solo single "Love Won't Let Me Wait" which has been covered by Luther Vandross and many others.
The song was co-written by Bobby Eli, who also played guitar and produced
the session, with Gwendolyn Woolfolk under her pen name Vinnie Barrett
and featured the Sweethearts of Sigma (Barbara Ingram, Carla Benton and
Evette Benson) on backing vocals. It was his only Top 10 single which topped the R&B chart in 1975
spending twenty weeks on the chart and crossed over to reach #5 Hot 100.
The record also made Top 40 on the UK pop chart peaking at #37 which is no
mean feat for a virtually unknown singer at the time.
Harris was from a musical background, his grandparents performed
vaudeville, his father was a guitarist and his mother a church choir
leader. He sang with several groups early in his career such as Charmers,
Frankie Lyman's Teenagers (briefly), the Jarmels (also from Richmond of "A
Little Bit of Soap." fame) and then joined his brother Joe (Joseph)
Jefferson in Nat Turner's Rebellion. Jefferson went on to write for many
high profile artists such as Johnny Mathis, The Stylistics, Three Degrees,
Bunny Sigler, New York City but had most success with The Spinners ("Mighty Love," "Love Don't Love Nobody," and "One of a Kind Love
Affair").
They were cousins of Norman Harris who was a founding member of MFSB and
a cornerstone of The Philly Sound for Gamble & Huff as a member of the
trio (Ron) Baker, Harris & (Earl) Young.
Nat Turner's Rebellion broke up acrimoniously in 1972 and
Major joined The Delfonics replacing Randy Cain who left and
later introduced WMOT to Shades Of Love who would become Blue Magic.
Harris featured on their 1972 album "Tell Me This Is A Dream" and then "Alive & Kicking" in 1974 before re-launching his solo career. He had already recorded
two singles for Okeh "Just Love Me" / "Loving You More" in 1968 and a cover of Bob Dylan's "Like A Rolling Stone" / "Call Me Tomorrow" in 1969, the latter getting spins on the Northern Soul Scene. One of
Nat Turner's songs, "Ruby Lee" written by Norman Harris and
Ron Baker, would later feature on his second album.
The Delfonics split up in 1975 splintering into two groups using the
name. Harris, Wilbert Hart, and new member Frank Washington, formerly of
the Futures, formed one and William 'Poogie' Hart formed another but it
was like musical chairs with members swapping between the two groups.
Garfield Fleming ("Don't Send Me Away") was a member of one of the
incarnations which included William 'Poogie' Hart and the returning Randy
Cain in the 80s. Wilbert Hart is now the only living original
member.
Harris was signed to Atlantic and released his first single for them in
Oct 1974 ("Each Morning I Wake Up" / "Just A Thing I Do") which scraped into the R&B chart at #98 but is another that was
picked up on by the UK rare soul scene along with the flip side to his
biggest hit, "After Loving You", "Loving You Is Mellow", "Jealousy" from his singles and "Walkin' In The Footsteps" from his second solo album "Jealousy". He recorded four albums and continued to record into the 80s up to
1986 with limited success.
Harris died on 9 Feb 2021 age 65 of congestive heart and lung
failure.
Album Discography
| Year | Title | Cat.No |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | My Way | Atlantic #SD 18119 |
| 1976 | Jealousy | Atlantic #SD 18160 |
| 1976 | Live! | WMOT #WM2-5000 |
| 1978 | How Do You Take Your Love | RCA Victor #APL1-2803 |
| 1984 | I Believe In Love |
Streetwave (UK) #MKL 3 |
Singles Discography
| Year | Title | Cat.No |
|---|---|---|
| 1968-07 |
Just Love Me / Loving You More |
OKeh # 4-7314 |
| 1969-03 |
Like A Rolling Stone / Call Me Tomorrow |
OKeh #4-7327 |
| 1974-10 |
Each Morning I Wake Up / Just A Thing I Do |
Atlantic #45-3217 |
| 1975-02 |
Love Won't Let Me Wait / After Loving You |
Atlantic #45-3248 |
| 1975-11 |
I Got Over Love / Loving You Is Mellow |
Atlantic #45-3303 |
| 1976-?? |
It's Got To Be Magic / Just A Thing That I Do |
Atlantic #45-3336 |
| 1976-03 |
Jealousy / Tynisa (Goddess Of Love) |
Atlantic #45-3321 |
| 1976-10 |
Laid Back Love / This Is What You Mean To Me |
WMOT #WM-4002 |
| 1981-05 |
Here We Are / Living's Easy Now |
WMOT #WS8 02091 |
| 1983-?? |
All My Life // (Short Version) / (Dub Mix) |
Pop Art #PA 1401 |
| 1983-?? |
Beside Me / Beside Me (Instrumental) |
PopArt #P-4915 |
| 1983-?? |
I Want Your Love // (Radio Edit) / (Dub Mix) |
Pop Art #PA-1402 |
| 1984-?? |
Girl Of My Dreams / Rediscovered |
D.A.L. International #D.A.L. 101 |
| 1984-?? |
Gotta Make Up Your Mind / (Inst) |
Society Hill #SH001 |
| 1984-?? |
I Believe In Love // (Radio Edit) / What Ever Happened |
Streetwave (UK) #MKHAN 35 |
| 1985-?? |
The Game / Oh Girl, I Love You |
Renaissance #RRI-00527 |
| 1986-?? |
Love Is Everything / I Want Your Love |
Nicetown #NT-012 |
The playlist below spans his full recording career from 1968 thru 1986.
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