Major Harris

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Major Harris III (born February 9, 1947 in Richmond , Virginia , † November 9, 2012 ibid) was an American soul singer who became known in the early 1970s as the lead singer of the Philly soul group The Delfonics .

biography

Harris was born in Richmond, Virginia. Early in his career, Harris sang in groups such as The Charmers, The Teenagers , The Jarmels and The Nat Turner's Rebellion, which included his brother Joseph B. Jefferson, a successful songwriter. First singles for smaller labels were unsuccessful. In the early 1970s he succeeded Randy Cain as a member of the Delfonics.

As a soloist he achieved great success after leaving the Delfonics in 1975 with the sensitive ballad Love Won't Let Me Wait , which reached number five in the USA, was awarded gold and also topped the R&B charts. The song is now considered a classic of soul. For this recording, Harris received a Grammy nomination for best R&B singer . Prior to that, Harris had already had a success in the young Billboard disco charts with Each Morning I Wake Up . Both tracks are featured on Harris' debut album My Way . The title song is a soul adaptation of the classic made famous by Frank Sinatra . Harris' biggest hit Love Won't Let Me Wait has been recorded by many greats of the soul over the years, such as Luther Vandross , Isaac Hayes , Seal or as a duet by Johnny Mathis and Deniece Williams .

By 1976 Harris had other comparatively small hits in the pop and R&B charts, so that as a soloist he remained a one-hit wonder . In 1983 he made a small comeback in the R&B charts with All My Life . The single climbed to number 52 and also reached number 61 in the British single charts.

Harris died of heart failure in November 2012 .

Web links

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  1. riaa.com
  2. grammy.com
  3. musicvf.com
  4. ^ Rollingstone.com