Major Harris (February 9, 1947 – November 9, 2012) – Tribute To A Slave (1970)
Before joining the Delfonics, Harris was an original member of Nat Turner Rebellion and sang on this powerful message song, written by his older brother Joe Jefferson.
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Major Harris was an R&B/soul singer who is most remembered for replacing Randy Cain in the Delfonics during the early 1970s before launching his own successful solo career.
Born in Richmond, Virginia, Major Harris III was one of the original members of the Petersburg, Virginia-based soul/funk group Nat Turner Rebellion. The others were Ron Harper, Bill Spratley, and Harris’ older brother Joe Jefferson, who put the group together and later wrote many songs for the Spinners and other Philly soul greats.
Jefferson began his association with the city by accident, after he was touring as a drummer with Cissy Houston’s Sweet Inspirations in the mid-sixties. He came down a serious foot infection while playing there, and rented a small apartment in West Philly to take time off from the tour. While he was recuperating he decided he was tired of playing for other people, and returned home to Petersburg where he formed Nat Turner Rebellion, joined by his younger brother Harris.
The group recorded several singles between 1969-72 for Philly Groove Records. But they disbanded in 1972 before they could release a planned full-length album. According to Jefferson, they called it quits after Spratley waved a gun at him while they were arguing over the group’s finances.
In addition to their singles, fourteen more tracks intended for Nat Turner Rebellion’s first LP finally saw the light of day in 2019, released as Laugh to Keep from Crying on Drexel University’s student-run label MAD Dragon Records. Drexel is now home to the 7,000 tape archive of Philadelphia’s Sigma Sound Studios, and Faith Newman of Reservoir Media discovered the original master tapes while combing through the archive’s contents.
Jefferson passed the following year in 2020, but not before he had seen the group’s lost album rescued and preserved for eternity. Its masterpiece was arguably the powerful anthem “Tribute To A Slave,” which had been the A-side of the second single they released, in 1970.
Serving as the group’s theme song, the track paid homage to Nat Turner and the inspirational slave rebellion he led in 1831 in Southampton County, Virginia, located in the southeastern corner of the state just above its border with North Carolina. It was written by Jefferson and co-arranged by Anthony “Bones” Dorsey and Norman Harris (Harris and Jefferson’s cousin), the legendary Philly soul guitarist, songwriter and producer.
When Nat Turner Rebellion broke up, Harris replaced original Delfonics member Randy Cain alongside brothers Wilbert and William “Poogie” Hart in the popular Philly soul vocal group. The first and only of their albums with Harris was Alive & Kicking (1974), their fifth and final studio LP. One of the tracks he sang lead on was “Can’t Go On Living,” originally co-written by Norman Harris and Allan Felder for Nat Turner Rebellion’s debut 1970 single, which had also featured his lead vocals.
Another of the album’s highlights was the heartfelt slow jam “Think It Over,” written by William Hart, which went to #47 R&B when it was released as a single in 1973 (h/t DJ A-Ski aka @mrunique74). William Hart sang lead, but Harris showed up towards the end to help bring the song home.
In late 1974, Harris signed with Atlantic Records as a solo artist and recorded his debut album My Way (1975) at Sigma Sound Studios. The LP was mostly produced by original MFSB lead guitarist Bobby Eli (who sadly died this past August).
Its second single was the massive hit “Love Won’t Let Me Wait,” produced by Eli and co-written by himself and Vinnie Barrett. This beautiful love song hit #1 R&B in 1975, landed at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and went gold. Eli and Barrett also co-wrote the fantastic jam “Sweet Tomorrow” for My Way.
The album featured a stone cold classic Philly soul lineup, with Eli and Norman Harris on guitars, bassist Ronnie Baker, Earl Young on drums, Ron “Have Mercy” Kersey on keyboards, Larry Washington on congas, Vince Montana on vibes, Don Renaldo and his Strings and Horns, and the Sweethearts of Sigma (Barbara Ingram, Carla Benton, and Evette Benson) on backing vocals.
Harris with Marvin Gaye and Eddie Kendricks, mid-70s
Despite his solo career, Harris continued to perform with the Delfonics. In 1975, the Hart brothers split the group in two and both headed different Delfonics lineups. Harris originally stuck with Wilbert Hart, but around 1980 joined William Hart’s group, along with returning original member Randy Cain.
In 1983, Harris released the superb boogie funk jam “All My Life” on Pop Art Records. The track was later licensed to London Records in the UK. It was co-written and produced by Pop Art founder Lawrence Goodman.
Sadly, Harris passed due to congestive heart and lung failure in 2012 at age 65. Rest In Power, Major Harris.
Further info:
“Singer Major Harris dead at 65,” obituary, Philadelphia Tribune, November 11, 2012.
“Major Harris, Soul Singer With Delfonics, Dies at 65,” obituary, The New York Times, November 12, 2012.
“The Righteous Uprising Of Nat Turner Rebellion,” liner notes by Melissa A. Weber aka DJ Soul Sister, Vinyl Me, Please, March 28, 2019.
“After 50 years, funk album recorded in Philly finally debuts,” by Peter Crimmins, WHYY, April 23, 2019.
#soul #funk #NatTurnerRebellion #Delfonics #MajorHarris