"Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um" is a song, written by

Curtis Mayfield Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer, and one of the most influential musicians behind soul and politically conscious African-American music.

Overview

The first recording to be released was by

Major Lance Major Lance (April 4, 1939, 1941Soul music A-Z 1995 p. 185 or 1942The golden age of American rock 'n roll: Volume 3; 2002 p. 556 – September 3, 1994) was an American R&B singer. After a number of US hits in the 1960s, including "The Monk ...

, as a single in December 1963, produced by

Okeh Okeh Records () is an American record label founded by the Otto Heinemann Phonograph Corporation, a phonograph supplier established in 1916, which branched out into phonograph records in 1918. The name was spelled "OkeH" from the initials of Ott ...

label president

Carl Davis Carl Davis, (born October 28, 1936) is an American-born conductor and composer who has lived in the United Kingdom since 1961. He has written music for more than 100 television programmes, but is best known for creating music to accompany si ...

Chart performance

The song was Major Lance's third release to make the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and his most successful hit with a #5 peak on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on 8 February 1964 with a #1 peak on the ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' R&B chart (''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' did not run an

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

November 1963-January 1965). In the UK it reached #40, Lance's only UK chart appearance.

Other versions

*The song became a major hit in the UK during the autumn of 1964 with a rendition by

Wayne Fontana Glyn Geoffrey Ellis (28 October 19456 August 2020

and

the Mindbenders The Mindbenders were an English beat group from Manchester, England. Originally the backing group for Wayne Fontana, they were one of several acts that were successful in the mid-1960s British Invasion of the US charts, achieving major chart ...

reaching No. 5. *

Johnny Rivers Johnny Rivers (born John Henry Ramistella; November 7, 1942) is an American musician. His repertoire includes pop, folk, blues, and old-time rock 'n' roll. Rivers charted during the 1960s and 1970s but remains best known for a string of hit sing ...

covered the song for his 1977 album ''Outside Help'' from which it was issued as the follow-up single to the top ten hit " Swayin' to the Music (Slow Dancing)". Rivers' version was renamed "Curious Mind" after a lyric in the second verse; the full title of the Rivers' version being "Curious Mind (Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um)". "Curious Mind..." was heavily supported by

easy-listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...

radio, peaking at No. 4 on the

Easy Listening chart The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by sta ...

in ''

'' in February 1978; it reached No. 41 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 where it was Rivers' final charting song.

References

{{Johnny Rivers 1963 singles Songs written by Curtis Mayfield Major Lance songs The Mindbenders songs Johnny Rivers songs 1963 songs 1965 singles 1978 singles Big Tree Records singles