The Feel It Advent-ure 2020: Door 12

Behind Door 9 there was The Gorilla. In that post I referred to Major Lance's The Monkey Time. Now here we are at L and so it is the Major's turn. To be honest I had forgotten I had a copy of this 45 when I referred to it a couple of days ago. Finding it as I riffled through the Ls in my box has sent me on quite a journey.

Firstly, I can tell where and when I found this record. Until about three years ago I would record in a spreadsheet all my finds “in the wild”. That spreadsheet tells me I found this 45 at a car boot sale at Lansdown near Bath in April of 2011, and it cost me 50p. (Aahh, those were the days when you could still regularly turn up something worth having at a car boot, particularly the Lansdown one which has sadly declined even more than most.)

So what about the name and address sticker on the label? One thing I certainly can't describe, although I would love to know, is the journey this 45 took down the years from being bought as a charting single in 1963 by Elizabeth, presumably in Charleston, to being in a box of unloved singles in a field near Bath, England in 2011. At the time I would certainly have Googled that name and address. But at the time I'm guessing I drew a blank. I just Googled it again and this time I can put a face to Elizabeth!

Ashley Hall in Charleston is a private girl's school and is still in existence. Googling Elizabeth's name and the school now brings up a link to the school's 2014 year book which can be downloaded as a pdf. In it Elizabeth is featured (as Elisabeth) and pictured(!), and received an annual “professional development award” from the school. She is referred to as a graduate in '64. This fits perfectly with the timeline of this Major Lance 45, so now I can picture Elizabeth, in her final year before graduation, dancing The Monkey with her friends in her boarding room at Ashley Hall! *

A little bit more Googling led me to two Youtube clips of her speaking, as an entrepreneur, at events in Atlanta. At the time of the videos she ran a company, also based in Atlanta, called Womenetics; although pursuing that avenue led to a dead end as it seems to be no longer active. I'm guessing (hoping) she is now enjoying a well earned retirement.

I can't help but notice that Ashley Hall is a rather “posh” looking school and I wouldn't have forseen the original owner of a 45 by Major Lance to be from such a background. There is quite a juxtaposition, especially considering the segregation that still existed in the USA in the early '60s, especially in the South. But then why should I be surprised? Major Lance was just another product the emerging '60s pop culture really and pop music was on a journey that began to transcend barriers of class and colour (and now I'm picturing the thousands of screaming teenage girls following The Beatles around; and Major Lance once opened for them).

Now here's another thing: I looked up this single on 45cat where I found a recent comment linking to this story. It's worth reading. And I have learnt something – the 60^th, and current, Mayor of Atlanta, is Keisha Lance Bottoms, and she is Major Lance's daughter. Furthermore she was, for a short time, in the running to be Joe Biden's running mate.

Major Lance – The Monkey Time 1963

Major Lance – Mama Didn't Know 1963

* and I'm betting Mummy didn't know :)