"Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um" is a song, written by Curtis Mayfield.
Contents
Overview
The first recording to be released was by Major Lance, as a single in December 1963, produced by Okeh label president Carl Davis.
Later, the song also made an appearance in the second season of the hospital drama E.R. episode - 'Hell And High Water' where George Clooney's character
Dr. Doug Ross played it on his car stereo.
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 R&B chart (Billboard did not run an R&B chart November 1963-January 1965). In Canada it reached #6. 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 and the Mindbenders reaching No. 5.
Johnny Rivers 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 radio, peaking at No. 4 on the Easy Listening chart in Billboard in February 1978; it reached No. 41 on the Billboard Hot 100 where it was Rivers' final charting song.