Major Harris, former member of the Delfonics, has died at the age of 65 in Richmond, Virginia. Harris is best-known for the 1975 hit “Love Won’t Let Me Wait.”
Harris passed away on Friday morning from congestive heart and lung failure after being taken to the hospital. Catherine Thomas, Harris’s sister, confirmed reports with the Associated Press.
Harris was born February 9, 1947. Thomas says, music played a major part in his life at a very young age. She shared memories of her brother: “In his teens, Harris was tall for his age and was able to get into clubs to watch musicians perform,” she said. “He always appeared to be older, which gave him a lot of ins to a lot of older places.”
This is where Harris began pursuing his music career. Thomas explained, music “was his life.”
Harris was a member of many popular music groups in the 1960s, such as Frankie Lymon’s Teenagers, the Charmers, and Nat Turner’s Rebellion.
Harris joined the Delfonics in the early 1970s, where he replaced Randy Cain. The soulful group is well-known for their hits “La-La (Means I Love You)” and “Didn’t I (Blow Your Mind This Time).”
He later left the group in 1974 to pursue a solo career. He released several R&B singles, including “Love Won’t Let Me Wait,” which peaked at No. 5 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. According to Thomas, one of Harris’s final performances was at a Delfonics reunion show in 2011.
