The Majors

The Majors scored an R&B/pop Top 30 hit in 1962 with "A Wonderful Dream." They are remembered for their outrageous falsetto lead vocals (often criticized for them) and for being one of the many acts produced by Jerry Ragovoy, an important behind-the-scenes force behind East Coast Soul music. The Majors -- lead singer Ricky Cordo, Eugene Glass, Frank Troutt, Ronald Gathers, and Idella Morris -- formed in 1961 in Philadelphia. Early on the group decided to highlight Cordo's exaggerated falsetto leads, which to some, sounded like they could have been sung by the group's lone female, Idella Morris, instead.



They soon came to the attention of Ragovoy, a producer who worked at Chancellor Records at the time (where Fabian and Frankie Avalon had hits). Ragavoy had already begun producing doo wop acts (often distinguished by a conspicuous gospel feel) in the Philadelphia area in 1953, when he and Herb Slotkin (owner of Tregoobs appliance store) formed Grand Records. They later issued early doo wop releases by The Castelles.

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