Herb Lance

Herbert J. "Herb" Lance (June 12, 1925 – November 7, 2006) was an American jazz, blues and gospel singer, songwriter, record producer, recording studio owner and radio DJ. As well as recording several hits himself in the late 1940s, he co-wrote Ruth Brown's signature song, "Mama, He Treats Your Daughter Mean".

Herb Lance was born in Georgetown, South Carolina, and lived there until he signed up to the US Army in 1944. In 1948 he made his first recording backed by the Ray Abrams Sextet, for Bob Shad's "Sittin' In With" record label. His first success came with his version of the Bernice Petkere song "Close Your Eyes", which reached #4 on the Billboard R&B chart (called the Race Records chart at the time) in 1949. Two further single releases later the same year also made the R&B chart: "Because" (#8) and "That Lucky Old Sun" (#6). Lance performed around the country in 1950, including a residency in Baltimore with the Cootie Williams band, and a series of one-nighters in Ohio with Roy Brown. Later records on "Sittin' In With" were less successful, and in September 1950 he started recording for Columbia Records, before headlining for a week at the Apollo Theater in New York City the following month. His single releases for Columbia failed to make the charts, and in 1951 he was moved to the subsidiary OKeh label, before signing with Mercury Records in Chicago.

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