The music career of Maurice Williams spanned more than six decades, with groups that evolved from the Junior Harmonizers to the Royal Charms, the Gladiolas and, finally, the Zodiacs.
Williams recorded his first hit, "Little Darlin'," with the Gladiolas in 1957. The song reached number four on Billboard's R&B chart.
He was only 17 in 1955 when he wrote "Stay" after unsuccessfully trying to convince a girl to "stay a little longer." At first, Williams didn't like the song but ultimately released it as the B side of a record. "Stay" ended up being the hit, reaching #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 on November 21, 1960.
To watch the Zodiacs performing "Stay" in 1967, you can go to this video from the Reelin' In The Years Archives.
To listen to Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons doing the song, go here, and for one of Jackson Browne's versions, go here.
The photo in this episode's chapters and thumbnail is a publicity shot of Williams (pictured in the middle of the first row) and the Zodiacs in 1960. It's available on Wikimedia Commons.
This tribute is one of 41 stories that Sheldon Zoldan, a longtime journalist, has written and recorded in honor of the music notables who passed away in 2024. He's written tributes for other years as well. You can listen to the ones from 2023 on Everyday Creation. We'll have the 2022 tributes available later this year.
Sheldon also is the creator of Song of the Day, a story that he sends by email to a list of subscribers. To get on his subscriber list, email shzoldan@comcast.net with the subject line ADD ME TO SOTD.
This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation, available on YouTube and in podcast directories including Apple, Audible, iHeart and Spotify.
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