Although Maurice Williams
& the Zodiacs only had one big hit, the song became one of the classic
singles in the
history of rock & roll and R&B. The song, "Stay," was a number
one hit upon its
release in 1960.
Williams and the Zodiacs' career didn't prove to be as popular as the song
itself.
They only had two
more minor pop hits before they disappeared from the charts, but over the
course of the next
three decades, "Stay" remained one of the most popular songs of the era
and it
was played constantly
on oldies radio station. "Stay" was covered by numerous other artists and
has
enjoyed a few revivals
in mass popularity, most notably when it was featured in the hit 1987 film,
Dirty Dancing.
Before he formed
the Zodiacs, Maurice Williams sang with a number of different doo wop and
R&B
vocal groups, beginning
with the Royal Charms in the early '50s. In 1955, he formed the Gladiolas
with Earl Gainey,
Willie Jones, William Massey, and Norman Wade. The Gladiolas signed to
Excello and recorded
"Little Darlin'," which reached number 11 on the R&B charts, number
41 pop
in the spring of
1957. The single's acension on the pop charts was undercut by a cover of
the song
by the White Canadian
vocal group, the Diamonds. After a financial dispute, Williams lost the
rights
to the name the
Gladolias in 1959.
Maurice Williams
formed the Zodiacs in 1960, recruiting Wiley Bennett, Albert Hill, Henry
Gaston,
Little Willie Morrow,
and Charley Thomas. The group released their first single, "Stay," on Herald
records in the
summer of 1960. The song worked its way up the charts, peaking at number
three on
the R&B charts
and number one on the pop charts. After the single charted nationally,
the Zodiacs
constantly toured
America, playing revues with artists like James Brown. The group released
a
follow-up single
titled "I Remember" at the end of the year, but it didn't make it past
86 on the pop
charts and didn't
appear on the R&B charts at all. Neither did "Come Along," which was
released in
the spring of 1961
and only climbed to number 83 on the pop charts.
Maurice Williams
and the Zodiacs continued to release singles until the late '60s, but none
of the
records received
any attention. Throughout the '70s and '80s, Williams led various incarnations
of
the Zodiacs on
oldies tours, primarily on the Beach Music circuit on the U.S. East Coast.