Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs
This R&B vocal group from Lancaster, South Carolina, USA, was led by Maurice Williams (b. 26 April 1938, Lancaster, South Carolina, USA; pianist/songwriter). The hit record ‘Stay’, which went to number 3 R&B and number 1 pop in 1960, immortalized the Zodiacs as a one-hit-wonder group. (In the UK ‘Stay’ went to number 14 in 1961.) Williams, however, had a long history before and after the hit, forming his first group, the Gladiolas, in 1955. Besides Williams (b. 26 April 1938, Lancaster, South Carolina, USA), the group comprised Earl Gainey (tenor), William Massey (tenor/baritone), Willie Jones (baritone), and Norman Wade (bass). Their one hit for the Nashville-based Excello Records was ‘Little Darlin’’, which went to number 11 R&B and number 41 pop in 1957. The record was covered with greater success by the Canadian group, the Diamonds. In 1960 Williams formed the Zodiacs, comprising Wiley Bennett (tenor), Henry Gaston (tenor), Charles Thomas (baritone), Albert Hill (double bass), and Little Willie Morrow (drums).
After the unforgettable ‘Stay’ the group honoured themselves with many outstanding compositions, most notably ‘I Remember’ (number 86 pop in 1961), ‘Come Along’ (number 83 pop in 1961), and ‘May I’ (1966), but nothing close to a hit resulted. The latter song was re-recorded in 1969 by Bill Deal And The Rhondels who had a Top 40 national hit with it. The most frequently remade Williams song was ‘Stay’, which the Hollies in the UK (1963), the Four Seasons (1964), and Jackson Browne (1978) all placed on the charts. Its timeless lyric of teenage lust and angst has been passed through the decades: ‘Well your mama don’t mind, well your papa don’t mind’, leading to the punch line, ‘Oh won’t you stay, just a little bit longer’. During subsequent decades Williams sustained a career with a new group of Zodiacs, playing their classic catalogue to the Beach Music club circuit in the Carolinas.
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Stay
Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs, The Courettes
R&B - Released by Cleopatra Records on 30 Jun 2023
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Stay
Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs
Soul - Released by HHO on 3 Oct 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Maurice Williams and The Zodiacs (Rerecorded)
Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs
Pop - Released by Suite 102 on 1 Jan 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stay (Mono Version)
Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs
Pop - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1961
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
The Very Best of Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs
Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs
R&B - Released by Platinum Collection on 5 Jul 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Golden Oldies (Digitally Remastered)
Maurice Williams, The Zodiacs, Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs
Pop - Released by Essential Media Group on 7 Oct 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Presenting Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs
Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs
Italy - Released by Universal Digital Enterprises on 12 Aug 1961
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs' This Feeling
Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs
R&B - Released by Charly Records on 25 Jun 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stay (Digitally Remastered)
Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs
Blues - Released by New World on 15 Nov 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Maurice Williams with The Gladiolas and The Zodiacs: The Complete Releases 1956-62
Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs, The Gladiolas
R&B - Released by ACROBAT on 9 Feb 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stay (Digitally Remastered)
Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs
Blues - Released by Hully Gully on 15 Nov 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
I Love You Baby
Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs
Pop - Released by Good Old Times on 26 Mar 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stay (Extended Version (Remastered))
Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs
Soul - Released by Delta Music - GCM on 8 Jul 2022
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stay
Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs
Rock - Released by Herald on 6 Sep 1960
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stay
Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs
Soul - Released by Zodiac Records on 1 Jan 1961
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs At Their Best
Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs
Soul - Released by StreamWorld Entertainment Classics on 14 Jul 1982
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stay (Re-Recorded) [Sped Up] - Single
Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs
R&B - Released by Cleopatra Records on 2 Jun 2023
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stay
Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs
Soul - Released by Classic Records on 28 Jan 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Great Vocal Groups
Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs
Pop - Released by Play Digital on 21 Apr 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
At The Beach (Live in '65)
Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs
Rock - Released by Night Train International on 27 Nov 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mustang Sally
Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs
Soul - Released by Dance Plant Records Inc on 27 Mar 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo