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Maurice Williams was
born in Lancaster, South Carolina in 1940. At a very young age he started singing in the choir at First Washington Baptist Church. As
it was located across the street from where he lived, he was practically raised in the church. At age 12 Maurice sang with his
first gospel group, The Jr. Harmonizers. He sang in the Glee Club and played the trombone in the band at Barr Street High School. With
the help of his sister Carol, he learned to play the piano, playing in the style of one of his idols, Fats Domino. While Carol was
becoming a concert pianist, Maurice Williams was learning rock and roll..
 In 1955 Maurice formed his first band, "The Royal Charms", who immediately began winning local talent shows and
playing high school proms. In 1957 the group changed its name to "The Gladiolas". Maurice composed a song titled
Little
Darlin' which "The Gladiolas" recorded in Nashville for the Excello label. It was an immediate hit and due to its strength in
the South, a nationally famous recording group, "The Diamonds" did a cover version of the song and it zoomed to the top of the
charts. Little Darlin' established Maurice Williams as one of the top songwriters in the business. According to The
Diamonds’ lead singer Dave Sommerville, it was one of the top 5 selling songs of the 1950’s.
 "The Gladiolas" name was
changed to "Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs" and in 1960 in Columbia, SC they recorded Maurice’s song Stay. It was
released on the Herald label and went to number one on the national charts where it “stayed” that entire summer. The success of
“Stay” and appearances on national TV shows like The Merv Griffin Show and American Bandstand established Maurice Williams and The
Zodiacs and one of the hottest performing groups in the country. “To this day,” says Maurice, “when I here Mr. Henry
(Shane) Gaston wail the high part, I still get the chills.” Other successful tunes followed, including “I Remember” (1961) and the
classic “May I” (1964) more>>
Other Versions of the Story
Yes, as long as you have writers, you will have several versions
of the story. Some what to say he was born in 1938 when he was
really born in 1940.
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Did you
know:
Maurice Williams has
been listed by some as being a one hit wonder, yet he has had many
of his songs hit the charts. Little Darlin' was a top
40 Hit raising to number 11 on the charts for a four week run,
stayed in the top 40 for some time. It was sung by "The
Gladiolas" and yes it is Maurice Williams who wrote and performed
Little Darlin' during that time, but somehow this fact seems disregarded. After all it was
Little Darlin' that established Maurice Williams as one of
the top song writers in the business. Little Darlin'
made the charts again when the white Canadian group called The
Diamonds re-recorded it. People loved the song the first time and
treasured it again. Could it have been the delivery by the Diamonds
that brought the song to number one? It did not matter to
Maurice who took his songs to the top of the charts, all he knew is
his song was a hit again. He gladly watched it soar to the top
of the charts. Little Darlin' is listed as one of the
top selling songs of the 50's.
Now, how can we forget May
I which also made the charts? Although May I never
reached number one status by Maurice Williams even though he wrote
May I and did the
original recording. Maurice did however get his song into the top 40 Hit
status which is pretty darn great if you think about it. When
May I was recorded by a white group called "Bill Deal
and The Rondells" it went to number one.
I personally love Maurice's
version of May I, but then I am one of his biggest fans, so I
just adore his golden voice on anything, especially something he has
written.
 It is Stay that everyone
recognizes from around the world. Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs brought the song to fame. Other artist have taken
Stay to the Top of the charts as well, so yes it is the one we all love and want to hear most often. So we all hope that Maurice
Williams will STAY with us for many more years and continue to bring us his beautiful voice and special talents.
Just a note to the writers out there who want to tag One Hit Wonder to this very talented man, how
many hit songs have you published lately? more>>
Article by Eve Evans
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