Maurice Williams & the Zodiacs

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Chart positions
Explanation of the data
Singles
Little Darlin ' (as The Gladiolas)
  US 41 04/06/1957 (11 weeks)
Stay (Just a Little Bit Longer)
  US 1Template: Infobox chart placements / maintenance / NR1 link 10/03/1960 (18 weeks)
  UK 14th 01/05/1961 (9 weeks)
I remember
  US 86 January 16, 1961 (3 weeks)
Come Along
  US 83 04/10/1961 (2 weeks)

Maurice Williams & the Zodiacs were an American R'n'B band from the late 1950s and early 1960s.

history

Maurice Williams started a school band in Lancaster, South Carolina, USA in the mid-1950s and won a talent competition with them at their high school in 1955 under the name "The Royal Charms".

So they continued their professional career, renamed themselves "The Gladiolas" and in 1957 published the Little Darlin ' written by Williams . With this doo-wop classic they got straight to number 41 in the US charts, but it was The Diamonds who had their biggest hit with it.

After two more renaming, first to "Excellos" and finally to "The Zodiacs", the super hit came for them too. Again it was Maurice Williams who wrote the piece, and in 1960 they jumped to the top of the US charts with the song Stay (Just a Little Bit Longer) . At 1 min 56 s, the song is the shortest US number one hit of all time.

This doo-wop classic has also been covered many times, including by the Four Seasons (US # 16), the Hollies (UK # 8) and Jackson Browne , who had a top 20 hit with it in 1978 and its version in the 1990s became known again in Germany through the television advertising of the Bitburger brewery . Furthermore, the original of the Zodiacs was also part of the soundtrack of the film Dirty Dancing (1987).

For the Zodiacs , however, it remained almost a one-hit wonder , because two other singles only reached the bottom of the chart in 1961. Maurice Williams toured clubs and beach parties until the 1980s, although the line-up of the Zodiacs changed.

Members (1960)

  • Maurice Williams (born April 26, 1938), singer, pianist
  • Wiley Bennett, tenor
  • Henry Gaston, tenor
  • Charles Thomas, baritone
  • Albert Hill, bass player
  • Little Willie Morrow, drummer

literature

  • Stambler, Irwin: The Encyclopedia Of Pop, Rock And Soul . 3rd Revised Edition, New York City, New York: St. Martin's Press, 1989, pp. 741, ISBN 0-312-02573-4 .
  • Warner, Jay: The Billboard Book Of American Singing Groups. A History 1940-1990 . New York City, New York: Billboard Books, 1992, pp. 315-317.

swell

  1. ^ British Hit Singles & Albums , 18th Edition, Guinness World Records Limited 2005, ISBN 9781904994008
  2. ↑ Top Pop Singles 1955-2006 by Joel Whitburn , Record Research 2007, ISBN 978-0-89820-172-7 .
  3. ↑ Producers: Phil Gernhard and Johnny McCullough; US Catalog Number: Herald 552; For more information on the title, see: Bronson, Fred: The Billboard Book of Number One Hits . 3rd revised and expanded edition. New York City, New York: Billboard Publications, 1992, 80

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