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278:. His first experience with music was in the church, where his mother and sister both performed. By the time he was six, Williams was performing regularly there. With his childhood friend Earl Gainey, Williams formed the gospel group the Junior Harmonizers. As
389:. Around that time, the group split and reformed. The members were Williams, Gaston, Wiley Bennett, and Charles Thomas. Later, Little Willie Morrow and Albert Hill were added. One month later, in the early summer of 1959, the band recorded in a
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label. At the time they were going by the name the Royal Charms, but the founder of
Excello Records, Ernie Young, convinced them to change their name to the Gladiolas (at the time, there were at least two other bands using the same name).
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recorded "Stay", which gave the group their debut Top Ten hit single in the UK, peaking at No.8 in
January 1964, three years after the Zodiacs' version had peaked at No. 14 on the
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443:(1978), reached the Top 20 in the U.S., each selling over one million copies in the United States alone. The inclusion of the Zodiacs' "Stay" on the
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A 1965 recording by the group, "May I", released by Vee Jay
Records and Dee-Su Records, became, over the years, another million-selling
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Henry Gaston died on August 24, 2015, at the age of 79. Maurice
Williams died on August 5, 2024, at the age of 86.
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Williams finished high school and while on the road with the band, their station wagon broke down in
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Williams continued to record, tour, and release music until his death. He was inducted into the
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became their primary interest, the Junior
Harmonizers changed their name to the Royal Charms.
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and changed their name based on this. Shortly thereafter, Henry Gaston replaced Earl Gainey.
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in 2010. He also made several performances for the PBS "Doo Wop 50" show series in 2001.
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in 1987 led to the song selling more records than it had during its original release.
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In addition to
Williams and Gainey, the Royal Charms were made up of Willie Jones (
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in 1957, but only reached number 41 on
Billboard's Top 100. However, when it was
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In the spring of 1959, Maurice
Williams and the Zodiacs performed at the
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Whitburn, Joel Top Pop
Singles 1955-2006, Record Research, 2007 p. 344
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American
Singing Groups: A History from 1940 to Today (Jay Warner)
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1114:"Maurice Williams' famous song has staying power, 55 years later"
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Rock File 4 - Chart log of American/British Top 20 Hits 1955-1974
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vocal group in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Originally the (
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List of artists who reached number one in the United States
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in 1958, before finally settling on the Zodiacs in 1959.
895:(2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p.
1136:"Legendary "Stay" singer Maurice Williams dies at 86"
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The Billboard Book of TOP 40 R&B and Hip Hop Hits
30:"The Gladiolas" redirects here. For other uses, see
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67:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
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858:List of 1960s one-hit wonders in the United States
157:Williams (front, center) and the Zodiacs in 1960
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435:(January 1961). Later versions of "Stay", by
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127:Learn how and when to remove this message
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937:The Virgin Encyclopedia of Sixties Music
786:"I'd Rather Have a Memory Than a Dream"
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1246:1950s establishments in South Carolina
393:on Shakespeare Road in Columbia. The
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427:At the end of 1963, the British band
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508:, produced and arranged by Ron Oates
424:Hot 100 chart in the United States.
65:adding citations to reliable sources
1072:. North Carolina Music Hall of Fame
258:, the band changed its name to the
1221:Musical groups from South Carolina
863:List of people from South Carolina
290:The Royal Charms and the Gladiolas
76:"Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs"
25:
970:"Interview with Maurice Williams"
473:North Carolina Music Hall of Fame
1202:Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs
1184:Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs
240:Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs
145:Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs
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52:needs additional citations for
811:"Sweetheart, Please Don't Go"
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1116:. The Charlotte Observer
891:The Book of Golden Discs
853:Vocal Group Hall of Fame
597:"Lover (Where Are You)"
511:2000 The 21-song album,
387:Columbia, South Carolina
372:Bluefield, West Virginia
362:, it moved up to No. 2.
1236:Vee-Jay Records artists
1031:per Casey Kasem on the
776:"My Reason for Livin'"
223:Henry Gaston (deceased)
1241:Herald Records artists
709:"High Blood Pressure"
163:Background information
828:"Let’s Do It Again"
316:Nashville, Tennessee
306:), and Norman Wade (
61:improve this article
27:American vocal group
759:"The Four Corners"
506:Let This Night Last
298:), William Massey (
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690:"Come and Get It"
395:recording engineer
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643:"Do You Believe"
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673:"Come Along"
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653:"I Remember"
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612:"She's Mine"
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1140:. Retrieved
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1094:. Legacy.com
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1074:. Retrieved
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974:. Retrieved
942:Virgin Books
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932:Colin Larkin
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746:"The Winds"
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217:Past members
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59:Please help
54:verification
51:
1170:The Zodiacs
702:"Some Day"
590:"Say Yeah"
482:Discography
439:(1963) and
429:the Hollies
391:Quonset Hut
366:The Zodiacs
312:high school
233:Earl Gainey
229:Albert Hill
1215:Categories
869:References
731:"So Fine"
535:positions
533:Peak chart
467:Later life
445:soundtrack
418:number one
330:The song "
87:newspapers
1142:August 7,
1120:March 11,
1098:March 11,
1039:cue sheet
798:440/Plus
721:"Please"
665:"Always"
422:Billboard
341:Billboard
260:Gladiolas
176:Tennessee
172:Nashville
1174:AllMusic
1165:AllMusic
1042:Archived
976:March 9,
837:See also
356:Canadian
322:for the
296:baritone
264:Excellos
1206:Discogs
685:"Do I"
587:Selwyn
561:R&B
520:Singles
447:to the
420:on the
354:by the
352:covered
345:R&B
338:on the
324:Excello
304:trumpet
284:doo-wop
248:R&B
244:doo-wop
187:Doo-wop
101:scholar
948:
903:
824:Ripete
801:"Try"
639:Herald
546:Album
542:B-side
530:Title
487:Albums
461:record
376:Zodiac
358:group
320:record
256:Charms
193:Labels
183:Genres
168:Origin
103:
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89:
82:
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808:1990
783:1970
756:1968
728:1965
670:1961
619:1960
609:Cole
572:1959
527:Year
504:1997
498:1965
492:1961
348:chart
318:, to
300:tenor
252:Royal
178:, USA
108:JSTOR
94:books
1197:IMDb
1188:IMDb
1144:2024
1122:2021
1100:2021
1078:2012
1019:help
978:2015
946:ISBN
901:ISBN
772:Veep
750:Stay
647:Stay
624:Stay
494:Stay
449:film
406:demo
399:Stay
308:bass
282:and
80:news
1195:at
1186:at
1172:at
1163:at
897:130
676:83
656:86
635:14
554:Pop
412:in
385:in
336:hit
63:by
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566:UK
559:US
552:US
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
