Maurice Williams, writer and lead singer of ‘Stay,’ dies at 86

Maurice Williams, an accomplished rhythm and blues singer and composer who, along with his backing group the Zodiacs, soared to fame with the iconic ballad “Stay,” has passed away at the age of 86.

Williams died on August 6, as announced by the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame. Further details were not immediately provided.

A dedicated writer and performer from a young age, Williams saw his destiny unfold when he and the Zodiacs entered a studio session in 1960. It was there they unknowingly created a timeless hit with their recording of “Stay,” a song Williams had written as a teenager. Over powerful chants of “Stay!” by his fellow vocalists, Williams carried the song’s heartfelt plea to an unnamed girl. Halfway through, he stepped back to allow Shane Gaston to deliver one of rock’s most memorable falsetto lines — “OH, WON’T YOU STAY, JUST A LITTLE BIT LONGER!”

Lasting just over one and a half minutes, “Stay” became one of the shortest chart-toppers in rock history, claiming the No. 1 spot on the Billboard pop chart in 1960 and marking the group’s only major success.
However, the song was later covered by artists like the Hollies and the Four Seasons and continued to enjoy popularity. Jackson Browne’s inclusion of a live version on his 1977 album “Running On Empty” helped cement its status as a classic oldie.

“Stay” gained further prominence when it was performed by Browne, Bruce Springsteen, and Tom Petty at the 1979 “No Nukes” concert in Madison Square Garden and featured on the blockbuster soundtrack for “Dirty Dancing” in 1987.

The song found its muse in Mary Shropshire, a teenage crush of Williams. “Mary was the one I was trying to get to stay a little longer,” Williams told North Carolina publication Our State in 2012. “Of course, she couldn’t.”

Although “Stay” brought Williams widespread recognition, his career was marked by numerous disappointments. He wrote another falsetto-centric song, “Little Darlin,” which he recorded with the Gladiolas in 1957. However, it became a hit for the white group the Diamonds. In 1965, Williams and the Zodiacs recorded the promising ballad “May I,” but their label, Vee-Jay, went bankrupt just as the song was being released. The song eventually became a hit for another white group, Bill Deal & the Rhondels.

Despite these setbacks, Williams continued to be a mainstay on oldies tours and tributes, releasing albums like “Let This Night Last” and “Back to Basics.” He settled in Charlotte, North Carolina, in the mid-1960s and was inducted into the state’s Hall of Fame in 2010. He is survived by his wife, Emily.

Born in Lancaster, South Carolina, Williams sang in church with family members as a child. In his teens, he formed a gospel group called the Junior Harmonizers, which later evolved into the Royal Charms and then the Zodiacs, named after a Ford car they used on the road. A prolific writer, Williams needed little time to complete what would become his signature hit.

“It took me about thirty minutes to write ‘Stay,’ then I threw it away,” he later told classicbands.com. “We were looking for songs to record as Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs. I was at my girlfriend’s house playing tapes of songs I had written when her little sister said, ‘Please do the song with the high voice in it.’ I knew she meant ‘Stay.’ She was about 12 years old, and I said to myself, ‘She’s the age of record buying,’ and the rest is history. I thank God for her.”

Source: Los Angeles Times