November 21, 1960
One of shortest-length 45 rpm records in pop music history, the R&B-tinged Stay by Maurice Williams and the Zodicas began a seven-day stopover at the apex of the Billboard Hot 100, replacing the Ray Charles classic Georgia On My Mind.
It was quickly ousted by Elvis Presley‘s 8th biggest hit record Are You Lonesome To-night? which had a meteoric rise to the top in only the single’s third week on the Hot 100 (#35-#2-#1) – and the first of a six-week ride at #1 for the king.
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From Lancaster, South Carolina, Williams originally fronted a rhythm and blues & doo wop group named The Gladiolas, who he renamed Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs in 1959.
Williams then re-vamped the lineup in 1960 to the one pictured above.
The historical relevance of The Gladiolas comes from Williams and the group writing and recording the original version of Little Darlin’, later a huge hit for the Canadian-based doo wop quartet The Diamonds, who were one of the first white groups to cover R&B hits (#Post of July 16, 2015). The Gladiolas version is found below.
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STAY
Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs
[1960]
After an original demo of Stay was re-recorded and released on the Herald label, it began receiving airplay – initially on influential AM-radio powerhouse CKLW Detroit/Windsor – and the single took off from there.
[Note] At a scant one minute and thirty-four seconds in length, there were no bathroom breaks for radio DJ’s when playing this one.
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EXTRA STUFF!
LITTLE DARLIN’
The Gladiolas
[1957]
Maurice Williams’ The Gladiolas recorded Little Darlin’ first – and just one month prior to the mass appeal hit version by Toronto’s The Diamonds, who rode it to #2 on Billboard in 1957, with The Gladiolas’ original reaching #6 that same year.
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The song has been re-done by many artists, but two of the more well-known cover versions of ‘Stay’ were by The Four Seasons and Jackson Browne (Cyndi Lauper also recorded it in 2004).
STAY
The Four Seasons
[1964]
Beginning in 1962, the quartet – who were named after a bowling alley in their native Newark, NJ – recorded their first 6 singles (plus 2 EP’s) for the small Chicago-based Vee-Jay records label; also the home of 14 of the earliest recorded EMI UK tracks by The Beatles.
But in late 1963, Frankie and the boys switched record labels by signing with Phillips, and with Vee-Jay still owning additional recordings by the group, singles from both labels were released.
As an example, in ’64, this Four Seasons’ cover of Stay was released two weeks after the initial FS record on Phillips titled Dawn (Go Away). (For the record, ‘Dawn’ climbed to #3 on Billboard, with ‘Stay’ topping out at #16)
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STAY
Jackson Browne
[1978]
With Jackson Browne on lead vocals, David Lindley providing the falsetto parts, Rosemary Butler contributing female vocals and with additional lyrics, Stay reached #20 on the Hot 100 during the summer of ’78.
‘Stay’ and its B-side, called The Loadout, were segued together as The Loadout/Stay on Browne’s Running On Empty, an album of various concert performances issued in 1977.
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Songs Source: The Music Vault of HouseoftheHits, Inc.
Billboard® Chart Data: Joel Whitburn’s Record Research (eBook Editions)
Record Sleeve & Label Graphics: Courtesy of 45cat
