Maurice Williams was born 26 April 1938 in Lancaster, South Carolina. 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 rock and roll and doo-wop became their primary interest, the Junior Harmonizers changed their name to The Royal Charms.
In addition to Williams and Gainey, The Royal Charms were made up of Willie Jones (baritone), William Massey (tenor, baritone, trumpet), and Norman Wade (bass). In the winter of 1956, while still in high school, Williams and his band traveled to Nashville, Tennessee to record for the Excello record 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.
The song "Little Darlin'" was a #11 hit on the R&B chart in 1957, but did not break the Billboard Hot 100's Top 40.[citation needed] However, when the song was covered by the Canadian group The Diamonds, it moved up to #2.
Williams finished high school and while on the road with the band (after their station wagon broke down in Bluefield, West Virginia), the band came across a small car known as "The Zodiac" and the band changed their name.[citation needed] Shortly thereafter, Henry Gatson replaced Earl Gainey.
In the spring of 1959, Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs performed at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, South Carolina. Around that time, the group split and reformed. The members were Williams, Gatson, 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 Quonset Hut on Shakespeare Road in Columbia. The recording engineer, Homer Fesperman, recorded several tracks that the band had hoped would fetch them a hit. One of the last tracks that they recorded that day was "Stay," a song that Williams had written a couple of weeks before.
After taking the demo of "Stay" to Al Silver at Herald Records in New York City, the song was pressed and released in early 1960. "Stay" is the shortest recording ever to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States (1:39, though the label read 1:50). Later versions of "Stay" by The Four Seasons (1964) and Jackson Browne (1978) also reached the Top 20, each selling over one million copies in the United States alone. The inclusion of "Stay" on the soundtrack to the film Dirty Dancing in 1987 led to the song selling more records than it had during its original release. At the end of 1963, British band the Hollies covered "Stay", which gave the group their debut Top Ten hit single in the UK, peaking at #8.
A 1961 recording by the group, "May I", also released by Herald Records became, over the years, another million selling record.
Williams continued recording, touring, and releasing music through the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. He is still active on the music industry, residing in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Williams was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame in 2010.
Stay
Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Please, please, please, please, please,
Tell me that you're going to
Now your Daddy don't mind,
And your Mommy don't mind,
If we have another dance, yeah,
Just one more, one more time
Oh won't you stay, just a little bit longer,
Please let me hear you say that you will
Say you will
Won't you place your sweet lips to mine,
Won't you say you love me all the time
Oh yeah, just a little bit longer,
Please, please, please, please, please,
Tell me you're going to
Come on, come on, come on, stay,
Come on, come on, come on, stay,
Come on, come on, come on, stay, oh la de da,
Come on, come on, come on, stay, my, my, my, my,
Come on, come on, come on, stay
The lyrics of Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs's song Stay are centered around a plea to a lover to stay just a little bit longer. The singer expresses a desperate desire for the person's company, begging them repeatedly to tell him that they will stay. The song is said to capture the emotions of young love and a struggle to keep the flame burning amidst social pressures and parental expectations.
The line "Now your Daddy don't mind, And your Mommy don't mind, If we have another dance, yeah, Just one more, one more time" suggests that the singer is trying to persuade the lover to stay longer, even though parental figures are in the picture. This perhaps alludes to the conservative attitudes towards premarital relationships that were prevalent at the time the song was released in 1960.
The chorus, with its repetition of "please, please, please, please, please," adds an urgent and pleading tone to the song. The singer is almost begging the lover to stay, and the repetition of the word "please" creates a sense of tension and desperation. Moreover, the line "Won't you place your sweet lips to mine, Won't you say you love me all the time," highlights the need for intimacy and emotional connection in a relationship. It seems that the singer wants to confirm the strength of their relationship and reassure that it is worth fighting for.
Line by Line Meaning
Stay, ah just a little bit longer,
Can we spend more time together before you leave?
Please, please, please, please, please,
I really want you to stay.
Tell me that you're going to
Please give me a positive response.
Now your Daddy don't mind,
Your father doesn't have any objections.
And your Mommy don't mind,
Your mother doesn't have any issues either.
If we have another dance, yeah,
We can spend more time together and dance again.
Just one more, one more time
Can we have one last dance together?
Oh won't you stay, just a little bit longer,
Can we stay together for a bit longer?
Please let me hear you say that you will
Please confirm that you'll stay with me.
Say you will
Please tell me you'll stay.
Won't you place your sweet lips to mine,
Can we share a kiss?
Won't you say you love me all the time
Can you express your love for me more often?
Oh yeah, just a little bit longer,
Please stay with me a bit more.
Come on, come on, come on, stay,
I'm urging you to stay.
oh la de da,
Just a meaningless filler.
my, my, my, my,
I'm expressing my emotions.
Come on, come on, come on, stay
Can we stay together?
Lyrics © Ultra Tunes, BMG Rights Management
Written by: CEDRIC ALLEN WILLIAMS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@TheJaffaCake09
I can so picture Belly and Conrad dancing to this at their wedding. The perfect song for a perfect ending in a perfect book <3
@mahitarahman3348
@@emmawebster3401 not in the show yet but book🤭💕
@cantalasn
OMG SAMEEE THIS COMMENT IS ICONIC BTW
@elle193
I came to listen to this right after finishing the book 😭
@janapilarova4685
@@elle193 just finished it too🥺
@Caspersfriend
@@elle193 same I finished yesterday 🥺❤️ so cute
@sandyconnie77
I'm 73 and when I was a teenager, my mother said "If you play that one more time, I'm going to scream"
@MrFranknitty718
Lol that's awesome
@larryreade2677
I'm 73 too. Bet she found herself screaming all the time!
@JPMcFly1985
Did the World War II Generation think this was "modern pop crap" when it was new? lol I guess some things never change. It seems like a nice mellow song I would think even the older people would've liked, but what do I know