Maurice Williams, singer behind 'Stay' and frontman of doo-wop group the Zodiacs, dies at 86

Maurice Williams

The hit ballad, which Williams also wrote, topped the "Billboard" Hot 100 and was later featured in the '80s classic "Dirty Dancing."

Maurice Williams, the frontman of the doo-wop group the Zodiacs and singer-songwriter behind their 1960 hit song "Stay," has died. He was 86.

The North Carolina Music Hall of Fame announced Saturday that Williams died on Aug. 6. His former bandmate Ron Henderson subsequently told The New York Times that Williams died in a hospital in Charlotte, N.C. No cause of death was disclosed.

Born on April 26, 1938, in Lancaster, S.C., Williams began performing in church at the age of 6 and formed his first group, the Royal Charms, during his high school years. They not only went through several names but split and reformed before eventually becoming Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs. They soon became prominent figures in the doo-wop scene.

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The group had their first hit in 1957 with "Little Darlin," which Williams wrote and recorded as a teen. Three years later, they would cement themselves in music history with "Stay," an enduring tune that topped the Billboard Hot 100. At just one minute and 32 seconds, "Stay" became the shortest song ever to make it to No. 1 on that chart.

The track, which Williams wrote about a high school sweetheart, was later featured in the 1987 classic Dirty Dancing, starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey. The film’s soundtrack album sold 32 million copies around the world.

Recalling the track's origins in a 2018 interview, Williams explained that its lyrics emerged from a conversation he'd had with his then-girlfriend.

"This young lady I was going with, she was over to my house, and this particular night, her brother was supposed to pick her up at 10," he said. "So he came, and I said, 'Well, you can stay a little longer.' And she said, 'No, I gotta go.'"

The following morning, he had the idea to weave snippets of their conversation into a song and recorded the demo in about 30 minutes, he said. Afterwards, "Stay" joined a pile of potential tracks for the group to record — until someone called his attention back to it.

As Williams told ClassicsBands.com, "I was over at my girlfriend's house, playing the tape 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."

In addition to its memorable inclusion in Dirty Dancing, other artists, including the Hollies and the Four Seasons, Jackson Browne, Bruce Springsteen, and Tom Petty, have covered the song at their concerts.

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Following their massive success with "Stay," Williams and the Zodiacs enjoyed success with their 1961 hit "May I." They continued touring and recording music through 2000. In the mid-1960s, Williams settled in Charlotte, and in 2010, he was voted into the state's Hall of Fame.

Williams is survived by his wife, Emily.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.