News — northern soul

Maurice Williams was originally from Lancaster, SC. His group involvement was a long one since the early 1950s, commencing with the Royal Charms, Junior Harmonizers and the Gladiolas. The Gladiolas hit pay dirt in 1957 with “Little Darlin’ ” on Excello when the group went to Nashville.  The most important milestone for Maurice Williams and The Zodiacs was “Stay” released in 1960 on Al Silver’s New York Herald Records. “Stay” went straight to No.1. It became a huge early beach music hit and is now recognised as a doo-wop classic, having since been covered by The Four Seasons, Jackson Browne...

The Aqua Lads played largely as a revue act (later with The Chantells) around Charlotte, NC and Myrtle Beach,  although they also backed national R&B bands further afield, including Canada. The group ran from 1963-1969 and had over twenty members during this period. Five 45s by The Aqua Lads were released; of particular northern soul interest are “I Remember” on Gold Bee (GB-1650) from 1965 and “I’ll Never Know” on Aqua, recorded with The Chantells on vocal lead in 1968. Much has already been written about the legendary Stafford Top of the World all-nighters. Following northern soul’s commercial peak of...