It is appropriate that legendary singer – songwriter Maurice Williams and today’s version of the Zodiacs should begin their new album 50 Years, with “Little Darlin’ (The Beginning),” because for Maurice Williams, who wrote this song, it marks the beginning of a career that has spanned more than fifty years in the music business. The new recording of the song, really serves as a ballad about Maurice Williams’ career, or at least the beginning of his career, as it tells how the song “Little Darlin’,” launched the careers of what was then known as The Gladiolas, after their name had been changed from The Royal Charms, by Ernie Young of the Nashville label Excello Records. Still only sixteen years old at the time, Maurice Williams would watch his song peak at # 11 on the American R&B charts. The song would later be recorded by the Canadian group The Diamonds; however, Maurice Williams retained all of the rights to “Little Darlin’.”

What is truly amazing about this album is how well Maurice Williams’ voice has held up after all of these years of performing. Williams co-produced this album along with Frederick Mangum, Fred Shaw and Tim Eaton, and they did a good job of ensuring that Maurice Williams stayed within both his range and his comfort zone. Eaton, Shaw and Mark Stallings engineered the record and Eaton also mixed it.  The album was recorded over two years in two different studios, Bradley House Music and Studio East.

The second song to roll out is a cover of “Spanish Harlem,” a tune that Ben E. King made famous in 1960 and which was written by Jerry Leiber and Phil Spector, while Mike Stoller, although not credited contributed the instrumental introduction. Williams’ vocals are deep and rich, while the drumming by Fred Shaw is steady and establishes the rhythm. The late Fred Mangum’s background vocals are sweet, higher and serve as a fine compliment to Williams’ baritone vocals.

We cannot possibly highlight all fifteen songs on this album, so let’s listen to and talk about the highlights, one of which is the hip swinging “Lay Around and Love On You,” backed by Tim Gordon’s tenor sax and Shanna’s background vocals. The band and Williams do a great job with Floridian Lari Michele White’s song.  

Shanna and Maurice Williams harmonize on the classic song “Let It Be Me,” and Shanna also provides some beautiful background vocals, while Tim Gordon’s saxophone subtly whispers in both their ears. The song originally appeared on the music scene in French, as “Je t’appartiens,” during the year 1955, when it was written and recorded by Gilbert Becaud and it reached its pinnacle in North America, when Betty Everett’s and  Jerry Butler’s rendition hit #1 on Cashbox’s R&B chart and # 5 on the Hot 100.  

It is in the mid portion of this album that Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs really hit their stride with the # 7 song being a solid cover of Sir Mack Rice’s “Mustang Sally,” (later recorded by Wilson Pickett) and then the 8^th track is a cover of Tommy Tucker’s former Cash Box # 1 hit song “High Heel Sneakers.” The R&B up-tempo song is an invitation to dance and features a good call and response. Gordon serves up another delicious solo that serves as the bridge and at other points during the song his sharp, strong notes punch the melody line.

Proving that he is not just not a blast from the past, Maurice Williams serves up a new version of his stellar hit “Stay,” a song that is a hybrid of R&B, Doo-Wop and Reggae, with Fred Mangum hitting those memorable falsetto high notes.  Because, the album was recorded over two years in two different studios and we were unable to reach Mr. Williams at the time of this review, it is not clear if the drumming for “Stay,” is Fred Shaw or the legendary Jim Brock who is credited on this album. What we can say for sure is that when Fred Mangum passed away a couple of years ago, we lost a tremendous singer and his vocals on this song and the one that follows “May I,” are worth every penny that you will pay to purchase this collection of fifteen songs.   

Speaking of “May I,” a song that Maurice and the Zodiacs first recorded in 1961 on the Herald Records label and that went on to become a million selling song, this is another treat, which will cause fans of good harmonies, R&B and Doo-Wop to surrender up lots of ooohhs and awwws. The juxtaposed deep, rich vocals of Maurice Williams and the high sweet tenor falsetto of Fred Mangum, combine with delicious background vocals to create a scrumptious morsel of music.

Maurice and The Zodiacs have covered a lot of songs on 50 Years, yet it is their original songs, which they have re-recorded and modernized that serve as the centerpiece of this album, one that serves as a fine tribute to a legendary performer and an equally noteworthy group.

Reviewed by Joe Montague 

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