THE HIT HAMMER: Maurice Williams & the Zodiacs' "Stay"

Maurice Williams & the Zodiacs' "Stay"

(The Hit Hammer is where I'm reviewing each #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. Starting from when the chart started in 1958, and eventually working my way to the present. To see my inspiration and more information about this blog, please refer to the "Poor Little Fool" post.)

Maurice Williams & the Zodiacs - "Stay"

Hit Number 1: November 21, 1960

Stay at Number 1: 1 Week

We all love fun facts right? Well here's a good one for you: "Stay" by Maurice Williams & the Zodiacs is the shortest #1 song in the history of the Hot 100. It only runs for a whopping minute and 36 seconds. It seems to me that this record will hold steady for a long time, maybe for eternity, cause rarely do you see songs that are even under 2 minutes anymore. Another fun fact, is that "Stay" is loosely based on a true story. When Williams was only 15, he had his date over one night, but she had to go home at 10. He tried to convince her to stay a little longer, but she ended up going home when she was supposed to anyway. He recalled that the words just "came to him", and his 15 year old self wrote down the short song. A few years later, that song would top the charts for a week in late 1960.

Williams and his group, the Zodiacs, put the song on a demo in 1960, but it attracted no interest. Of all things, a ten year old girl happened to hear the song and she impressed the band by her positive reaction to the song. That's when the band knew that they had a potential hit on their hands. The band's producers took it along with some other demos to New York City and played them for all the major record producers that they could find. Al Silver of Herald Records was interested in the song, as long as the band re-recorded the song as the levels were too low on the original recording. It was also advised that the group remove the line "Let's have another smoke", in order for it to be released to radio. So the band did as they were asked, and the song ended up topping the charts.

I like the song, and maybe this sounds strange to some, but it's almost too short for me. It's so short that the song seems to barely even exist. But while it's playing it is a lot of fun, and the falsetto in the song gives it more "personality" so to speak. But I just can't shake how I can listen to the song, and then a few minutes later feel like I never even listened to anything. I chalk this up to the song not being a forgettable song as far as the way it sounds, but that it's so short that you start it and then it's just over. I would like the song more if it was, you know, "just a little bit longer".

GRADE: 6/10