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Maurice
Williams: The Gladiolas, The Zodiacs |
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The beginning of the Maurice Williams' story from
It Will Stand, Volume 1, No. 2, 1979 by Chris Beachley |
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"There
may be a rose in Spanish Harlem, but Gladiolas at their best come
from Lancaster, South Carolina.
While attending Barr St. High School in Lancaster, Maurice Williams
met Earl Gainey (tenor), when they both sang in a gospel group
called The Junior Harmonizers. After awhile they left to form
their own group, The Royal Charms (a combination of their two
favorite groups' names - The Charms and The Five Royales). The
other members were William Massey (tenor and baritone), Willie
Jones (baritone) and Norman Wade (bass).
The Royal Charms got a job doing a Saturday morning show on WLCM
Radio in Lancaster, where they sang whatever were the biggest
R&B hits of that particular week. After doing this for about
a year, they decided to go on to bigger and better things. Their
big chance came when Maurice contacted Ernie Young of Ernie's
Record Shop in Nashville (owner of Excello Records). Young told
them to stop in for an audition when they were playing in the
area.
Maurice said that they'd stop by soon (neglecting to mention that
they had no gigs anywhere in Tennessee). The Royal Charms began
to get things ready for the big trip. To raise money, they visited
local businessmen explaining their needs.
When all contributions were in, they left for Nashville with $40.00
among them, riding in Willie Jones' old Chrysler with four
slick tires............................."
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The Maurice Williams story
was continued by
Carolina Class in V 2 No. 17 November
1988.
see Carolina Class Index for details
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