Maurice Williams passed away a few days ago.
I mention this because there were some surface and/or false comments on the other Part 15 website about the singer's and group's popularity. It was stated that they only had one hit - Stay.
These kinds of misleading comments are typical for those who don't really know what they're talking about.
The group is often talked about as a one hit wonder (that site is not alone), but that term in and of itself is very U.S.-centric. And in factual fact, the Zodiacs (with Maurice Williams as lead singer) had 3 charting hits in the U.S., and 1 prior to that when they were known as the Gladiolas (Little Darlin', which was also covered by the Diamonds).
If you take a look at their record releases, and quite often some of these information sites are not even complete, the group released 26 singles in the U.S., 8 in the U.K., 5 in Canada, and lower numbers throughout the world - 57 in total. It's unknown how their singles other than Stay fared internationally (or at least I haven't bothered to look at it), but it was quite common for U.S. groups to have high charting hits in the U.K., Canada and elsewhere, while missing the Billboard Hot 100.
Artisan Radio does Teenage Dreams shows that feature music, much of it from the U.S., that made the Canadian CHUM charts while missing in their home country.
Overall, it's ludicrous to call these guys one hit wonders, and say they only had one hit, when they had such prodigious output. Compare that to many of the singers that we feature on the aforementioned Teenage Dreams show, where they might have had one or two releases, perhaps some local recognition at best (and often none), and then disappeared.
Maybe these guys should do what they do best, and just attack other Part 15 site members for being pirates.
I didn't hear of his death. Thanks for the update 😥
A lot of bands/singers are only known for one song so they are thought of as one hit wonders, mistakenly. I could start a thread on bands/singers known for one song but had many.
It does help if you know what you're talking about before opening your mouth (or typing on a keyboard).
Some 'experts' deliberately ignore the fact that it's the Billboard Hot 100, 100 being the key. The top 100 songs nationally in the U.S. Anything on that chart will have had some national airplay, and done well in some regions. Obviously, the higher on the chart you go, the better the record has done, but just being on it is a milestone in and of itself. For every record on that chart, there were many that didn't even get a sniff of it. Billboard even introduced the Bubbling Under chart in 1959. Even though the records on it didn't make the Top 100, they garnered sufficient airplay and local sales to be recognized.
And then there are other countries. Again, some in the U.S. ignore how well a record has done internationally, even from American artists. For example, in 1964 the British Invasion was going full steam in the U.S., and pushed record releases by many traditionally successful American singers off the charts. Ricky Nelson never charted on the Hot 100 in the U.S. with the song Lucky Star, but it made the Top 20 in Vancouver, and did well across the country.
There are many instances of major music stars that never did well in the U.S. (in terms of charting on the Billboard Hot 100), but were extremely popular in other countries. Sir Cliff Richard comes to mind.
So you have to be careful when you call a record a hit, or a miss. It all depends on how you measure success.
Clif Richard had many hits here Canada throughout the 60s and 70s led by Bachelor Boy, Summer Holiday, The Young ones, Luck Lips, Devil woman, Living Doll, etc.
Getting back to Artists considered one hit wonders the Contours, a Motown group known for 1 song, Do you Love Me, are considered a one hit wonder. But not true, they had a follow up hit with Shake Sherrie and another I remember called "Can You Jerk Like Me" These played on CHUM in Toronto. They had others on billboard too.
Artisan mentioned artists that had many hits in other countries but not here except for maybe 1 and are called one hit wonders, namely Mungo Jerry, known for just 1 song and considered wrongly as a one hit wonder. They not only had many albums, but many hits and were big stars in the UK. I loved this band and had 4 of their albums. Besides many hits through the 70s in the UK, South Africa, There was 4 songs that charted in Canada besides "In The Summertime" and had air play on various stations in the country...mistakenly considered a one hit wonder. I could go on and on. What about Status Quo? Would be known for one hit in North America in 1968...a one hit wonder?? They have charted more songs than the Beatles!! One hit wonder? And on and on it goes. As for Maurice Williams& the Zodiacs what about "May I" in 1965? another top ten hit that sold millions, admittedly by the Rhondells which was the bigger hit. But I knew the Zodiacs version before the Rhondells.
And Bill Deal and the Rhondells, they are considered a one hit wonder also. Looking Glass had a big hit with "brandy" but had a few others but are known for that one song and are called one hit wonders.
A true one hit wonder is someone that recorded one song, or had one album and 1 hit from it, it became a hit and then never recorded another or were heard from again like the Singing Nun and "Dominique" Or Little Joanne "My Daddy Is President" for examples.
A song Chick a Boom by Daddy Dewdrop, which is considered a one hit wonder isn't either as he had another I remember called "Here Come The Judge" under that name.
But most, not all, one hit wonders are called that as they are known for one song and not for others they also charted or other songs that were charted hits in other countries.
Wikipedia defines one hit wonder as....
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-hit_wonder
Yes, Sir Cliff Richard was huge in Canada. A lot of other international stars enjoyed fame as well, while being snubbed down south. Never mind the Canadian artists that flourished here, such as Pat Hervey and Bobby Curtola.
Aside from the British Invasion, the U.S. tended to be more insular, whereas Canada had more of a global perspective.
When someone from the U.S. calls a singer a One Hit Wonder, they're almost always referring to the fact that they only had one high charting (Top 40, maybe Top 10) single there. They seem to ignore anything on the Billboard Hot 100 that fell below whatever standard they're using. They also don't take into consideration the success the singer might have had in the rest of the world.
I guess if you consider a one hit wonder defined as having one major hit that the singer/band is remembered for and even though did have others charted or played on radio only one is remembered over time connected to that singer that is according to definition a one hit wonder. So I guess that Status Quo, who had one known hit in North America or Mungo Jerry, known for one song also are considered one hit wonders here even though they had many and were big stars elsewhere. So, could Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs fit the definition of a one hit wonder? Maybe? as the other songs like Little Darlin and May I were done by others(Diamonds Rhondells)that had the big hit with the same song. And others by M & Zodiacs that were on the top 100 in the US and Canada weren't at the level of the one they are known for..."stay". We think of a one hit wonder in the literal sense, maybe one hit wonder doesn't mean the only hit they had, just the most successful one that is remembered over time.
I lived with a radio like today people live with smartphones so I may know the other stuff a one hit wonder did that others don't. But to think Status Quo is a one hit wonder? Yes you have to take in consideration other countries. In the USA Bobby Curtola is a one hit wonder, but not in Canada. So are the Beaumarks...only one song made it out of Canada. There was a song...just came to mind, "Shelly Made Me Smile" by a Canadian band from Barrie called Lisle. They made one album, had one hit from it mainly on CHUM, and maybe CKOC from Hamilton, a regional hit in southern Ontario, back when radio stations were privately owned and independent and could play what they wanted, and never were heard from again and that was the only song/album that they made. They could be considered a one hit wonder. In fact that song may not have been heard outside of Ontario.