In Philadelphia in 1956, doo-wop was the thing. Dozens of groups sang smooth pop vocals with finger-clicking style. They were young, they were stylish and they had their own thing. One of them, The Latineers, sang for a few years before changing name and becoming The Tymes when they managed to get the young George Williams to join them. Very quickly, he was recognized as an exceptionally smooth singer, often compared to Johnny Mathis.

The group had a promising start with “So much in Love”, which was a hit in the US and UK. The group stood out as the single was neither throwaway teen-pop nor nostalgic doo-wop. The sound was so polished that the sound was compared more to barbershop groups of the forties. “So Much in Love” was based on an idea by Williams, which he was calling “The Stroll”.

It was followed by a cover of Mathis’ “Wonderful! Wonderful!”, “People”, “You Little Trustmaker” and ‘Ms. Grace’ (the group’s biggest U.K. hit, reaching Number One in the UK Singles Chart in 1975). The group became known for their quality renditions of show tunes.

By the 80s, George Williams was living in the UK and playing tours across Europe. During one of these, he met Ben Schwag and recorded some material in Brussels, notably “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You”. After restoring the original tracks, Ben invited the legendary Vance Tenort (LA Boppers) to add guitar and Pierrot on sax.

In 2005 The Tymes were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame.

As far as we know, this is probably the last recording that George made (if not, less us know!). You’ll find the track on YouTube and Spotify in 2023.