Maurice “The Voice” Watts born in Harlem, N.Y., hails from a family that is enriched with musical talent. Mostly gospel. Having devout Christian parents and a number one gospel (New York) promoter for a father, (Deacon Watts), it is not hard to see where he inherits his love of music. Maurice or just simply “The Voice” has been on the airwaves now for over forty years! He began his illustrious career as the co-host of “The Road to Glory” radio program hosted by his father on radio station WHBI (which later became what is known today as WNWK 105.9. For the next ten years, Maurice assisted, spiritually uplifting his audience with the angelic sounds of their favorite Gospel artists, just as he did during his years as the bass singer for the popular New York gospel quartet balladeers, “The Ecstatistics”.
In April of 1992, Maurice and his father and their Road To Glory gospel show were summoned to WHCR 90.3 FM. From this venture, Maurice’s talents were greatly highlighted as he spent more time displaying his vocals behind the microphone as well as being recognized as a classy Master of Ceremony.
Maurice loved being in the studio and on the air with his father, yet he had a deep desire to host his own radio show where he could mesmerize a receptive listening audience with the best in love songs. So, one September afternoon in 1992, with nothing but a dream and quarter he made a call to Frank Allen, then program director at WHCR, and expressed his idea of the kind of radio show he would like to bring to WHCR and the format. Frank replied how about 4 hours, two nights per week beginning two weeks from now. To say that Maurice was overjoyed was an understatement. He was positively elated however, because of his work position at the time, he had to decline one night, and he selected Friday night to air his show initially to see what the future would bring. Frank then inquired “What would you call the show?” to which Maurice replied, “The Love Zone”.
In October of 1992, “The Love Zone” hit the airwave in New York City and soon rocketed to the #1 spot on WHCR’s programming schedule! Every Friday night at 8pm lovers and would-be lovers found themselves tuning in to “The Love Zone” to hear the smooth deep voice of the man himself. Maurice has since acquired a vast listening audience around the world and has been rendering them hopelessly in love, musically, since October 2, 1992.
Maurice did not stop here due to his popularity and a growing listening audience, he initiated, “The Love Zone Anniversary Party.” This affair has been taking place annually for the past thirty years, and for the last fifteen years, through a dual company collaboration has grown from a one-night affair, into a week-long vacation extravaganza, now known as The Annual Classic R&B Music Festival.
Maurice never forgets his loyal fans, being a humanitarian; he has made visits to local hospitals, nursing homes, and convalescent centers, expressing concern for and cheering up his listeners! Working towards the betterment of the community, he volunteered his time to help the campaign of Manhattan Borough President, Ms. C. Virginia Fields. He has hosted affairs all over the country including private functions in the United Kingdom, events for The United Negro College Fund, The National Black Miss Harlem Fashion Show, and The Temptations Christmas show at the world-famous Apollo Theater. Maurice has been highlighted in various media publications many times throughout his career, appearing in Starlight Magazine, Atlantic City News, and The New York Daily News just to name a few.
In 1997 the community of Harlem honored him and presented him with the “Radio Personality of the Year” award. In January of 2002, Maurice formed his own distribution company, Voice Distributions. His goal was to provide an online outlet for Classic R&B Soul artists and, up-and-coming artists to get their products heard on the air and obtained by their fans. Later in 2002, Maurice joined The Temptations’ Ali Woodson & The Emperors of Soul as a fill-in for their bass singer.
In 2004, with the success of Voice Distributions, Maurice became the central contact for many of his artist’s fans and promoters to reach them. This led to the startup of another company, Voice Booking Agency. He focuses on booking entertainment for large and small corporate and convention clients, concert series, festivals, resorts, and private functions. The Stylistics, Tavares, Peabo Bryson, Evelyn “Champagne” King, Morris Day & The Time, The Sugarhill Gang, Kurtis Blow, The Dramatics, The Manhattans, Atlantic Starr, Howard Hewett, and others have become members of VBA.
In 2010, he was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award by The National R&B Music Society and most recently he was presented the 2022, President’s Volunteer Service “Lifetime Achievement Award” from President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. for his commitment to “Keeping Real Music Alive” and building a stronger nation through volunteer service and community outreach.
Maurice’s latest accomplishment came near the end of 2022 when the legendary lead singer of The Stylistics, Mr. Russell Thompkins, Jr., asked him to record a duet with him for his upcoming album. Never truly considering himself to be a singer, Maurice was honored. They went into the recording studio and combined their talents to recreate a ‘lost and forgotten’ gem originally recorded by the legendary vocal group The Ravens, “Lilacs In The Rain” for Forevermore Music.
