About

Maurice Watts podcast site was created mainly for his fans, listeners and other music lovers that appreciate the sound of real music to their ears. We’re talking about those old school classics you grew up with back in the days when radio played music free of profanity and the songs had those serious lyrics you could relate to. This is just another crusade that he’s on to preserve and “KEEP REAL MUSIC ALIVE.”

Maurice or just simply “The Voice” has been on the airwaves since 1982. In 1980, his father became a radio personality at WHBI (known today as WNWK 105.9), and Maurice joined him in 1982. Maurice assisted his dad on the “Road To Glory” gospel show and filled in for him when needed. Through a fortunate twist of fate in April of 1992, Maurice and his father and their Road To Glory gospel show were summoned to WHCR 90.3 FM. As a result of this union, Maurice’s talents were greatly highlighted as would soon become a very demanded Master of Ceremony for various events in New York. He spent more time displaying his vocals behind the microphone just as he did during his years as bass singer for the popular Bronx, New York Gospel quartet balladeers, “The Ecstatistics”.

Although Maurice loved being in the studio and on the air with his father and The Road To Glory program, there was a void that he hoped against hope to fill. It was his deep desire to host his own radio show where he could mesmerize a receptive listening audience with the best in love songs, slow jams and ballads old and new. Never considering himself a dancer although always priding himself in his ability to slow grind and the sensual way he felt when doing so with that special someone, he wanted to give this feeling over and over to others.

On one September afternoon in 1992, with nothing but a dream and a quarter, Maurice made a call to Frank Allen, then program director at WHCR, to explain his ideas and the format for the kind of radio show he would like to bring to WHCR. After doing so, he asked Mr. Allen to give it some thought and maybe let him cover for an absentee host one night for an hour. Surprisingly, Frank replied “how about 4 hours, two nights per week beginning two weeks from now.” To say that Maurice was overwhelmed is obviously an understatement! However, due to his job he had to decline one night and selected Friday night the night for lovers to air his show. Frank then inquired, “What would you call the show?”, to which Maurice replied, “The Love Zone“.

Maurice has acquired a vast listening audience and has been rendering them hopelessly in love, musically, since October 2, 1992. “THE LOVE ZONE” soon zoomed 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.
As one listener put it, “It’s Friday evening, the end of a seemingly never ending week, the job, the school, buses, trains, deadlines and bedtimes. The tension is built up. You can feel the nerve endings tingle. You’ve got to relax, you’ve got to come down. You saunter over to the stereo, turn on the tuner and what comes out is hard- hard rap, hard core, hard reggae, hard, hard, hard – as you go up and down the dial until the tuner locks in on 90.3 FM. The voice coming from the speakers is as smooth and sexy as the music behind it, and the brother is saying to you he has the antidote for exactly what ails you, promising to relax your mind, your body and your soul. So there you are and there you stay … engulfing everything that this man with this very sensual sexy voice has to offer you.

And it’s good. Maurice “The Voice” Watts takes you on a 4-hour journey through “The Love Zone” each Friday evening. He takes you down memory lane with some of the sweetest sounds to ever hit the airwaves from the past, and then he lets you cruise to a slow wind to some of the sexy ballads and slow jams of today. As the weeks and months of Friday’s go by, you discover something quite wonderful and unexpected about “The Love Zone” and it’s host; he is very, very personable. Unlike no other deejay you’ve ever experienced, Maurice has a fantastic one-on-one relationship with his entire listening audience. He touches each and every one of them individually, and it’s a real family affair with him – No Nonsense. It seems that anyone connected with “The Love Zone” and Maurice “The Voice” Watts is simply put a “family member”. Through music, he gives of himself to the listeners and feels what they feel when they’re feeling it. When they’re up, he’s up and when they’re down, he takes it to heart and goes through whatever it is with them in an attempt to bring them out of it. “The Voice” invites every one of his official Love Zone listeners to the studio to celebrate their birthday live and on the air with the Love Zone staff, family and the listening audience.

In 1997, the community of Harlem honored him. He was presented with the award: “Radio Personality of the Year!” He has hosted affairs all over the country including events for The United Negro College Fund, The National Black Miss Harlem Fashion Show, and vintage R&B performers such as “Major Harris & The Delfonics” and the forty – fifth anniversary of the classic R&B group “The Dells.” Maurice has made the News media many times, appearing in both, “Starlight Magazine”, and “The New York Daily News.”

On October 1, 2004, during his 22nd. Radio Anniversary, Maurice was serenaded by his all time favorite female vocalist, Ms. Patti LaBelle. This was a night he’ll never forget as Mary Wilson, Gerald Alston, Martha Reeves, Kurtis Blow, Force MD’s, Russell Thompkins Jr, The Chi-lites and so many of his friends in the industry celebrated this event with him.

On August 6, 2005 Judy Cook started a fan club in honor of Maurice. After 23 years in the industry she felt he really did deserve to have one. Now his fans from all over the world now have a place to come together and express their love and appreciation for him.

On February 6, 2006 R&B vocal group “The Whispers” whom over the past few years have become good friends with Maurice, decided it was time to become a member of Maurice’s distribution company. With all the buzz about his success with other artists The Whispers joined forces with Maurice and allowed him to be the first online distributor to handle their new and first CD in nine years “For Your Ears Only”. Maurice went straight to work on it the same day, and now so many of their fans have Voice Distributions to thank for putting an end their nine years of anticipation for a new CD. Order yours in his online store at Voice Distributions.com.

On April 26, 2006 Maurice decided it was time to return to his gospel roots on the radio. It’s been 14 years since he left the “Road To Glory” gospel show with his father, and every day since he’s always long to go back. No, he hasn’t given up his baby “The Love Zone” but he did create a new 24 hour internet gospel radio station at GospelZone247.com.

In October 2006 Maurice along with DJ Howie D whom together makes up “The Kings Of Old School” DJ & Master of Ceremony company, were invite to England to play at Sam Roberts birthday party. The listeners and fans over there loved them so much that they almost didn’t let them return to the United States. Upon returning to the states they continued their 2006 world tour through Georgia to Mississippi for his new fan club president Ms. Maxine Jackson’s 50th birthday party before returning back to New York City. So keep them in mind for your next event, and remember like Maurice often say “Aint No Party! Like An Old School Party!”

December 5, 2006 is a night Maurice says he will never forget. After 24 years in the business he finally received the honor of hosting a show at the world famous Apollo Theater, featuring his all time favorite male group The Temptations. Another highlight of the evening occurred when his good friend actor/singer Leon pushed the door to their dressing room open and re-enacted his role as David Ruffin from the movie. “You can’t do this show without me!” “I’m David Ruffin!” Everyone in view burst out with laughter. View Photos Here..

2007 started off with Maurice meeting up with his all time favorite female vocalist Ms.Patti LaBelle who thanked Maurice on stage at the Bergen PAC theater for playing her music over the years. This lead up his exclusive intereview he did with her on January 26, 2007 on his live radio show The Love Zone that aired on New York radio station WHCR 90.3FM. Listen to it here!

We can not imagine Maurice just sitting in the studio and playing music as some well paid deejays do. Oh no!! Maurice lives for and loves what he does for his listeners through his music and in the Love Zone. Recently he created a Love Zone web cam chat room and A 24 hour internet radio station at www.LoveZone247.com so that his listeners can never be without their music. Hey! It’s a family thing – it’s very personal and he’s been doing it for FREE for over 30 years! What else can be said…..

Written by Friends and Family of “The Voice”…….edited: October 11, 2012