The Corsairs

The Corsairs were an R&B vocal group from La Grange, NC. Originally calling themselves The Gleems, they consisted of brothers Jay Uzzell, James Uzzell and Moses Uzzell and their cousin George Wooten. After making the rounds of the local dances, clubs and nightspots in their hometown area, they traveled north to the New York/New Jersey area to make their fortune. Record producer Abner Spector caught them one night while they were performing at a nightclub in Newark, NJ, liked what he heard and eventually got them a deal with Smash Records, for which they released their first song, "Time Waits". It proved prophetic, as they waited for it to hit but nothing happened. Spector then took them to Tuff Records out of Chicago (part of the Chess Records group), and they recorded what became their biggest hit, the Latin-tinged "Smoky Places" featuring Jay Uzzell's smooth and powerful lead, in 1961. It reached #12 on the Billboard Top 20 charts. Their next recording, "I'll Take Your Home", received critical acclaim but only hit #62 on the charts. They stayed with Tuff until 1964, but none of their subsequent releases cracked the Top 20. They broke up in 1964.