Zilla Mays
By Marv Goldberg
© 2025 by Marv Goldberg
Zilla Mays wasn't a particularly successful singer. But she was a lot more than that. As the first Black female radio announcer in Georgia, she remained on the air for close to 40 years. And, in truth, her announcing and community careers far outshone her recording career. She was truly a beloved figure in Atlanta.
[NOTE: All appearances are in Atlanta, unless otherwise noted.]
Let's wend our way back to March 31, 1921, when the halibut schooner Zilla May was wrecked in the waters off Wrangell, Alaska. Actually, since that has nothing to do with our story, forget that I mentioned it.
Instead, let's fast forward to September 1, 1931, when Zilla Florine Mays was born in Atlanta, Georgia, to Walter Roy Mays and Lillie Price. She had two older brothers, Cleveland and Walter Roy, Jr.
Unfortunately, on December 12, 1933, Zilla's father, a truck driver for a furniture company, was killed when his truck collided with a street car. His obituary listed Miss Zilla Mays as a survivor, which confused me, since Cleveland and Walter, Jr weren't named. It turns out that, just to make my life more fun. Walter Mays, Sr had a sister named Zilla Mays, who died (as Zilla Smoak) in 1945.
This is borne out by the 1940 census, which also proves that I'm correct when I say that the three qualifications for being a census taker are: hard of hearing, semi-literate, and illegible handwriting. The census had this:
At 44 Ashby Street (which makes no sense, since in City Directories, they always lived - both before and after the census - at 28 Ashby Street) two families were enumerated. The first consisted of Jinnie Mays and her daughter Zila (should be Gennie and Zilla, "our" Zilla's grandmother and aunt). The second family was Lillie Mays, widow, and her three children: Cleveland (18), Walter (17), and "Zilda F" (8). Actually, it's amazing that the census taker, Cora Bowie, came as close as she did.
The 1942 and 1944 Atlanta City Directories, listed brother Cleveland Mays as a musician (he played the trumpet).
Other than that census, the first time we hear of Zilla Mays is when she appeared at the Magnolia Ballroom on February 28, 1948 (and again on March 5).
After Zilla graduated Booker T. Washington High School (on June 2, 1949), she attended Reed Business College, as well as continuing with some singing engagements.
For example, on July 31, 1949, she appeared at the annual picnic and barbecue hosted by the Lithonia Country Club (in Lithonia, Georgia, near Atlanta) with Roy Mays And His Band. Roy was her brother (Walter Roy Mays), whose band was sometimes called the Blues Caravan, but usually the All Stars. He'd continue to have a band into the 1990s.
[A 1968 blurb said that the All Stars had been together over 17 years with the same people: Roy Mays (trumpet), Allen Murphy (drums), Julius Wimby (piano), Thomas Howard, Jr (bass). This is the usual lie about how long a band had the same members (for example, Wimby was the pianist in the Tommy Brown Duo in 1963).]
By the time of the 1950 census, Zilla's mother, Lillie, had remarried (to Albert Allen) and her children Walter (Roy) and Zilla (actually spelled correctly after the census-taker's correction) were still living with her. (However, in keeping with tradition, I can't read the scribbled names of either the census-taker or the person who checked his work.)
The December 16, 1950 Billboard reported that Zilla (along with Tommy Brown and Fats Jackson's band) had been signed by Savoy Records. Although it said "[Savoy president Herman] Lubinsky already has sliced wax with the new artists", none of them would record until January 1951. This is unusual; industry practice was to not announce the signing of an artist until there were already recordings in the can.
On January 22, 1951, in Atlanta, Zilla recorded five tunes with Fats Jackson's Combo: "Night Shift Blues", "Don't Laugh At Me", "Daddy Sees Again [sic]", "I'm Still Singin' My Song", and "Stone Mountain Rock"; none of them was ever issued.
On September 8, 1951, "Zela Mays", along with trumpeter John Peek's band, appeared in the Terrace Restaurant at Davison's Department Store for a Teen Dance and Fashion Show.
Zilla ("the exotic torch singer") was at a Community Chest show on October 29, 1951 at the David T. Howard Auditorium. Also there were Billy Wright and Chuck Willis, as well as the John Peek and Blow Top Lynn orchestras.
Department stores seemed to be popular venues. On November 16, 1951, the Roy Mays Orchestra, along with Chuck Willis, appeared at Newberry's Department Store. It didn't mention Zilla, who might also have been there.
Zilla Mays' first marriage was to Henry Duane Patterson, Jr., probably in 1952. He was a draftsman for Lockheed.
On February 9, 1952, Zilla appeared, with John Peek's Orchestra, on "Cabaret TV", on Atlanta's WLTV (Channel 8). She'd appear many times in the future.
On March 28, Zilla had a recording session at Decca Records' Atlanta studios, laying down two tracks: "Triple Eight" (about playing the numbers) and "Train, Train Blues". The session was credited to the "Blues Caravan featuring John Peek And Zilla Mays And Her Buddies". Peek is leading the orchestra, but I don't know who the Buddies were. (There were two other songs cut by the Blues Caravan at that session - Bedtime Blues" and "Begin The Beguine" - both instrumentals.) "Triple Eight" has Zilla and the Buddies mostly doing unison singing. "Train, Train Blues" has Zilla leading the group.
However, "Train, Train Blues" presents us with a mystery. It's Danny Overbea's "Train, Train, Train" (even credited to him on the label), but his version wasn't cut until December 1952 (for Checker) and wasn't released until the following month (and copyrighted on January 20, 1953). Even if he was singing it at shows prior to recording the tune, he didn't appear anywhere that she could have heard him.
"Blues Caravan" was the name of the show DJ Zenas Sears put on in 1952-3. In 1955, it was the "WAOK Blues Caravan", which appeared every Tuesday at the Forrest Theater (later the 81 Theater) thru the mid-60s. I don't know what the relationship between Sears and Peek was.
Decca issued "Triple Eight" and "Train, Train Blues", on its Coral subsidiary, around May 1952. They don't seem to have been reviewed in the trades.
On May 12-18, 1952, Zilla ("Beautiful Singer") appeared at the Alhambra Tavern in Cleveland, along with Claude Hopkins & His Combo and the 3 Chocolates. This is the only appearance I can find for Zilla outside of Georgia.
The July 19, 1952 New York Age, in talking about the "Cabaret TV" show, called Zilla and Roy Mays "regular performers".
Zilla had another Decca session on August 23, 1952. This time, she recorded four songs: "Pick-A-Dilly", "I'll Keep Singing My Song", "Why Do You Cry", and "Nite Shift Blues". "Pick-A-Dilly" had also been recorded by Sonny Til & Edna McGriff (on Jubilee) in June. On that song and "Why Do You Cry", there's a group that tends to drown Zilla out; the other two were solos. Once again, John Peek and the Blues Caravan back her.
Note that both "Nite Shift Blues" and "I'll Keep Singing My Song" had been recorded for Savoy the prior year (as "Night Shift Blues" and "I'm Still Singin' My Song").
In August, many papers had a photo of the Roy Mays Orchestra with this caption:
Talent like this is making "Cabaret TV", seen over Television Station WLTV, Atlanta, Georgia, Saturday nights, not only an artistic but also a commercial success. Shown in action are several of the program's top favorites, including Roy Mays and his All Stars, Zilla Mays, and Billy Wright, who sing the romantic duets.
Zilla made another appearance at the Lithonia Country Club on November 7-9, 1952.
Also in November, Coral issued "Pick-A-Dilly", backed with "I'll Keep Singing My Song"; label credit went to "Zilla Mays And The Blues Caravan Featuring John Peek". (The Sonny Til-Edna McGriff version had been released the prior month.) The disc was reviewed in the November 15 editions of both Billboard and Cash Box:
Pick-A-Dilly (BB; 74): Gal leads a gang-sing vocal on this side for a smart rocker which could grab some coin in many locations.
I'll Keep Singing My Song (BB; 70): Miss Mays impresses as a good singer, but on the strength of this side, she's nothing more than that. Neither the sound, style, nor phrasing are sufficiently different or striking to make her a star.
Pick-A-Dilly (CB; C+): A wide awake novelty bounce is duoed by Zilla Mays and John Peek in strong style. The Blues Caravan backs the artists fetchingly. [It's not really a duet; there are only a couple of lines by a male voice, which may or may not be Peek's.]
I'll Keep Singing My Song (CB; B): Zilla Mays pipes a soft and tearful of slow tempo movingly [sic]. Orking soft and in the mood.
Zilla was back at the Lithonia Country Club on December 21, along with Billy Wright. New Year's Eve 1952 found Zilla, along with Joe Medlin and Billy Wright, appearing at the Magnolia Ballroom.
On May 17, 1953, Zilla appeared at the Royal Peacock, in a "Jazz At The Peacock" concert, along with John Peek's band. The Atlanta Daily World of that date said:
Miss Mays is Atlanta's premiere chanteuse and has been starred on Cabaret TV, at the Peacock and Poinciana night clubs, in addition to frequent radio and recording sessions.
Her appearance on today's Jazz At The Peacock will be a splendid pairing of her vocal talent with hepped up instrumental works of the all-star jazzmen.
By 1953, John Peek's band was being billed as the Hot Foot Five; his pianist was "Piano Red".
On Sunday, August 16, Zilla and Roy Mays, along with Big Joe Turner, appeared at the Lithonia Country Club. The same show was at the Magnolia Ballroom on Wednesday, August 19.
In September 1953, Zilla recorded some songs for Mercury Records: "Thank You", "(If You Were) On The Other Side" (a duet with Dickie Thompson), "(Seems Like) You Just Don't Care" (in which she seems to be trying to sound like Ruth Brown), "Take Your Time", "(Please Don't Give None Of) My Good Love Away", "Gotta Keep Movin'", and "(When We) Get Together To Love".
In late October, Mercury issued "Thank You", coupled with "(If You Were) On The Other Side". Presumably the Dickie Thompson on that tune was the same one who recorded for Signature, Decca, and Herald. The disc was reviewed in the November 14 Billboard and the November 21 Cash Box:
(If You Were) On The Other Side (BB; 71): Nothing could keep the lovers apart is the thought expressed here. Zilla Mays is joined by an unbilled chanter [er... his name is on the label!] in this listenable duet.
Thank You (BB; 68): The gal with the generous pipes sings out strongly for a good blues waxing.
(If You Were) On The Other Side (CB; B+): Zilla Mays, gal from the Willie Mae Thornton school, rings out with a belty reading of a slow love item. Zilla is throaty, powerful, and good. Dickie Thompson sings the male portion solidly.
Thank You (CB; B): Flip is a slow low down blues emotionally performed by Miss Mays.
In February 1954, Mercury released "(Seems Like) You Just Don't Care", backed with "Take Your Time". They were reviewed in the February 13 Billboard and the March 6 Cash Box:
(Seems Like) You Just Don't Care (BB; 79): Zilla Mays comes thru with a solid reading of a driving new blues ditty in which she tells her man that he just don't care. The gal sings it with a catch in her voice and the backing swings. Watch this one, it could bust thru quickly. This gal can sell a song.
Take Your Time (BB; 78): Here's another sock performance from the thrush, again on a swinging ditty. On this one, she tells her man not to rush things. It's a good slicing, but the flip is more powerful.
Take Your Time (CB; B+): Zilla Mays takes off on a middle tempo item that couples sex and chuckles. Gal urges her boy friend to restrain his ardent approach and "take your time". Disk has loads of appeal and merit. Could take off big with the proper exposure.
(Seems Like) You Just Don't Care (CB; B): Zilla does a squeely [sic] and oomphy [sic] treatment of a similar type item with good results, but the deck we choose for excitement is the reverse.
In mid-February, Atlanta's radio station WATL was sold. It returned on March 15, 1954, under the new name of WAOK. Coincidentally, Zilla's son, Henry Duane Patterson III was born on that date. Sometime in May, Zilla became a nighttime DJ (as the "Mystery Lady"), but WAOK wasn't in Atlanta radio listings in 1954, so I don't know exactly when she started.
Zilla appeared at the Royal Peacock on April 18, along with the 5 Keys. On May 6, she was at the Domino Lounge, along with John Peek's band and Piano Red. It looks like she was there every Thursday through May 20. On June 10, she was back, along with Roy Mays' band, for two more weeks.
Back in August 1952, Zilla had recorded "Why Do You Cry" and "Nite Shift Blues" for Decca. In June 1954, they were finally released, on Decca's Brunswick subsidiary, credited to "Zilla Mays And The Blues Caravan Featuring the Boy Friends and John Peek And His Band". However, while the top side was a group record, "Nite" was a solo effort. They were reviewed in the June 12 Billboard and the June 19 Cash Box:
Nite Shift Blues (BB; 74): With her man working nights, Miss Mays gets lonely, and here she sings an appropriate blues. She belts this out with plenty of feeling and gets good support from the ork. Good potential.
Why Do You Cry (BB; 65): Miss Mays' considerable talents are not enough to make this material come alive. It drags and fails to hold listener interest.
Nite Shift Blues (CB; B): Rocking type of material such as this brings out the best in Zilla. Chantress has the blues on this deck as she sings of her daddy, who, when he comes home from the job, is too tired to do anything but sleep.
Why Do You Cry (CB; B): Zilla Mays sings a slow tempo blues with sad romantic lyrics. Gal can feel a tune and she projects in good style.
On September 5-6, 1954, Zilla was at the Lithonia Country Club, along with Bobby Tuggle. She, and the J.J. Jones Band, were at a VFW Hall on September 26, and again on October 10. October 13 found both acts, along with John Peek And The Band Of Destiny, at the Waluhaje Ballroom (no, I can't pronounce it either).
Next month, she was at the Royal Peacock (November 7-8), along with Muddy Waters and Jimmy Witherspoon. The ad said "Zilla Mays and his Cherokee's". Oy! A few days later (November 16) Zilla (and the "Cherokee's") appeared, with Tiny Bradshaw, Bobby Tuggle, the Cashmeres (another Mercury artist), and Piano Red, at the Magnolia Ballroom.
On December 3-6, Zilla ("Miss Heart-Throb Of Torch Song"), the Cherokees (finally without the apostrophe; "New Show-Stopping Vocal Raves"), Big Maybelle, and Larry Darnell, appeared at the Royal Peacock. She was back there on December 12-13, this time with the Charms and Ray Charles (and, it would seem from a photo, funnyman Al Jackson).
When 1955 rolled around, Zilla was still the "Mystery Lady" on WAOK. Sometime that year, her identity was revealed and she became the "Dream Girl". However, since there were no listings for WAOK in local papers in either 1954 or 1955, I don't know when this happened. She often performed, on the air, with fellow DJ Piano Red (Willie Lee Perryman).
Zilla was at the Waluhaje Ballroom on January 26, 1955, along with John Peek, Ralph Mays (another musician, possibly unrelated), Billy Wright, and J.J. Jones & His Combo.
In mid-1955, Zilla's daughter, Miesa Trisaun Patterson, was born. At almost the same time, Bob Rolontz announced that Zilla had been signed to Groove Records, an RCA subsidiary.
Some people you might know were at the Southeastern Fair at Lakewood Park on September 28-29, 1955: the Ink Spots, Roy Hamilton, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, Billy Wright, Bobby Tuggle, and the All Star Band (presumably Roy Mays' group). Oh yes, Zilla was there too.
Zilla recorded four songs for Groove, on October 12, 1955 in New York: "Come Back To Me" (backed up by the 4 Students), "Right Now", "Romance In The Dark", and "Since You Went Away". The first two were released in November. [Note that "Right Now" would be done, as an instrumental, by the "Alan Freed Orchestra" in 1956. Also note that, although Groove had once used the Cues as the "4 Students", by this time Groove had switched that generic name to the Rhythm Kings.]
Here's the first time this was reported (in the October 29, 1955 Cash Box): "Zilla Mays, who just finished her first session for Groove, has, of all things, an ambition to go into mortuary science."
The Groove disc was reviewed in the November 12, 1955 editions of both Billboard and Cash Box:
Right Now (BB; 77): The thrush hands this shout her best effort to date. It's a potent, spicy plea for some instant action and figures to perk up ears.
Come Back To Me (BB; 74): Altho this is a moving ballad try, a little more finesse by the thrush would have helped.
Right Now (CB; B+): Zilla Mays rocks out with a sexy middle beat jump side. The gal gives it every squeal and vocal gimmick at her command. Good commercial deck.
Come Back To Me (CB; B): Miss Mays does an abrupt about face and waxes soft and dramatic as she chants a slow romantic blues ballad. Emotional performance.
The November 19 Cash Box had this:
Zilla Mays, who just put out her first Groove record, "Come Back To Me", is "one of the South's hottest DJs with the 'Dream Girl Show', 10 to 11 PM each night." Zilla receives mail regularly from eight Southeastern states. [The quote seems to be from WAOK's Zenas Sears. At least, we now know that she was no longer the "Mystery Lady".]
Zilla, along with Billy Wright was at the Waluhaje Ballroom [amazingly, I still can't pronounce it] on April 12, 1956. Another act was "Ernestine Allen", who's probably Annisteen Allen.
The October 6 editions of Billboard and Cash Box both reported that Zilla had been signed by Atco Records (subsidiary of Atlantic); however, nothing of hers ever appeared on the label.
In October 1956, Zilla's brother, Cleveland Mays, died. Although he was a trumpet player like his brother Roy, there was never any account of him being with any band.
Early 1957 saw the birth of Zilla's son, Lea Tyraun Patterson.
The Norfolk, Virginia New Journal And Guide of July 13, 1957 said: "Zilla Mays refuses to leave Atlanta, but is still the rage there. Has her own radio show." It didn't bother to say why she wouldn't leave Atlanta or even why that was important to anyone in Norfolk.
On November 22, 1957, Zilla entertained at the Xavier Alumni Club's Cabaret Dance at the Waluhaje Ballroom.
1958 was a quiet year for Zilla; there were no appearances that I could find. Actually, there was no mention of her at all until November 1, 1959, when she ("America's Dream Girl") appeared at the Magnolia Ballroom. Also on the bill were Clyde McPhatter and the Woody Herman Band; Tommy Brown was MC.
1960 was another pretty quiet year. She was at the grand opening of the Top Of The Stairs, along with the Roy Mays Band, on July 29. Then, Zilla's name appeared in a September 14 ad for WAOK, saying she'd be playing Nat "King" Cole's new album, Wild Is Love at midnight.
The October 15, 1960 Pittsburgh Courier had a big article about her titled "Sultry Queen Of DJ's A Would-Be Mortician":
ATLANTA, Ga. Hang onto your hats mates, that sultry-voiced vixen, who holds one enthralled, raptly, with that tantalizing voice every night from 11 to 2 A.M., over Atlanta's radio station WAOK, has got everything going for her . . . stability, security, popularity, talent and success. But, believe it or not, secretly, she yearns to be an undertaker, and embalm dead bodies! Now, you'd never have thought that of Zilla Mays, the original and much copied "Dream Girl", would you?
Down in Dixie, Zilla is the uncrowned "Queen of the Deejays", and her listening audience runs into the hundreds of thousands, each night, Monday through Friday, from 11 to 2, and again in the wee hours, at 4:30, when she comes on with a gospel program.
Her ingratiating, teasing, alluring voice (filled with perfect diction, though she's never had a voice lesson) weaves a magic spell during her three-hour run of jazz records. To her, everyone is "my baby", "my sweet", and she "loves" everyone as she plainly tells one and all. She's the most popular woman deejay in Dixie.
And many are trying to copy her style, but they'll never be able to reach the peak "Dream Girl" has reached.
That voice has won and wooed thousands of male listeners who love to be lulled into a fantasy by her soft, fetching words. Also, it has gotten her into much trouble with her women listeners. In fact, it has brought her a threat of death, to say nothing of many insulting calls. Women call her "that hussy". Really, she isn't one. She's a real nice girl, intelligent, sincere and the mother of three fine tots. She loves her work, and enjoys it, but still has that secret yearning.
A session with Zilla Mays at the WAOK studios, gives one a complete cycle of the local scene (white admirers sit and watch her entranced, it seems, by the magic of her voice) and her personal charms. Musicians hold bull sessions about jazz, while a record spins, commercials sound off and small talk tells all the local happenings and much of what is going on in the world of jazz.
The night The Courier interviewed Zilla, her audience included the white owner of a drive-in, his wife and teen-age daughter (also, they own a recording firm), a jazz critic for a local paper, a promoter of jazz shows, a pretty, exotic dancer, a college student. plus the cop on the beat, who stops in to see that everything is okay. It is not thus, always. Zilla says. "Some times, I feel real silly sitting up here talking to myself", she says.
About that death threat. A woman listener called Zenas (Daddy) Sears, owner of WAOK, and Zilla's discoverer, and told him she was going to come up there and kill that "Dream Girl". Why? She said her husband and son would go out and buy six cans of the ale Zilla was plugging, and then sit by the radio until she did the ale's commercial and say "Come on and take a drink with me." Then they'd both drink, but wouldn't budge from the set until "Dream Girl" issued her invitation. Lots of women think she's really talking to their man, directly, when she coos into the mike, "I love you, darling, really I do. I miss you so." That lady said Zilla was sending her hubby and son to hell.
She's great in these parts.
Zilla Mays is a native of Atlanta, born and reared and educated here. She went to Washington High and Reed's Business College but, really, she wanted to be a mortician. She had four scholarship offers, to Spelman, Morris Brown, Clark, and the Atlanta College of Mortuary Science.
Still, she wants to get that last course. Why, one can't figure out, now that she is a successful artist, with a huge following and financial security.
Probably in 1961, Zilla and Henry Duane Patterson divorced.
She had a single release on Checker Records in April 1961: "A Prayer For Jackie, Parts 1 and 2", a song recorded for Jackie Wilson. She was very friendly with him and decided she didn't like the direction in which his life was headed. I've never heard this one.
On April 23, 1961, Zilla entertained at the grand opening of the Artist & Musicians Club in the Crescendo Rathskeller. She was billed, for some reason, as "Atlanta's Own 'I Want To Know' Girl". She made another appearance there on April 28.
February 20, 1962 found Zilla at the Rhythm Rink for a WAOK Jazz Concert. On March 18, it was the Magnolia Ballroom with the Midnighters and Billy Wright. On June 24, she was at Anella's Jazz Mecca Club (where the new dance, the Chicken Scratch, would be introduced). On July 10 it was Hank & Jerry's Hideaway, along with Grover Mitchell (who'd been with the Cashmeres), Billy Wright, and Harmonica Zack.
Paul Mitchell's Trio (featuring Zilla Mayes) appeared at the Jazz Mecca on July 14, 1962; supposedly they were there every Sunday. Then, on September 1-2, she was at the Waluhaje Ballroom, along with Roy Hamilton and someone named "J. Lewis" (who'll be back).
The July 22, 1963 Atlanta Constitution had a big article about Zilla titled "First Girl DJ? It Was Zilla".
This column announced last week that Dixie Mundey of WQXI was the first girl disc jockey to broadcast in Atlanta.
Several thousand words later, it seems only fair to my ears and Zilla Mays' fans (only the Red Chinese seem more numerable), that concession be made.
Dixie Mundey was not the first woman disc jockey, and let me repeat that, Dixie Mundey was not the first woman disc jockey in Atlanta."
Zilla Mays of WAOK began dealing discs as far back as 1954, Zenas Sears said, who ought to know since he's vice- president of WAOK. He described her as a disc jockey (all girl).
Apologies go to Zilla who's got a popularity rating that exceeds Mickey Mantle's -in season. Phone calls, letters and visits have been expended in her behalf. May I ask where were the telegrams? Is Western Union on strike?
Zilla's hour on WAOK was called "Dream Girl" and Sears, who hired her, informed us that no "maybe" or "show-us" gimmick was involved when Zilla came to the station. Such a condition was present in Dixie's appearance on WQXI. If response is great enough, Dixie may become a regular feature at the station. She is only "trying out" now.
Zilla came to WAOK and stayed because "she had talent, an unlimited knowledge of music, a prophetic feel for a hit, and a voice quality so intimate that even the station break has Soul", said Sears.
The WAOK Soul Club was begun in 1962 by Zilla who now broadcasts a three-hour program from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. Her program is the "meeting place" for over 2,500 card-holding Soul Brothers and Sisters, of whom she is the undisputed leader.
Zilla Mays started as a singer and has appeared at virtually every night-spot in Atlanta, as well as those in New York, Chicago, Nashville, New Orleans, and Las Vegas [although there was never a single ad in any of those cities]. She was a Channel 11 (WAII) television performer in Atlanta in 1952 and 1953 when the station was known as WLWA.
Married to Jay Lewis, Zilla is the mother of three youngsters, the first of whom was born the same day WAOK went on the air, March 15, 1954.
Zilla passes the word along that she wishes Dixie well at WQXI, and is glad to have paved the way for her and other female d. j.'s.
"It's been a little lonely to be the only girl d. j. for nine years," Zilla admitted. "Now I'll have somebody to gossip with at record promotion parties."
[Because it's my duty to both enlighten and bore at the same time, you need to know that the first known disc jockey was a woman. She was Sybil Herrold, wife of Charles Herrold, who had an experimental radio station, in San Jose, California, from 1912 to 1917. On it, Sybil played some phonograph records [your parents will tell you what those were, kiddies]. Then, there was Eunice Randall, in Boston, around 1920, and Halloween Martin, in Chicago, in 1929; she had a morning program called "Musical Clock".]
That Constitution article said she was married to Jay Lewis, the same one she'd appeared with the prior September (as "J. Lewis"). That could have been where they met; they probably married in early 1963. As Jay Lewis, he recorded for DRA (1962), Capitol, (1963), and Venture (1968). His real name was Joe Louis Hinton and he was born in Dallas on July 7, 1937 (per his birth record). Unfortunately, he wasn't the only singer at this time whose name was "Joe Hinton".
Because he wasn't the more famous Joe Hinton who recorded "Funny" on Back Beat, "Atlanta Joe" bears a little more scrutiny.
Before calling himself "Jay Lewis", did he record, as "Little Joe Hinton", for Arvee and Kent, both California labels, in 1961-2? I've read that he went to Los Angeles along with Roy Mays' band, but there's absolutely no trace of Roy appearing in California. The only Joe Hinton who ever appeared in California was the one on Back Beat.
So, are Little Joe Hinton and Jay Lewis the same person?
Zilla's daughter, Miesa, says:
I can see why there is no consensus on that song. I would say it’s not him. I am no expert though. I feel strongly that the recording you shared is not the Joe Hinton who was married to my mother. The tone is so different to me. Also, I don’t ever recall him using "little" in his name. Can't imagine it. He was an army veteran and was kind of macho.
However, I asked two singers (Billy Vera and Eugene Tompkins) to listen to songs by Little Joe Hinton and Jay Lewis; they both agreed that it's the same voice.
In case there's still any doubt, on December 3, 1962, a song called "Here Am I" was copyrighted by "Jay Lewis, pseudonym of Joe L. Hinton". Searching through the BMI catalog, "Here Am I" shows up in the same Joe Hinton listing as "I Won't Be Your Fool", an Arvee cut by Little Joe Hinton.
Back Beat Joe Hinton was born November 15, 1929 in Evansville, Indiana, USA, and died August 13, 1968 in Boston, Massachusetts. He had releases as early as 1958, but didn't start making any noise until a couple of years later.
Still, knowing of Back Beat Joe Hinton, by the fall of 1962, Atlanta Joe Hinton began calling himself "Jay Lewis". Some time after Back Beat Joe Hinton died in 1968, "Jay Lewis" became "Joe Hinton" again, recording for Soul and Hotlanta from 1971-5.
In June 1964, ABC-Paramount issued "Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall" / "Old Buttermilk Sky", two old standards done with a Soul sound by "Zilla And Jay" [as in Zilla Mays and Jay Lewis]. They were each given a "B+" in the June 27 Cash Box, but the reviews themselves said nothing much.
In 1965, Zilla had an LP on the NRC label (National Recording Corporation, an Atlanta company). Called The Men I Love And The Songs They Sang, Zilla sings 10 songs by her favorite male singers (such as Charles Brown, Bull Moose Jackson, and Nat "King" Cole); you'll find the titles in the discography. This is, in my estimation, the best work Zilla ever did, certainly more in the jazz vein, than R&B. The arrangements and honeyed voice reminded me of Julie London. [Unfortunately, the back of the LP spelled her name "Zillah".] One of the cuts from the LP, "Calypso Blues", was issued on a Juke Jam single in 2013 (as "Linda Mayes"). Note that the pianist on these was our old friend, Julius Wimby.
In September 1965, Zilla adopted a daughter, Soyie. She was the natural child of someone Zilla knew who couldn't raise her and Zilla adopted her right out of the hospital. She did the same thing, in January 1966, with son Kailei. Both adoptees were raised with the surname "Hinton".
A photo in the July 22, 1967 Billboard showed some WAOK personnel (including Zilla) posing with Percy Sledge, Ben E. King, Herb Lance, Otis Redding, and Arthur Conley.
Zilla had a Soul-sound record issued in February 1968 on TOU-SEA (owned by Allen Tousaint and Marshall Sehorn): "I Love You Still", coupled with "All I Want Is You". The label credits "Zilla Mayes".
Each Thursday night, said the June 21, 1969 Atlanta Journal, Zilla would perform (and act as MC) at Vi's Pigalley.
In September 1970, Zilla acted as DJ in a show broadcast from Mammy's Diner. The September 13 Atlanta Voice didn't like it:
Mammy's Diner doing a new old thing live broadcast. Zella [sic] Mays of WAOK is emcee (not because she is the DJ also). The shows could be very good live, but over the air, it sounds bad, bad, bad and better check it out Burt [???]. It ain't too cool a sound. [And that ain't too cool writing.]
On July 16, 1971, "Zella Mays Hilton of WACK radio station [that's all sic]" was a judge at the Miss Black South Carolina beauty contest, held at the Greenville (S.C.) Memorial Auditorium.
The October 2, 1971 Atlanta Voice was so taken with Zilla that they ran a two-part article about her (continued on October 9). Of course, they weren't so taken that they bothered to spell her name correctly; it was "Zella" throughout both parts. Titled "Zella Mays - Radio's Queen", it went like this [I hope you can forgive the guy's writing; I can't]:
There is no greater love that one can give, than to give their total self to any endeavor. For some 17 years the South's #1 Lady in Radio has been doing just that, the lady "Zella Mays" WAOK- Atlanta midnite to 4 a.m. - nitely, the "Real Sound of Soul". There is much history behind a talent as dynamic as Zella that one can never find room enough to tell it all or how to tell it, for that matter.
Did you know that Zella has been on Radio longer than any other woman D.J. in the country and speaking of Soul, Zella created the WORD! Back in 61 there was a Club called "The Soul Club" with some 5,000 members created by Zella. As most of us know Zella has been a successful singer and has recorded as well. You know that Zella has the sexiest voice in Radio, Hey can really blow your mind, 3:00 a.m. by your self, what cha say! But, what about the other side of Zella. Here is a woman, truly a lady in every way, very sentimental and sweet and sincere. So much so until she has been known to cry because a listener called and (a minister yet) couldn't understand that Radio was her job not her religion. I have never met or heard of anyone who has met a person that does not love Zella Mays. She's serious about her religious faith, and dedicated to her job and her listeners,
I've talked to a lot of people who know Zella and some have known her all her life. We'll cont. about Zella next week,
This is the continuation of Zella Mays - Radio Queen, We couldn't tell you every- thing if we had a month but here is some of the other side of Zella Mays as told to this writer by a close friend of Zella's.
One morning after work about 6:00 a.m., Zella was on her way home. She was traveling down Central Ave. and saw a small boy and girl sitting on the side of a curb. She stopped and asked the kids if they knew where they lived and they didn't. They were only about 4 or five years old. Zella took the two kids home, gave them a bath, fed them, and put them to bed. Later that day she put new clothes on them and drove back to the area where she found them and started knocking on every door. Soon she passed the children's house and they recognized it and Zella took them home to their mother. By the way, the first words of the mother were, "Where have ya'll been." Zella never heard the mother say thanks.
A birthday party was given in honor of Zella at the Pendulum Club. Our 42 Acts came out to help her celebrate. The show included Archie Bell and the Drells, Al Green and some say James Brown was in the back corner.
A lot of people also feel that Atlanta truly has Radio's Queen in Zella Mays. If you're new in town you can hear Zella Monday thru Friday from 12 midnite until 4:00 a.m. every nite. On WAOK Radio 1380 on your dial.
Man, that was painful to read.
During the summer of 1972, Zilla was part of the free entertainment in the WAOK "Roadshows", which played at different parks in Atlanta on Tuesday nights. Supposedly these shows had been going on for some 10 years, although this was the first mention of Zilla being part of it.
But trouble was brewing. For many reasons, the employees of WAOK went out on strike in late October 1972. The November 11 Atlanta Voice's "Roving Photographer" column had this:
QUESTION: WAOK has been out on strike for a little over two weeks. How long do you think you'll be out and what are some of the things you are asking for?
Zilla was one of those answering:
ZILLA MAYES [sic] DISC JOCKEY 12-1 a.m. Hopefully it would have been over by now. Salaries are our number one disagreement. We're ready to negotiate with management, but they're not willing to work with us.
Zilla and three others were subsequently fired in December. She was then hired by WIGO, with whom she stayed for at least 10 years, before being re-hired by WAOK. A future blurb in the June 24, 1978 Atlanta Voice, when Zilla had celebrated her 24th year in radio would say: "I remember when she was smoking the airwaves at WAOK; and when she went out on the picket line to protest the unfair conditions at that station, she was fired. As you all who listen to WIGO already know, they never pass up a good thing, and so Atlanta is still able to enjoy the sounds of soul coming from this lady."
The October 21, 1973 Atlanta Constitution reported this:
Another local tidbit is that Marlin McNichols and Joe Hinton have been signed to write the music score for "Poor Pretty Eddie", the movie using a lot of Athens, Ga., locations. Michael Thevis is producing and Richard Robinson is directing.
McNichols wrote several songs with Joe Hinton, and Thevis owned Hotlanta Records, for which Joe recorded. That movie was released in 1975.
On March 7, 1974, Zilla won an award from the Atlanta chapter of the National Association Of Media Woman. There was an article about it in the March 9 Atlanta Voice:
Receiving the award in the area of radio was Mrs. Zilla Mays, announcer, Radio Station WIGO. Referred to by many as the queen of the radio, Mrs. Mays will celebrate her 20th year on the radio come May, 1974. With a soft velvet voice and a love and desire to work behind the scenes with unwanted children off duty, a family of five children all under twenty and a darling husband, Mrs. Mays has made the radio her world since 1954.
"I always wanted to be a mortician," she said softly, "but was advised against it by my family doctor." After graduation from the Redis [sic; should be Reed] Business College, she became a secretary, continued her singing that had begun while she was in high school, and did commercials. For a while, she performed on TV and has been a secretary for two outstanding funeral Directors in Atlanta. "I love children, love to help those that really do not have any help and still plan to pursue a career in Mortuary Science. Meanwhile I am happy doing the Zilla Mays show on WIGO. I am so very grateful to Media Women for my award. I have helped a lot of little children during the last 20 years, but this is the first time I have ever received an award. Thanks, thanks very much."
However, later that year she and Joe Hinton split up, although they never divorced (her eventual obituary doesn't mention him).
On September 13, 1986, Zilla received an NAACP Pioneer Award. It was, said the September 11 Atlanta Constitution, for "being the first black female radio personality. She has held jobs at both radio stations WAOK and WIGO for a total of 32 years. Nationally known, Ms. Mays became the first black to host a television show, in 1952, with a program called 'Cabaret TV'."
Brother Walter Roy Mays passed away on May 8, 1994. The obituary in the May 12 Atlanta Journal said: "He retired from the state Department of Labor in 1988. He traveled with numerous bands and formed his own group, Roy Mays and the All Stars. Until 1993, he continued as bandleader for the All Stars and trumpeter with the Peachtree Strutters." However, they had his age wrong by 10 years: they claimed he was 80, but he'd been born in 1923, so he was actually 70.
By the time Zilla received an Atlanta Entertainment Pioneer Award on December 13, 1994, she was back at WAOK (as she had been for at least the last 10 years).
Zilla Florine Mays Patterson Hinton passed away on September 19, 1995. This was her obituary in the September 21, 1995 Atlanta Constitution:
As a groundbreaking black female radio announcer and WAOK's "Mystery Lady" and "Dream Girl", Zilla Florine Mays Hinton entertained Atlantans for more than 37 years.
Zilla Mays, as she was known to her audience, died Tuesday of cancer at home.
As the "Mystery Lady", starting in 1954, she kept audiences guessing for a year before her identity was revealed. She then became WAOK's "Dream Girl", using her sensuous voice to appeal to radio listeners.
She started out by singing in church and in her brother's band, Roy Mays and the All Stars.
During the '60s, she often produced on-air entertainment using local talent and recording artists. She also helped start WAOK's "road shows", taking secular and religious entertainment into communities.
She received numerous awards, including the 1976 Outstanding Achievement Award from Morris Brown College, the 1980 Pioneer Of Georgia Black Radio Gold Voice Award, the 1985 Bronze Jubilee Award and the NAACP Pioneer Award in 1986.
The funeral will be at 1 p.m. Saturday at Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church, with burial in Carver Memorial Gardens in Jonesboro.
Surviving are five children, Soyie Hinton, Kailei Gzakaun Hinton, Lea Tyraun Patterson, Duane Patterson, and Miesa Zarate; her mother, Lillie P. Allen; and four grandchildren.
However, according to her daughter, Miesa, Zilla didn't die from cancer:
There’s one thing that you may consider adding in some form. My mother was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in 1990 and given a fatal prognosis with a 5 year life expectancy. She lived almost exactly 5 years with the disease. She worked on the air using oxygen to help her breathe. She had pledged to work until she couldn’t get there. That’s exactly what she did. I’ve never bothered to correct the writers who report that she died from cancer. I know how badly she wanted to live and continue her career. Her last days were at home in hospice care.
When Zilla's mother, Lillie, died on June 23, 2003, she was either 101 or 102 (birth years differ).
Joe Hinton, Zilla's estranged husband, died on June 9, 2022 in Norwood, Massachusetts. His memorial said, in part:
Joseph L. Hinton, a resident of Norwood, passed away on June 9, 2022 at his home with his children by his side. He was 84 years old. Born in Dallas, Texas on July 7, 1937 to the late Claude A. and Mae Ollie (Wilson) Hinton, he was the youngest boy of his 11 siblings. Joe served honorably in the Air Force during the Korean War, and attended the University of New Mexico and earned a degree in criminal justice. He was an accomplished musician, writer, and composer for Motown Records, working with greats such as Aretha Franklin and Gladys Knight.
As I said at the beginning, Zilla Mays was noted more for being an on-air personality than for being a singer. Still, I'd advise you to listen to her NRC LP to hear what a really great voice she had.
Special thanks to Zilla's daughter, Miesa Trisaun Patterson-Burley, Billy Vera, and Eugene Tompkins.
UNRELEASED SAVOY (Zilla Mays With Fats Jackson's Combo - recorded January 22, 1951)
Night Shift Blues
Don't Laugh At Me
Daddy Sees Again
I'm Still Singin' My Song
Stone Mountain Rock
CORAL
65088 Triple Eight / Train, Train Blues - ca 5/52
Above "The Blues Caravan Featuring John Peek and Zilla Mays and Her Buddies"
65102 Pick-A-Dilly / I'll Keep Singing My Song - 11/52
Above "Zilla Mays And The Blues Caravan Featuring John Peek"
BRUNSWICK (Zilla Mays And The Blues Caravan Featuring the Boy Friends and John Peek And His Band)
84031 Why Do You Cry / Nite Shift Blues - 6/54
MERCURY (Zilla Mays)
70253 Thank You / (If You Were) On The Other Side - 10/53
"On The Other Side" is a duet with Dickie Thompson
70313 (Seems Like) You Just Don't Care / Take Your Time - 2/54
UNRELEASED MERCURY
(Please Don't Give None Of) My Good Love Away
Gotta Keep Movin'
(When We) Get Together To Love
GROOVE (Zilla Mays)
0127 Come Back To Me [with the 4 Students] / Right Now - 11/55
UNRELEASED GROOVE
Romance In The Dark
Since You Went Away
CHECKER (possibly as Zilla Mayes)
973 A Prayer For Jackie - Pt. 1/ Pt. 2 - 4/61
ABC-PARAMOUNT (Zilla And Jay [Zilla Mays and Jay Lewis])
10558 Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall / Old Buttermilk Sky - 6/64
NRC LPA-9 - The Men I Love And The Songs They Sang - 65
You Won't Let Me Go (for Charles Brown)
I Love You, Yes I Do (for Bull Moose Jackson)
I'll Get Along Somehow (for Larry Darnell)
Paper Moon (for Nat King Cole)
Be Fair With Me (for Charles Brown)
Calypso Blues (for Nat King Cole)
You'd Better Change Your Ways (for Arthur Prysock)
Don't Cry, Baby (for Lucky Millinder)
Hey There (for Sammy Davis, Jr)
Blue Monday (no attribution; not the Fats Domino song)
TOU-SEA (label says "Zilla Mayes")
132 I Love You Still / All I Want Is You - 2/68
JUKE JAM (Zilla Mayes; from the NRC LP)
1046 Calypso Blues / [Calypso Blues - Ray Johnson] - 2013
