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    An Insider’s History of the Swingin’ Medallions
    An Insider’s History of the Swingin’ Medallions
    An Insider’s History of the Swingin’ Medallions
    Ebook122 pages1 hour

    An Insider’s History of the Swingin’ Medallions

    By Carroll Bledsoe

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    This book is a personal history of one of the most famous beach-music bands of the southeast. They were also a national hit with their song “Double Shot of My Baby’s Love” in 1966. They released an album and several other single recordings. They are still performing today, over fifty years later.

    The book includes numerous photographs and stories of the band and how they have evolved over the years. These memories include those of members of the band as well as a collection of memories of fans they have touched along the way. It covers the thirty-four state tour in 1966 from Maine to California. It highlights some of the encounters with some of the biggest names in show business. It is an inside view down memory lane for the group and hopefully for the readers. They are still one of the most popular bands in the southeast.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherXlibris US
    Release dateJun 28, 2018
    ISBN9781984536990
    Author

    Carroll Bledsoe

    The author is an original member of the Swingin' Medallions. The group was formed in 1962. He was born in Belton, S. C. and raised in Greenwood, S. C. He graduated from Lander University there in Greenwood. He taught Junior High School Algebra for five years. He played full time with the group until1974. He then played with a group called the Barrons to fulfill his need for music. He continues to perform with the Medallions several times each year whenever they are in the area. He stays in touch with the bands members on a regular basis. After retiring from the Medallions, he worked in both wholesale and retail sales for over thirty five years. He now lives on top of a mountain in Columbus, N. C. with his fiance.

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      Book preview

      An Insider’s History of the Swingin’ Medallions - Carroll Bledsoe

      CHAPTER 1

      My Love of Music Begins

      M Y LOVE OF music began in high school. I was in the Greenwood High School band all four years I was in school there. I started out playing the trumpet. My junior and senior years, I switched to playing drums in the marching band and French horn in the concert band.

      I fell in love with beach music my junior year in high school. A group of us guys would go to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, the first week in June as soon as school was out for the summer.

      Sonny’s Pavilion at Cherry Grove Beach, the Pavilion at Pawley’s Island, and the Pad at Ocean Drive Beach were the most popular places to go. There was also a club in downtown Myrtle Beach where a little-known band at the time began their career. That band was Alabama, and that club was the Bowery.

      Each night we put on our official beach uniforms: a brightly colored madras shirt, white pants, Bass weejuns (penny loafers), and no socks! All of these places had a jukebox filled with songs by the Drifters, the Clovers, the Coasters and many more beach music hits.

      We learned how to shag, which later became the state dance of South Carolina. The shag is an offspring of the jive but at a slower tempo. The dance has a basic step, and the dancers add their own variations, turns, and moves off of the basic steps such as the boogie walk and belly roll.

      My favorite venue was Sonny’s Pavilion. They had a large dance floor, a great selection of music on the jukebox, and they always had large crowds, which meant plenty of teenage girls to dance with.

      Most of the crowd was from South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee. Of course, there were some Yankees, but they didn’t know about or understand the shag. We had a ball dancing to Sixty-Minute Man, Zing Went the Strings of My Heart, and almost anything by the Drifters.

      Most of the teenagers and college kids were around Cherry Grove Beach, Ocean Drive Beach, and Crescent Beach. All of these are located up Highway 17, a few miles north of Myrtle Beach. Today, this entire area is known simply as North Myrtle Beach. Two times a year, they celebrate SOS week. SOS used to stand for shagging on the sand. Shaggers from back in the day pack this area to try to relive their youth.

      The Pavilion at Myrtle Beach was a popular place for families and younger kids. They had an arcade, a roller coaster, and other kid rides.

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      CHAPTER 2

      What? Me Sing? Are You Kidding?

      I N HIGH SCHOOL, four of us formed a singing group, three boys and a girl. Betty Babb, daughter of legendary and Hall of Fame football coach Pinky Babb was the female member. She and Larry Vaughn and Conolly Burgess, two of my best friends, and I became the Four Notes. I played the baritone ukulele to accompany us.

      After every Greenwood High home football game, there was a dance at the local recreation center. There would be a live band playing. Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs from Charlotte, North Carolina, were fan favorites. They sang their hits Little Darling and Stay. We would perform during their intermission

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