The Foote Files: Carolina Beach Music
(CBSDFW.COM) - While we have devoted blogs on summer songs recently, a few days ago I noticed that Sirius XM dropped the PitBull channel (most likely temporary) and added "Carolina Shag" on channel four for a limited time which started back in May. If you have never heard this type of music, you ought to take a listen!
The Carolina Shag is a partner dance done mostly to "Beach Music", which is written in 4/4 time and to 100-130 beats per minute, and the basic step is a six- count, eight- step pattern. The dance is believed to have gotten it start on the North and South Carolina beaches in the 1940's. The first time I heard the phrase "beach music" was when I was an account executive at WGHP-TV in High Point/Greensboro/Winston Salem in 1979. One of my sales counterparts there, Mike Morris, was always talking about it!
There was even a movie from 1979 called "Shag" with Bridget Fonda, Phoebe Cates, Annabeth Gish and Page Hannah about four high school students on their last road trip together before graduation. The movie was actually filmed in Myrtle Beach SC and features the Carolina Shag.
So many artists have been associated with "Beach Music", such as The Drifters, The Temptations, The Four Tops, The Swingin' Medallions, and The O'Kaysions. The O'Kaysions had a beach music hit song in the 1960's, "I'm a Girl Watcher" whose music was later used with revised lyrics by SONY Pictures Television to promote Wheel Of Fortune on TV with the slug line, "I'm A Wheel Watcher." It was one of the most successful promotional campaigns for a television show.
Delbert McClinton is this week's featured artist performing beach music. Don't need to say about him… just listen to this song "Do It." See you next time.
