The Swingin' Medallions

The Swingin' Medallions
Origin Greenwood, South Carolina
Genres Beach, rock, pop
Years active 1962–present
Labels Dot, 4 Sale, Smash, 123, EBS, Ripete
Associated acts Tassles, Pieces of Eight
Website www.medallions.com

The Swingin' Medallions are an American beach music group from Greenwood, South Carolina.

History

The band was formed as The Medallions in 1962 adding the "Swingin'" in 1965; possibly as a tribute to the Swingin' Travelers, an R&B group popular in South Carolina in the late 1950s and early 1960s. In 1967, Brent Fortson and Steve Caldwell left the band and with six members of The Tassles out of North Carolina formed the Pieces of Eight. Johnny Cox and Hack Bartley replaced the two at saxophones.

Their first single, "I Wanna Be Your Guy", was inadvertently released under the name, "Swinging Medallions" instead of "Swingin' Medallions. It did not chart, but the second, "Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love)", written by Don Smith & Cyril Vetter and originally recorded by Dick Holler & the Holidays, reached #17 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in 1966,[1] and propelled their full-length album to #88 on the Billboard 200.[2] It was recorded at the Arthur Smith Studios in Charlotte, North Carolina. WIST radio jock Tom Gauger was called in to re-mix for release on Smash. The follow-up single "She Drives Me Out of My Mind", hit #71,[1] but the next single, "Hey, Hey, Baby", did not chart. The band continued to be popular in the American South.

In the mid 1960s they frequently played at the Oporto Armory in Birmingham, Alabama. In Birmingham most of their songs got airplay on WSGN (AM 610) and WVOK (AM 690) including "I Found A Rainbow", "M.T.Y.L.T.T", "You Gotta Have Faith" as well as their earlier hits. The band was also a popular attraction in Panama City Beach, Myrtle Beach, and Auburn University.

The band (with a shifting cast) continued to do reunion shows into the 2000s. On September 16, 2009, the band joined Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band during their concert at the Bi-Lo Center in Greenville, South Carolina for a performance of "Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love)".

One alumnus of the group, drummer Michael Huey,[3] went on to become the staff drummer for the Bill Lowery Studios in Atlanta playing on hit records for the Winstons, Sami Jo, Johnny Nash, Joe South, Frankie Miller, Allen Toussaint, and others. Huey moved to Los Angeles in 1976 and played on numerous hit records and tours with Walter Egan ("Magnet and Steel"), Juice Newton, Glenn Frey, Joe Walsh, Etta James, Lindsey Buckingham, Michael Martin Murphey, Johnny Lee, and the Miami Vice television series, among others.

Original members

Discography

Albums
Compilations
Singles
Reissue Singles

References

  1. 1 2 Billboard Singles, Allmusic.com
  2. ↑ Billboard, Allmusic.com
  3. ↑ Michael Huey
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.