2 weeks Ago
One of Greenwood County 's most popular exports is to be in the spotlight in downtown Aiken on May 9, with the Aiken Standard Beach Blast set to be held in Newberry Street's festival area. The fun is to run from 6-10 p.m.
, and the evening's featured act is to be The Swingin' Medallions , a musical group that started in Greenwood in the early 1960s and now is in its second generation. Comprising the current corps are Shawn McElrath (oldest son of the band's founder, John McElrath ), Shane McElrath (youngest son of the founder), Chris Crowe, Josh Snelling, John Smith Buchan (a nephew of the founder), Marcus Gullen, Ronnie Goldman, Mackenzie Walden, Richard Loper and, when circumstances allow, drummer and Columbia resident Joe Morris, one of the band's co-founding members. The high-energy band's biggest hit, a cover version of " Double Shot (of My Baby's Love)," rose to prominence in 1966, when the group was composed of Morris, Jimmy Perkins, John McElrath, Carroll Bledsoe, Jim Doares, Charlie Webber, Brent Fortson and Steve Caldwell.
Loper, a Greenwood resident who serves as a singer and trumpeter, confirmed that the band's current lineup logs plenty of mileage throughout the year, usually in territory between Virginia and Mississippi. "I love Aiken. It's a cool little town," he added.
The past year included plenty of Medallions shows, progress toward an album and a nasty surprise from the skies. Recalling Tropical Storm Helene, he said, "We had a lot of damage, and we actually missed a show for the first time in about 40 years. We couldn't get out of our neighborhood.
We couldn't get out of our houses." He added, "We had a show in Auburn, Alabama, and just could not get out, and we had a show in Atlanta the next day. We were able to make that show, but the Auburn show, we just had to call them and say, 'Look, guys.
We can't get there.'" Travelers in the band's home territory may notice a change in the wake of a presentation from this month at Lander University, in Greenwood. A portion of Highway 34, between Greenwood and Ninety Six, has been named the John McElrath Memorial Highway, by way of a joint resolution in the state legislature.
Alabama-based columnist Jim "Zig" Zeigler, in describing the band , wrote, "Some music commentators who do not know as much about this as I do call the Medallions 'a one-hit wonder.' It's not true. While 'Double Shot' was their biggest national hit (top 20) and had a cult following in the South, they had other hits.
" Zeigler cited a cover version of "Hey Baby!," a creation of Bruce Chanel; and original Medallion creations "She Drives Me Out of My Mind" and "I Wanna Be Your Guy." He added, "The Medallions do not just sing and play their instruments, but they also dance. They have dance routines that are choreographed to most of the songs.
They even invented their own dance to their big hit, the 'Double Shot' dance." Audience members, he noted, can expect to hear a variety of "arguably the most danceable songs" of the ’60s and ’70s — such hits as "Carolina Girl," "Love Train," "Knock on Wood," "Boogie Shoes" and "Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy." Prices for admission to the May 9 event range from $15 ("early bird special") to $500 (a VIP table of eight seats).
For more information, call 803-648-2311..
