| To anyone who did not grow up in the U.S. states of | | | | premier exponent of the style at that time was The |
| North or South Carolina, or perhaps Virginia or Georgia, | | | | Drifters. I've long known and liked the music of The |
| Carolina beach music takes some explaining. | | | | Drifters--"Up On the Roof" is one of my all-time |
| Even a southerner such as I, growing up in Alabama, | | | | favorite songs--but I just considered it to be rock 'n' roll |
| did not realize that there was something called beach | | | | or perhaps r&b. It took moving to North Carolina to |
| music that had little resemblance to, or connection with, | | | | learn that some people considered it part of a |
| the California sound of the Beach Boys or Jan and | | | | separate genre. |
| Dean. | | | | This is music that is gentle, sweet, romantic and |
| Carolina beach music isn't about surfing or drag racing. | | | | innocent rock 'n' roll. It celebrates stealing kisses in the |
| It's about dancing at the pavilion in Myrtle Beach, | | | | back row of the movie theater and couples sharing a |
| shagging on the sand with your best girl, holding hands | | | | blanket in the shade of the boardwalk. |
| and watching the moon rise over Atlantic breakers as | | | | It's no wonder that today, Myrtle Beach has clubs and |
| the harmonies of The Drifters, the Embers or the | | | | entire theaters that exist just to showcase the top |
| Tams drift over the dunes. | | | | beach music acts, and that they do a booming |
| Now right now I must stop and explain to my English | | | | business. Without doubt, many of the fans who flock |
| readers--that is, the possibly shocked citizens and | | | | there are recapturing a happy, uncomplicated youth |
| residents of the United Kingdom--that "shagging" as | | | | spent cruising the strip and shagging (dance shagging) |
| used here does not mean what it you think it does. | | | | the night away. But Carolina beach music has a broad |
| Here, the shag is the dance that you do to this type of | | | | appeal, and it would not be surprising to see 20- and |
| music. Shagging means to do the shag. | | | | 30-somethings finding their way through the doors of |
| Carolina beach music goes back to the 1950s. The | | | | those clubs, too. |