Mike Little is a member of the Electric City Shag Club in Anderson, South Carolina.  He is also a member of the Association of Beach & Shag Club DJ’s and the National Association of Rhythm & Blues Deejays.  He hosted for 3-1/2 years The Saturday Morning Beach Party on WANS, 1280 AM in Anderson, which was rated by Arbitron as the highest rated AM show listened to and number three overall for that time slot.  In 2004, he was awarded the Rufus Oates Award by the National Association of Rhythm & Blues Dee Jays for his writing contributions.  He now serves on the Board of Directors of the NARBDJ.

Al Basile has released The Goods on his own Sweetspot Records label.  This is his eighth release on the label.  The album is probably his best release yet from the multi-talented musician thus for the Beach Music and Southern Soul markets.  The Goods was produced by Duke Robillard, who also provides the guitar licks for the project.  Horn arrangements were provided by Doug James and Al Basile.  The Blind Boys of Alabama make a guest appearance on one of the tracks for the release.  There are two songs that really caught my attention and should go well for the dancers.  The Price (I Got To Pay) was initially written for Duke Robillard, but Al easily substituted “horn” for “guitar” in the lyrics.  The arrangement of the song sound a lot like The Holiday Band.  In fact, Al's up-front vocals even sound like Mike Taylor's on this one.  The other song that caught my ear is She's A Taker.  This song lyrics on this were inspired by a particular woman, and we all know people like this, both women and men.  Two other songs that should not be overlooked are I Want To Put It There and Reality Show.  Al Basile was originally a poet and fiction writer.  He was the first to get a masters degree from Brown University's Creative Writing program.  He also wrote musicals as an undergraduate.  He met Duke Robillard in 1969, which changed his artistic direction.  He began his performing career in 1973, when Duke hired him as first trumpet player for Roomful of Blues.  Some of the songs Al co-wrote with Duke have appeared on television.  Ruth Brown recorded one of his songs for Handy Award winning R&B=Ruth Brown, which was later nominated for a Grammy.  His second Grammy nomination came on Duke Robillard's Guitar Groove-a-Rama.  He continues to work with Duke on various projects.  The Goods by Al Basile is one record you really need to check into.

Have you heard Studebaker John's new release from Delmar Records, That's The Way You Do?  The album features Fine Cadillac, a song in which has already graced the charts of some deejays.  The song opens with an intro of some mighty fine slide guitar work.  You might also want to try the title track, That's The Way You Do or Low Down Woman.  Either one of these songs also have potential.  Studebaker John's Maxwell Street Kings pay homage to the early days of Chicago Blues, to a time when the open air market on Maxwell Street rang with the blues sound of street musicians.  Taking his stage name from an automobile he once owned, Studebaker John Grimace was a product of the Chicago Blues scene.  With his father an amateur musician, John began playing instruments found around the house at an early age.  He began focusing on the harmonica, forming his first band during the early 70's.

J.P. Soars & The Red Hots soars with the trio's sophomore release of More Bees With Honey.  The 2009 Blues Challenge winners are based out of Boca Raton, Florida.  Led by J.P. Soars, the group also consists of Chris Peet on drums and Todd Edmunds on bass.   J.P. Was born in California and raised in Arkansas.  He has lived in South Florida since 1985.  As guitarist and vocalist for the band, he is one of those rare young guitar singers that can play anything, anywhere at any time.  More Bees With Honey features the Back Of My Mind.  The song is a little fast, so you may want to bring the pitch down some.  The album also carries The Hustle (Is On).  This uptempo number could be the best song on the release.  More Bees With Honey is on J.P.'s on label, Soars High Productions.

Ms. Jody is still bopping on the charts with her smash hit, The Bop, from her Ecko Records release.  Her new release from Ecko Records, Ms. Jody's Keepin' It Real, contains several songs that could easily slip into beachmusic45's hot 45 or John Hook's Top 40.  I'm not sure any of them could outpace The Bop, but check out I Thank You For A Job Well Done.  It has the right beat.  It has the right rhythm.  The song may just go places.  Also, try Move On.  This one also has potential.  Other songs on the album that should not be overlooked are Take Me and I'm Keeping It Real.  You might want to listen to The Spank.  Could it be that we of the Old School are going to have a line dance?  Ms. Jody started singing when she was just a little girl.  In 2006, she made a visit to Ecko Records, where she was thereafter signed and cut her first album.  In 2008 she was nominated for several awards, including the Jackson Music Awards' International Female Vocalist of the Year and Jus Blues Music Awards' Best New Southern Soul Artist of the Year.  Ms. Jody has made quite a name for herself in just a very short period of time.

Midnight Rooster is the third Bonedog Records CD by Pittsburgh Blues guitarist Jimmy Adler and the first full collaboration between Jimmy and bassist/songwriter Mike Sweeney.  The album explores the sounds of Chicago Blues, venturing from the West Coast Jazzy Jump sounds to the Chess sounds of Chicago.  The Jimmy Adler Band plays regularly at a multitude of clubs throughout Western Pennsylvania, performing at various outdoor festivals.  The band has been regularly featured performers for several Pittsburgh Steelers and Pittsburgh Penguins rallies in downtown Pittsburgh.  Jimmy's talents have been recognized outside of the area where he has played on stages in California, Chicago and Mississippi, and has had airplay throughout the United States and abroad.  Midnight Rooster features a number of songs that would fit into the Beach Music arena.  Sugar Cookie leads the pack.  The song has a happy beat and should draw dancers onto the hardwoods in short order.  You might want to try St. Charles Line.  This number reminds me very much of Santana's Smooth.  There are a few more that you do not want to overlook.  Try Wild Imagination and Down Home Honey.  Bonedog Records' Midnight Rooster by Jimmy Adler is one you don't want to overlook. 

Ecko Records has also released Sheba Potts-Wright's latest, Let Your Mind Go Back.  The best song for the Beach Music and Shag markets is I’ve Done All I Can Do Now (The Rest Is Up To You).  The song, co-written by Ecko's John Ward and Sheba, is a smooth stepper, but it needs just a tad of pitch control on the positive side to make it work.  The album also features a slow song, Mr. Jody You Did Your Job.  The ballad is a tribute to the late Marvin Sease.  Sheba Potts-Wright was born in Chicago, living in Detroit and Greenwood, Mississippi during her infant years before moving to Memphis, where she now resides.  Born into a musical family, it was inevitable that she should follow in her father's footsteps, singing in bands and choirs during her early years.  She earned a scholarship in band and choir while attending Rust College.  At about this time, she started performing with her father, Dr. “Feelgood” Potts, who had been recording since the seventies.  Her career as a solo artist began in 2001with her first release, Sheba, from Ecko Records.  In 2005, Sheba Potts-Wright won the International Female Artist of the Year.