Hello Everyone!

 

I hope everyone had a great Fourth Of July weekend and you were able to spend some time with family and friends. Hopefully you are enjoying the summer and finding a way to stay cool in this summer heat! I know in Upstate S.C. it has been James Brown HOT the last couple of weeks! Hopefully it hasn't been quite that hot in your neck of the woods! Anyway, with summertime fun, comes summertime heat, and I love summertime fun, so I will take the heat with it!

 

The month of June was pretty slow for new Beach Music releases, so this article will be pretty short this month. The bands have been so busy playing all of the summertime festivals and shows, that there is just not much time for studio work during the summer. It is great to see the bands so busy again, and I know the new releases will pick back up as we head into the Fall and move closer to SOS Fall Migration. With that being said, we do have a few new releases to cover this month, so let's go Inside The Music shall we?

 

Can We Talk It Over - Roger Smith

 

The former Poor Soul has had a couple of solo hits recently including "Sweet Summertime" and "It's Gonna Be Alright", but "Can We Talk It Over" may be Roger's biggest hit to date. It is already making serious chart noise as it debuted at #15 on the July Smokin' 45 and was #19 on Eric Bowman's Wave New Beach Music Countdown last week. Roger delivers a leave no doubt vocal performance on this tune, and when you throw in a blistering sax solo to go along with it, folks you have Beach Music magic! This is a super smooth tune that the dancers should love, and it should do very well on Beach Music Radio. Roger Smith's place in Beach Music history is secure, but he just added another great chapter with "Can We Talk It Over". Add it to your Beach Music collection today! You will be so glad you did!

 

Oh Boy - Classic Soul 

 

The group Classic Soul consists of three Beach Music veterans: Terri Gore, Don Jordan, and Warren McDonald. What can be said here about Terri Gore that hasn't already been said? When your first public appearance is at age 5, and the backing band is the legendary Joe Pope and The Tams, and your father is Jackie Gore, the man known as the "Godfather of Beach Music", it is almost certain that your destiny is to become the most popular and recognized female vocalist in the Carolinas. Known throughout the world as the "Original Carolina Girl", Terri Gore possesses a rare vocal ability that distinguishes her as both a top live performer and recording artist. 

 

Warren McDonald has been around the Beach Music scene his entire life. He founded the group, The Expressions, in the late 1960's, and they became very popular across the Carolinas and beyond. The group had the privilege of working behind and opening for many of the top touring groups of the day including The Drifters, The Coasters, The Temptations, The Four Tops, and Clifford Curry. Warren was an early collaborator in The Emerald Isle Beach Music Festival and has performed with many of the top names in Beach Music. In the 1980's he played with Sea Breeze and was privileged to perform in the final iteration of The Fabulous Kays, as well as the Coco Loco Party Band. 

 

Don Jordan became a member of The Embers in 1994, and in 2008 he became a member of The Craig Woolard Band. He performed with The CWB until that group ended a very successful run in 2014. Don was also a member of North Tower and spent five years with The Blackwater Band before joining Classic Soul. Through the years he's also played as a guest or substitute guitarist for The Band Of Oz, Jim Quick and Coastline, The Sand Band, and many others. He also has had the honor to perform with such great artists as Archie Bell, William Bell, Clifford Curry, Eddie Floyd, Eddie Cornelius, Chuck Jackson, Gene Chandler, Jimmy Hall, Jackie Gore, Candi Staton, Jeff Cook, Danny Woods, and Mark Black among others.

 

Classic Soul's first CD "After All These Years" included many hits on various Beach Music charts including "High Blood Pressure" and "Cry To Me", which made it to # 1 on The Beach Music Top 40 and remained there for a number of weeks. The group is working on material for a new CD and first out of the gate is "Oh Boy" with Terri Gore on the lead vocals. The tune is a spin-off of The Chi-Lites "Oh Girl", and it is already making serious noise on the Beach Music charts coming in at #3 on Eric Bowman's New Beach Music Countdown last week. Be on the look-out for more new material from Classic Soul in the coming months! I can't wait to hear more from this ultra-talented group of musicians!

 

In My '64 - Reverend Bubba D. Liverance

 

The Right Reverend of Beach Music, Reverend Bubba D. Liverance is back at it with his latest release "In My '64". From his Void Outlaw Dark Lion release, "In My '64" features the familiar vocal style of Bubba and has that infectious groove that just gets your toes tapping! Throw in the always tip of the spear production that we have become accustomed to from Bubba, and the smokin' horns from The Cornhole Prophets, and folks you have a hit on your hands! This song is a perfect summertime anthem that just makes you want to hop in your car and head out somewhere with the top down and the radio blaring "In My 64". The tune is already making noise on the Beach Music charts as it was #25 last week on Eric Bowman's Wave New Beach Music Countdown and is bubbling under The Surf Top 20! Look for this tune to make a strong push up the chart as we head into the summer months! You can download "In My 64" from I Tunes or any of the major streaming platforms. Add it to your Beach Music collection today! You will be glad you did!!

 

Catch Up On My Drinking - Cory Luetjen and The Traveling Blues Band

 

Cory Luetjen burst on to The Beach Music scene with "My Baby Sure Can Shag" which was a main stay on most of the major Beach Music charts. He followed that up with "Way You Move" which also had chart success. Now we have "Catch Up On My Drinking" which is another Cory original. The song debuted on Eric Bowman's Wave New Beach Music Countdown a few weeks ago and it was #27 on that chart last week. "Catch Up On My Drinking" is a fun tune that features tip of the spear production and instrumentation from Cory and the guys, including a scorching sax solo. This is a great summer tune that I think will make a run up the charts as it becomes more widely played in the coming months. Cory Luetjen and The Traveling Blues Band frequently play around the North Myrtle Beach area. If you have a chance to catch them live, don't miss it!! In the meantime, download "Catch Up On My Drinking" from I Tunes or any of the major streaming platforms and crank it up!! You will be glad you did. There is also a fun video for this tune available on You Tube!

 

Since there was not a lot of new music to cover this month, I thought it would be fun to take a look around at the various Beach Music charts and see who is making noise on the charts! We'll call it:

 

Chart Chatter

 

Teddy Swims continues to top The Smokin' 45 with his mega hit "Blowin' Smoke". Other tunes that made strong moves this month include "Tequila On Ice" from Wayne Free which moved up 31 positions from #45 to #14! This song may be the hottest tune in Beach Music right now and it can be found on the Patman and Robin Records CD compilation "Happy Go Lucky". The previously mentioned "Can We Talk It Over" from Roger Smith debuted this month at #15 making it the highest debut of the month! "When Romance Was King" from Sammy O'Banion debuted at #17 this month making it the second highest debut of the month. Great to see this outstanding tune from Sammy make the chart this month. Another great tune that debuted this month is Too Much Sylvia's "That You Hear In A Song" which debuted at #19, and Gary Lowder's "Any Other Love" which debuted at #22. The Tonez make their debut on the chart with "Me and My Music" which debuts at #25, and The Carolina Coast Band debut with their new tune "The Thing About You" which features Rhonda McDaniel on the lead vocal and is also available on the "Happy Go Lucky" compilation CD. Rick Stickland enters the chart this month with his latest offering "Sandy" and Rivermist rounds out the debuts this month as "Pucker Up" debuts at #45! Great to see so many new songs that have been covered by Inside The Music make The Smokin' 45 this month! Be sure to catch next month's live Smokin' 45 Countdown with Pat Patterson on August 1st at 7:00 P.M. Just go to http://www.largetime.net and click on the "On Air" button and you will be connected to WPCC Clinton, S.C. and The Large Time Radio Network! You can also listen via the Tune In app.

 

Speaking of "Pucker Up" from Rivermist, it tops the most recent Riptide Radio Top 20! After hanging around the top 3 for several weeks, "Pucker Up" finally broke through a couple of weeks ago and it continues to hold the top spot as of this writing. Other hot tunes on the Riptide Top 20 include "Tequila On Ice" at #13, "The Thing About You" at #12, "I'll Always Love You" from Blackwater at #9, "That You Hear In A Song" from Too Much Sylvia at #7, "The Real Deal" from Freddy Tripp at #5, "Bad Boy" from Gary Lowder and Smokin' Hot featuring Bridger Warlick at #4 (a future #1), "Poor Side Of Town" from The Main Event Band at #3, and "Take Me By The Hand" from Deb Browning and The Six Piece Suits at #2! These last three songs have been battling it out with "Pucker Up" for the last few weeks. Will any of them overtake it this week? Check out the live Riptide Radio Top 20 Countdown from Deckerz Bar and Grill every Friday at 4 P.M. on Riptide Radio and find out! You can listen at http://www.riptideradio.com or download the Riptide Radio app and listen from anywhere!

 

The Band Of Oz continue to top The Surf Top 20 with "You To Me Are Everything" which has been #1 for 10 weeks in a row! Look out for the song at #2 though!! As I said earlier "Tequila On Ice" might be the hottest song in Beach Music right now, and it comes in at #2 on The Surf this week! Can it unseat The Band Of Oz? We shall see! Other hot songs on The Surf Top 20 include "Whatever Turns You On" from The Band Of Oz at #3 (yes they have two songs in the top 3!), "Better Off" from Jim Quick and Coastline at #4, "Never Give Up On Love" and "Want You In My Life" from Cat 5 at #6 and #8 respectively, and "I'll Always Love You" from Blackwater at #10! Can "Tequila On Ice" unseat The Band Of Oz at #1? Check out The Surf Top 20 Countdown with Jay Kinlaw on 94,9 The Surf in North Myrtle Beach every Saturday at 10:00 A.M. You can also tune in at 94.9 The Surf FM Radio or download The Surf app and carry The Surf with you everywhere!

 

"Better Off" from Jim Quick and Coastline top John Hook's Beach Music Top 40 as of 7/2. Other hot tunes on The Beach Music Top 40 include "Never Found A Man" from The Castaways at #2, "Chain Of Fools" from Ginger Thompson at #3, "Satellite Radio" from Feature Attraction Band at #4, "Summer's Gonna Last" from the "Original Carolina Girl" Terri Gore at #5, "Lovin Arms" from Salt Luvs Pepper at #6, and "Days Of Sandy Toes and Salty Kisses" from Doyle Wood and Sylvia Johns Ritchie at #8! All of these tunes have been covered by Inside The Music and it is great to see them all on this great chart! The National voice of Beach Music "Fessa" John Hook can be heard on Sirius XM Radio with the Top 20 in Carolina Shag each Saturday from 12-1 and Sunday from 3-4. "Fessa" Hook's Beach Music Top 40 is on 40+ stations and streams weekly. Check it out on Saturday from 4-7 on http://www.jukinoldies.com or download the Jukin' Oldies app and take Beach Music everywhere with you!

 

"When Romance Was King" from Sammy O'Banion tops Eric Bowman's Wave New Beach Music Countdown for the second week in a row! This song is one of my personal favorites and it is great that this song is finally getting the recognition it deserves! Other hot tunes on this chart include "That You Hear In A Song" from Too Much Sylvia at #10, "I'll Always Love You" from Blackwater at #9, "Let Me Make Love To You" from Mark Black at #8, "Bad Boy" from Gary Lowder and Smokin' Hot featuring Bridger Warlick at #7, "Take Me By The Hand" from Deb Browning and The Six Piece Suits at #6, "Me and My Music from The Tonez at #5, "Any Other Love" from Gary Lowder and Smokin' Hot at #4, "Oh Boy" (reviewed here this month) from Classic Soul at #3, and "Exactly What I Need" from Tim Cashion at #2! Can "When Romance Was King" remain #1 for a third week? Check out Eric Bowman's Wave New Beach Music Countdown every Saturday from 10 A.M. -1 P.M. on WDZD 99.1 FM and 94.3 FM in Monroe, N.C., at http://www.thefunone.org ,on Facebook live (just search the station or Eric Bowman) or download The Fun One app and carry The Fun One with you everywhere!

 

Well folks that's a look around the Beach Music charts! It's interesting that we looked at five charts and all have a different #1! Lots of great tunes on all of these charts! Check them out each week and month and see where your favorite songs land! We will continue to do Chart Chatter from time to time depending upon how much new music we have to review each month! I hope you enjoyed it!

 

Well, that's it for this month! I hope you enjoyed this month's Inside The Music! Until next time.....

 

See ya at the beach!

 

Craig