They are called “the party band of the South.”
They are from Greenwood, S.C., and are credited with popularizing “the Carolina Sound.”
Yet the Swingin’ Medallions have settled on Gadsden as the site for their annual Christmas party.
The Medallions are an eight-piece oldies band, complete with a horn section. In the mid-1960s, hundreds of teenagers in central and north Alabama traveled weekly to Oporto Armory in east Birmingham for "Medallion Mondays." They heard the Medallions play their biggest hit, "Double Shot of My Baby's Love."
On December 6, those teens, now mostly in their 70s, will recreate that scene. The Medallions and their fans will reunite in Gadsden on Friday, December 6, at "210 at the Tracks." Doors open at 7 p.m., and Sixties music starts at 8 p.m.
Tickets can be purchased for $25 at 256-490-3062. Or a table for $200.00. Details here.
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:
A cover of Bruce Chanel’s number one hit, “Hey! Hey Baby!”
“She Drives Me Out of My Mind”
“I Wanna Be Your Guy”
The Medallions who now perform are a second generation of the originals. Shawn and Shane McElrath are the sons of the founder of the Medallions, John McElrath, who has been called a musical genius along the lines of Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys. John played keyboards and the bass line with his left hand on the black keys. He arranged most of the songs. John contracted Parkinson's, stopped playing, and died in 2018. His two sons carry on his legacy.
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.
The Medallions' playlist is a review of arguably the most danceable songs of the 1960s:
“Carolina Girl” by The Chairmen of the Board
“Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy” by The Tams
“Get Ready” by Rare Earth
“I Ain’t Got Nobody” by Louis Prim
“Knock on Wood” by Eddie Floyd
“Mustang Sally” by Wilson Pickett from Prattville, Alabama
“Under the Boardwalk” by the Drifters
“Domino” by Van Morrison
“Old Time Rock & Roll” by Bob Seger
“Stand by Me” by Ben E. King
“Celebration” by Spanky & Our Gang
“Boogie Shoes” by KC & the Sunshine Band (a more modern song, for this crowd)
One particular Medallions' rendition, "Love Train," often causes the audience to get up and form a Conga line, one behind the other, dancing in a line moving all around the floor.
In many performances, the Medallions open with "Double Shot" and close the night playing it again. No one complains. If it were left up to the audience, they might play "Double Shot" every other song.
Neither Elon Musk nor Steve Jobs ever invented a time machine, but the Swingin' Medallions did, and they will turn it on December 6 in Gadsden, back to the 1960s.
Jim ‘Zig’ Zeigler writes about Alabama’s people, places, events, groups and prominent deaths. He is a former Alabama Public Service Commissioner and State Auditor. You can reach him for comments at ZeiglerElderCare@yahoo.com.
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