Submitted by UAR-mwfree on Jul 16
Beach Beat Classics, Volume II album cover

 

Beach Beat Classics, Volume II (Various Artists) (1981):  “Beach music” refers not to surf music by the likes of the Beach Boys and Jan & Dean, but rather to classic R&B sounds from the 1950’s and 1960’s that were popularized at the coastal communities along the Atlantic Coast of North Carolina and South Carolina, centered at Ocean Drive Beach near Myrtle Beach (now a part of North Myrtle Beach).  R&B music was rarely played on “white” radio stations in the mid-1950’s but was available on the jukeboxes, and at the bars and dance clubs in the tourist towns.  Both the original songs on Beach Beat Classics, Volume II – the “Old Waves” songs on Side 2 – and newer songs in the same style (often by the same artists) – the “New Waves” songs on Side 1 – are equally prized by aficionados of beach music.  This album provides a good overview of this regional genre and features recordings by the DriftersMaurice Williams and the Zodiacs, the Tams, Chairmen of the Board, the Trampps, and the O'Jays