The Swingin' Medallions

The Swinging Medallions' one claim to fame, "Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love)," charted at number 17 on July 2, 1966, and made them an institution in the South. It was the band's second release for Smash Records; the first, "I Wanna Be Your Guy," went unnoticed. "Doubleshot"'s successors didn't pack the same wallop; the follow-up, "She Drives Me Out of My Mind," stopped climbing at number 71 in 1966, and "Hey Baby" failed too. They began as Pieces of Eight in the late '50s, and changed to Swinging Medallions in 1965 when they signed with Smash. The members: John McElrath (keyboards), Jim Doares (guitar), Carroll Bledsoe (trumpet), Charles Webber (trumpet), Brent Forston (sax, flute), Steven Caldwell (sax), James Perkins (bass), and Joe Morris (drums). All hail from the Greenwood, SC, area. Beach music is their forte and they're the main purveyors of the shag, a popular dance on Southern beaches. Over 30 years, the personnel changed much, with McElrath is the only original. For many years, the original members reunited for a one-night concert in Atlanta. ~ Andrew Hamilton, All Music Guide