The Lure of Beach Music Lingers Boone Shag Club Plans Summer Events By Jeff Eason America has developed two distinctly different styles of beach music. The western, or Pacific style, is most closely associated with musical acts such as Jan & Dean, the Beach Boys, the Ventures and the Surfaris. The eastern style is an offshoot of the East Coast rhythm and blues music of the 1950s and 60s. The style utilizes the music of R&B bands such as the Chairmen of the Board, the Tams, and the Drifters. The music features frequent use of doo-wop style vocal harmonies and rhythms that are made for dancing. The dance of choice for eastern beach music lovers is the shag. Bouncing to the beach music beat. Boone Shag Club members dance the night away at Meadowbrook Inn. Photo by Jeff Eason Shagging as a dance craze started at the beach, primarily in the little tourist towns along the Virginia and Carolinas coast. From Folly Beach to Hampton, dance clubs filled with shag enthusiasts blossomed in the 60s and the craze has yet to subside. Here in the High Country, the Boone Shag Club meets every Tuesday night at Meadowbrook Inn in Blowing Rock for several hours of great music, dance lessons and high-spirited fun. The Boone Shag Club has about 100 members and is an official arm of the Association of Carolina Shag Clubs, an association of about 100 clubs in Virginia, West Virginia, the Carolinas, Pennsylvania and Florida. “It’s an East Coast thing,” said Jimmy Pittman, one of the leaders of the Boone Shag Club. Pittman noted that one of his favorite songs to shag to is “Under the Boardwalk,” by the Drifters, a band that will be appearing in Boone at the end of July. Pittman stated he got hooked on Beach music and shagging as a young man living in Littleton, in the eastern part of North Carolina. “I used to go to see Bill Deal and the Rhondells every weekend that I could get to the coast,” said Pittman. Pittman’s wife Miriam is another active member of the club. She stated she prefers the more upbeat musical numbers. “Although I do like ‘Lady Soul’—and that’s a slow one,” said Miriam. Although the emphasis is on classic beach music tunes, club DJ George Brown also plays a selection of modern R&B and pop tunes that are designed to get dancers on the floor. Members can also write down their special requests. If Brown doesn’t have the song available that night, he will try to track it down for the following Tuesday night. The dancers usually meet at Meadowbrook at 8 p.m. and dance until 10 or 10:30 p.m. Shagging is a style of dancing that appeals to a wide range of people. The Boone Shag Club has members who first discovered the dance in the 60s when they visited beach and younger members who have just started doing the shag. The club helps the uninitiated get started with free lessons at each meeting. Folks can attend three or four meetings for free to see if they like dancing the shag before committing to a membership. Once finding out that shagging is for them, new members pay only $20 a year to be part of the Boone Shag Club. “We’ve got members from all over the area,” said Jimmy Pittman. “People come from West Jefferson, Hickory, Lenoir, Newland, Mountain City, and of course Boone and Blowing Rock.” Free Shag Lessons The Boone Shag Club will give a series of free shag dance lessons to people planning to attend the Appalachian Summer Outdoor Fireworks Concert on July 31 featuring the Coasters, the Platters and the Drifters. The lessons will be held in the lobby of Farthing Auditorium on the campus of ASU in Boone. Lesson One dates are set for July 12, 19 and 26. Lesson Two dates are set for July 15, 22 and 29. All lessons are from 8 to 9:30 p.m. and to attend Lesson Two nights, you must first attend a Lesson One night. Just present you advance-purchase ticket for the July 31 concert to attend the free dance lessons. Dancers will be part of a special presentation at the Outdoor Fireworks Concert. Boogie to Boone The Boone Shag Club will host its 14th Annual Boogie to Boone Dance Party this Saturday, June 26. The party will feature Beach Music DJs Larry Calhoun and Gene Hensley. The fun starts at 4 p.m. and continues until midnight. The Boogie to Boone Dance Party will be held at the Buffalo Camp Campground off of Hwy 221, five miles south of Blowing Rock. The party will feature non-stop dancing, door prizes, homemade desserts, beverages and a barbecue dinner served at 6 p.m. The Boogie to Boone Dance Party will feature a raffle. Tickets for the raffle are only a dollar apiece and the proceeds will be divided evenly between the winner of the raffle and two charities: The Hunger Coalition and Victory Junction Camp. Admission for the 14th Annual Boogie to Boone is $25 per person. For more information, call Jimmy Pittman at (828) 264-4091 or Verna Eller at (828) 264-6594.