Swingin' Medallions

The Swingin' 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 the Swingin' Medallions in 1965 when they signed with Smash. The band's membership has included 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 hailing from the Greenwood, SC area. Beach music has been their forte and they have been the main purveyors of the Shag, a popular dance on Southern beaches. The Swingin' Medallions' personnel has changed much in a band history spanning over 40 years and continuing into the 21st century, with McElrath the only original member. For many years, the original bandmembers reunited for a one-night concert in Atlanta.