Shagging in the Carolinas

Shagging in the Carolinas is a history of dance, romance, and the New South. The Shag defied social conventions as carefree white teenagers were inspired by the possibilities inherent in improvisational black dance and music. This is the story of how Southern society’s emerging middle class embraced its multicultural roots while its political leaders continued to debate and deny the outcome of the Civil War. These are the unique people and circumstances that nurtured the evolution of Shag and Beach Music at places like the jump joints of Carolina Beach, the inland lake retreats, and the pavilions of Ocean Drive, Atlantic, Folly, Wrightsville, and Tybee beaches. With lively music and dancers, the Shag was popular at famous dance clubs, teen canteens, and armories. Venues such as the Coachman and IV, the Cellar, the Bushes, the Embers Clubs, and the Beach Club at Myrtle Beach are captured within these pages. The early pioneers and iconoclasts of dancing brought about a cultural revolution, embodied today by the many societies, competitions, and innumerable entertainers and bands that continue the Beach Music tradition.