Early years The band was formed as The Medallions in 1962 by John McElrath and Joe Morris while students at
Lander College (today Lander University). The original lineup consisted of McElrath, Morris, Larry and Jimmy Roark (both cousins of McElrath), Bobby Crowder, Dwight Styron, and John Hancock. According to Morris, this group of friends "used to sit out in John’s front yard and listen to
rhythm and blues music, coming from the back door of a local, little club there in
Ninety Six. [...] That formed the type music we did." Soon, the band regularly rehearsed at Smokey Joe's Cafe in
Ninety Six and added Carroll Bledsoe and Gary "Cubby" Culbertson on trumpet and guitar, respectively. Culbertson introduced "Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love)" to the band, but being in the
Army Reserve as
Vietnam was escalating, he soon departed and was replaced by Perrin Gleaton. By mid-1964, the Medallions' eight-piece lineup had solidified around McElrath on keyboards, Morris on drums, Gleaton on guitar, Bledsoe and Rick Godwin on
trumpet, and Steve Caldwell, Brent Fortson (then still in
high school), and Freddie Pugh on
saxophone.
Popular residencies Originally formed as a way to earn extra money by playing at clubs and
fraternity parties, the band's energetic,
brass-heavy live act soon developed a strong following in the
Southeast. In the summer of 1964, Earl Caldwell, the father of saxophonist Steve Caldwell, offered the group a
residency at The Old Hickory, his
nightclub in
Panama City, Florida, where they would play six nights per week. In 1965, the Medallions added "Swingin'" to their moniker to differentiate themselves from a Chicago band of the same name. That summer, the band continued their residencies in Panama City and Birmingham, however Jimbo Doares and Charlie Webber had replaced Gleaton and Pugh, respectively. By 1966, Jimmy Perkins had replaced Godwin on trumpet. Soon,
Bill Lowery, a producer based in
Atlanta, became interested in recording the young group, ultimately signing the group to a recording and management contract. According to drummer Joe Morris, the two tracks took an hour and a half to satisfactorily record. 500 copies of this new, "rowdier" arrangement were printed on the For Sale label (created by the band themselves), then sold at shows and distributed to radio stations. Allegedly,
James Brown recommended the band to his then-record label
Smash Records, which promptly purchased the single after Lowery agreed. The band also performed on
Dick Clark's
Where The Action Is, being featured in the episode that aired on July 15, 1966. While in California, the band performed at
Tina Sinatra's eighteenth birthday party and were later gifted two new amplifiers by
her father. The band (with a shifting cast) continued to do reunion shows into the 2000s. On September 16, 2009, the band joined
Bruce Springsteen & the
E Street Band during their concert at the
Bi-Lo Center in
Greenville, South Carolina for a performance of "Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love)". John McElrath died of
Parkinson's disease on June 9, 2018, at age 77. Brent Fortson, who was still
underage when he joined the group in 1964, said that "[McElrath] was my mentor. He was my biggest influence as a calming figure. [...] We were so fortunate to have him lead the way. He was a trailblazer."
Other band member deaths Steve Caldwell died of
pancreatic cancer on January 28, 2002. Charlie Webber died of cancer on January 17, 2003. Gary "Cubby" Culbertson died on March 27, 2014. James "Hack" Bartley died on April 19, 2016 from accidental drowning while fishing. Jimbo Doares (born James Woodrow Doares, Jr. in
Columbia, South Carolina on August 14, 1944) died on September 7, 2022, at age 78. ==Band members==