When beach music taught Southerners how to 'dance sexy'

The folks over at WUNC very recently published a really well-done piece about the history of Beach Music -- and how it helped teach us Southerners "how to dance sexy."

(They also somewhat concur with the Beach Music Origin Story that I, personally, subscribe to -- and professed on a recent episode of the Finest Worksongs podcast, which you can listen to here.)

Charlie Shelton-Ormond: It actually started in the mid to late 1940s, kind of, uh, like post World War II on the Carolina coast. So John Hook told me about a guy who was white and had a club at Carolina Beach in the mid 40s, and he started playing this kind of soul music off of a jukebox, followed by getting out there on the dance floor and showcasing the kind of dancing he'd seen in the Black community, which eventually came to be known as shag dancing.

So one thing to keep in mind is while most people tend to think of Beach Music as a VERY WHITE attempt at enjoying Black R&B, it is -- at its essence -- a very integrated genre of music -- and should be celebrated as such.

HOWEVER, one of the most interesting parts of the WUNC piece is the "difference" that they point out between the shag dance and "swing" dance -- though they are essentially the same -- or at least VERY similar if embraced by different races.

Anisa Khalifa: So at this festival that Curtis Platt puts on, is he showcasing the same kind of dance that you can find at the Spring Safari? How does it compare?

Charlie Shelton-Ormond: It's similar, but it's not the same. So Curtis said white folks call it shag, and the Black community has always called it swing.

Anisa Khalifa: Oh.

Curtis Platt: What you call the shag, but we call it swing dancing. The art of the dance doesn't really change. It all derived from the lindy hop and the jitterbug. And of course the beach music, they call it the beach music, the shag, but. That's in the history books, but in the Black community, it's the swing.

Charlie Shelton-Ormond: As Curtis is saying, shag dancing and swing dancing, it's all kind of coming from the same starting point, um, but there are distinctly different labels that people put on this different type of dancing.

No matter what you call it, it's such an important piece of our heritage here in the Carolinas. Thanks to WUNC for honoring it. 

What would be worth fighting for today?

I absolutely love how Our State magazine republishes and re-posts some of its past articles. Even for a Carolinaphile* like myself, I'm constantly learning new things. For instance, earlier this week, Our State promoted a 2016 article by the great Philip Gerard on an interesting footnote of history, something he called The Great Oyster War.

Now, it wasn't exactly a full-scale war. More of a "skirmish," if anything. Writes Gerard:

As wars go, it was a minor affair, pitting a few hundred off-islanders against a small, determined band of about 40 Ocracokers. But the stakes were as high as they get: control of precious watery territory, defense of a community’s livelihood, and the preservation of an endangered fishery.

It began with a government survey, quickly escalated into piracy and an attempted murder in broad daylight on the streets of New Bern — and ended as a footnote in history, most recently recorded in the Ocracoke Island Journal.

Please read the rest of this fascinating story. It's a great snapshot into how folks react when their livelihood is threatened. Also, how does one become the modern Oyster Commissioner? I totally want that gig.

But this got me thinking: is there a modern equivalent of something that would lead Tar Heels to stand their ground and take up arms against outsiders who are infringing on a way of life?

My first inclination was over barbecue, but even within the state there is a passionate yet respectful rivalry that is East-West centered rather than North-South. (It's a very civil Civil War, if you will. Plus, we all can agree that Eastern or Lexington is superior to South Carolina 'cue.)

Here are some other topics that could lead to an uprising, in no particular order:

• Taking away our "First in Flight" designation. (Looking at you, Ohio.)
• Federal mandate that bans The Shag as being "too risque"
• The Quebecois coming down to take our hockey team
• A "reboot" of the "Andy Griffith Show"
• Moving the ACC Tournament to some northern place like New York City. (Oh, wait ....)

What else?


*I may have just made up a term. 

Image courtesy of Carolinafishmarket.com