The Swingin’ Medallions- A Southern Tradition Since 1962

Walhalla Performing Arts Center, Walhalla

About the Show

The Swingin’ Medallions are a beach music/party band based out of Greenwood, South Carolina, whose musical roots came from listening to the early rhythm & blues acts. After a few years of touring colleges from the Carolinas to the Louisiana Bayou, John McElrath, one of the bands co-founders, took the group to a studio to record “Double Shot (of My Baby’s Love)”. The song has sold millions of copies and become a party classic for decades. “She Drives Me Out Of My Mind” & “Hey, Hey, Baby” were top 40 hits in the ’60s but “Double Shot” remains the band’s signature song.

The members of the Swingin’ Medallions have changed over the part thirty years, but it has always included eight members with at least a four piece horn section. The high-energy party style stage performance of the first Medallions has been passed down to the band that performs today.

How does a band endure the generations? The group’s signature high-energy style delights audiences of all ages. Their act, as well as their music, is indeed timeless. The band was founded in 1962 by John McElrath and now includes his sons, Shawn and Shane; plus, Joe Morris, the original drummer, who makes as many shows as he can!

Featuring an ever-popular horn section, the group effectively blends the sounds and music of yesterday and today.

Lewis Grizzard (Southern humorist and writer) labeled the Swingin’ Medallions as “THE PARTY BAND OF THE SOUTH”, a moniker that has become forever synonymous with the Medallion name. Grizzard wrote in a nationally syndicated column, “Even today, when I hear “Double Shot of My Baby’s Love”, it makes me want to stand outside in the hot sun with a milkshake cup full of beer in one hand and a slightly drenched coed in the other”.

Buy Tickets