GADSDEN, Ala. – Nostalgia is a sentimental affection for the past, typically with happy personal associations. You’re about to learn of a nostalgic experience loaded with fun, even for those who aren’t old enough to remember.
The ’60s sensations, the Swingin’ Medallions, have set Gadsden as the site for their annual Christmas party. They hail from Greenwood, S.C., but Central Alabama was home to so many of their fans and where they performed as “regulars” at east Birmingham’s Oporto Armory for their weekly party, “Medallion Mondays.”
That was a bit before my time, but older siblings and their friends exposed me to their biggest hit “Double Shot of My Baby’s Love” and more on a quite regular basis. They are still a well-known, eight-piece “party” band, complete with a horn section.
They’ll appear at 210 at the Tracks in Gadsden for a holiday party on Friday, Dec. 6. The doors open at 7:00 p.m., and music starts at 8:00 p.m.
When you want to know about the band, you go to the expert on the subject, Sylacauga native Jim Zeigler.
“Some music commentators who don’t know as much about this as I do call the Medallions ‘a one-hit wonder,"” said Zeigler. “It’s not true. While ‘Double Shot’ was their biggest national hit, making the Top 20, they had a trio of other hits and a big cult following in the South.”
The Swingin’ Medallions who now perform are a second generation of the originals.
“Shawn and Shane McElrath are the sons of the founder of the Medallions, John McElrath, who has been called a musical genius along the lines of Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys,” Zeigler explained. “John played keyboards and the bass line with his left hand on the black keys. He arranged most of the songs. John contracted Parkinson’s, stopped playing, and died in 2018. His two sons carry on his legacy.”
They’ll open and close their Gadsden appearance the same way their fans remember, with ‘Double Shot,’ complete with the original dance they choreographed with the same name. The show includes a long play list of classic party songs that are sure to inspire the crowd to dance along.
“On Dec. 6, those teens, now mostly in their 70s, will recreate that party scene from the Oporto Armory, and you can be sure they bring along much younger family and friends that simply want to have a fun time, flirting with nostalgia to the most recognizable and danceable songs of the 1960s and well beyond,” said Zeigler with his best “this is going to be fun” smile.
Tickets can be purchased for $25 by calling (256) 490-3062. Grab a table with friends for $200. Find details here.
And, knowing Jim Zeigler as I do, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if he’ll have his old trumpet in the car. You know, just in case…
