 |  |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |
 |  |
LATEST SHOWCASE POSTS
As mentioned before on the Stoney Creek String Band showcase page, you can’t have one of these wonderful bands without the other. Gritz and Stoney Creek are intertwined at the root, born from each other and both containing a wealth of talented individuals and musicians. It is a gift that one complete recording came from each band and more so that I am allowed to present these in their entirety.
Much thanks goes to Danny Griggs for taking the time to talk with me about the history and story behind Gritz and to Gaille Cook for all the work she did gathering items to use on these pages, information on both bands, and helping to put names to faces throughout the photo albums...
It only takes one great song to leave a mark, a placeholder that tells the world you were here and that you created something worth being noted, heard and remembered. The young men who formed The MadHatters from the small town of Gaffney, SC did just that in the early 60’s. A very limited pressing of a perfect pop song, “Who’s That Girl”, as fine a song as anything being released from that time period in North America.
I want to thank Edward Gault, Bob Cooksey, Roger Maglio, Vance Pollock, Ken Friedman, and a special thank you to Jeff Gossett who kept pressing me to pursue the task of gathering the data and information to put this showcase page together for The MadHatters. It only takes one really cool song, thanks guys!
This one is very special for me and I want to tell you why. Seven years ago when I started this website I gathered the names of hundreds of South Carolina artists and bands to create showcases for and the Stoney Creek String Band was on that list. I had heard of them and I had heard how talented they were but it wasn’t until working with Butch Hendricks on his body of work that I was reminded of them.
Butch, being so passionate about all the musicians and bands from South Carolina proceeded to pour out to me a long list of names, in his opinion each deserving to receive their own showcase page and then BOOM! there they were again, the Stoney Creek String Band.
With my new mission in sight I began researching Stoney Creek...
Most musicians can only hope to live a life of artistic accomplishment, spiritual fulfillment, and personal satisfaction but Moses Dillard is that rare exception, he did just that.
The deeper I researched into his 4 decade career the more my respect and awe grew for this man. Names like Jesse Boyce, Curtis Mayfield, Peabo Bryson, and Al Green, these are giants in the music industry and Moses was right there with them.
A very special thank you to Chandra Dillard for giving me permission to post this showcase for her father and to Jack Hines and the Greenville Music Preservation society for allowing me to use this article, by far the most in depth and detailed...
07/04/2022
What a really cool band! I love the story where a group of school friends put a band together, practice in a garage, build a fan base, write some good songs and record them, find regional success, then they are rediscovered decades later by a totally different type of music scene to be categorized by them as “trail blazers”, and "classic".
Now that’s a good story…
06/06/2022
THE EXOTICS
02/28/2022
There is a powerful story behind this band that involves race, talent, and tragedy. This story tells how the worst of these things can be overcome with music, tenacity, and sheer faith. I would like to thank Richard Reid for bringing this band to my attention through his published article in The Times and Democrat, which I have provided a link to in the launch bar below. Mr. Reid is president of the Orangeburg Historical and Genealogical Society. His mission is researching Orangeburg history, with a particular emphasis on the role of African-Americans in that history...
THE SENSATIONAL EPICS
03/27/2022
South Carolina has produced some of the best R&B, Soul, and Beach Music bands in the world. What really sets these apart for me is the brass, the horn sections, that is something we do very well down here in Carolina. I enjoyed learning the history of the Epics, going through the photos dating back to the early 60’s and witnessing how they grew from a party band to a first class show band with nearly all original members intact. That is no easy task starting out as a group of high school kids, it takes discipline, practice, trial and error but I would think most importantly it would require a lot of fun and close friendship in order to...