Beach music, as it is known in the South, originated in the coastal Carolinas in the years following World War II. The term referred to African American “race” music (later called rhythm and blues or R&B) that could be found in South Carolina only on jukeboxes in the beachside jump joints and saloons. The decline of big-band swing led young white dancers to seek out alternative music. George Lineberry, one of the young white dancers who worked for a Myrtle Beach amusements company, took it upon himself to install “race” records on jukeboxes in white establishments along the coast—including the popular pavilion in the heart of the tourist district. Because it was mostly heard at the beach, this exciting, hard-to-find new music became known to white visitors as beach music.
“B” is for Beach music
