Carolina Shag! Bob Kuban & The In Men's 'The Cheater'

[PeaceNHarmony]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ES19QxaTVcI

[Circa 1824]

Wasn't Bob Kuban violently murdered ?

[TomatoTom123]

Wasn't Bob Kuban violently murdered ?

Hi Circa, I have no idea who this guy is but according to Wikipedia, "Bob Kuban is an American bandleader and musician" i.e. he's not even dead!

It does say, however, that "Walter Scott, frontman for The In-Men and singer of "The Cheater", a song whose lyrics speak of infidelity, was murdered in 1983 by his wife's lover in an extremely tangled case that did not come to light until 1987"

:)

[marv2]

I use to hear this song on the radio as a kid in Michigan and Ohio. I still don't understand what it has to do with North or South Carolina.

[marv2]

Wasn't Bob Kuban violently murdered ?


The was Walter Scott, the lead singer for the band "Bob Kuban and the In-Men". They did a profile of the murder case on one of those unsolved mystery type shows a while back. Walter is singing lead on "The Cheater".

[splanky]

I use to hear this song on the radio as a kid in Michigan and Ohio. I still don't understand what it has to do with North or South Carolina.

Nothing at all in itself, Marv. The "shag" is just the dance folks in the Carolinas did to what they called Beach Music. Much of which would
be called Northern Soul in the UK...Just from a different perspective.
It was always peculiar to me how some folks loved to dance to music
that featured so many black artists but didn't want black people to
frequent Shag capital otherwise known as Myrtle Beach, South Carolina...

[marv2]

Nothing at all in itself, Marv. The "shag" is just the dance folks in the Carolinas did to what they called Beach Music. Much of which would
be called Northern Soul in the UK...Just from a different perspective.
It was always peculiar to me how some folks loved to dance to music
that featured so many black artists but didn't want black people to
frequent Shag capital otherwise known as Myrtle Beach, South Carolina...

Oh ok Splanky, thanks. I think I understand. They just took music from elsewhere and slapped their nickname for it on it. Yeah Myrtle Beach had that reputation.

[jsmith]

Like Northern Soul in the UK, the US Beach Music scene played 60's records right through the 70's / 80's / 90's and beyond .....
So the big difference in a dance track to make it as a NS or BM anthem is that it was still being played in a certain geographic area years after it had first been released.
In the 70's in the UK, MANY MANY 60's US soul cuts hit the UK pop charts coz that what was being played in UK discos every night of the week. Thus old tracks from the likes of the Tams, Robert Knight, Tami Lynn, the Fascinations, the Platters, Jimmy Ruffin, the Elgins, Edwin Starr, R Dean Taylor and many more were big UK pop chart hits & the artists would come over here to play gigs & do TV work.
It was the folk at UK's EMI, looking for an uptempo Miracles track to release as a new 45 that came upon "Tears Of A Clown", selected it & put it out on 45 in August 1970. It went straight to No.1 in the UK pop charts & prompted Motown in the US to release it on a 45 there too. The 'new' 45 entered the US R&B chart in late Oct 70 and it also went on to make No.1. So a NS track became a worldwide pop hit.
The US Beach Scene has never really had the power to get an old track back in the pop charts but it has prompted the re-release of many old soul dance tracks.

[marv2]

Like Northern Soul in the UK, the US Beach Music scene played 60's records right through the 70's / 80's / 90's and beyond .....
So the big difference in a dance track to make it as a NS or BM anthem is that it was still being played in a certain geographic area years after it had first been released.
In the 70's in the UK, MANY MANY 60's US soul cuts hit the UK pop charts coz that what was being played in UK discos every night of the week. Thus old tracks from the likes of the Tams, Robert Knight, Tami Lynn, the Fascinations, the Platters, Jimmy Ruffin, the Elgins, Edwin Starr, R Dean Taylor and many more were big UK pop chart hits & the artists would come over here to play gigs & do TV work.
It was the folk at UK's EMI, looking for an uptempo Miracles track to release as a new 45 that came upon "Tears Of A Clown", selected it & put it out on 45 in August 1970. It went straight to No.1 in the UK pop charts & prompted Motown in the US to release it on a 45 there too. The 'new' 45 entered the US R&B chart in late Oct 70 and it also went on to make No.1. So a NS track became a worldwide pop hit.
The US Beach Scene has never really had the power to get an old track back in the pop charts but it has prompted the re-release of many old soul dance tracks.

Great information. Thank you Jsmith!