When most people are asked what "shagging" is they would probably refer to the phrase from the popular movies with the character Austin Powers? But if you happen to be in the Carolinas' you answer would consist of Myrtle Beach, Beach music, and a tradition that dates back to the 1920s. It is a Carolina culture, the Official State Dance of North and South Carolina, that is still prominent today. This website is dedicated to informing the "outsiders" of Carolinians do best!

Lynn and Dickie Crutchfield: Memories of the beach

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Shagging on Good Morning America 1997

Brief Shagging History Timeline

• Early 1930's --The first signs of the Shag were seen on the Carolina Coast to big band and swing music.
• 1936 -- The early version of the Shag, The Jitterbug, was created.
• Summer 1938 -- The "Originator of the Shag" Billy Jeffers moved to Myrtle Beach.
• Spring of 1943 -- Two other Shagging originals, Chicken Hicks and George Lineberry moved to Myrtle Beach. The seeds of Beach music were sown.
• 1949-- During the height of WWI, the term Rhythm and Blues was coined. R&B was the music that Beach Music was born from.
• Late 1949-- Hicks asked to leave Myrtle Beach. He moved to Carolina Beach, NC.
• Late 1940's- Hicks talked a jukebox operator into transferring some of the "black music" onto the white jukeboxes. Carolina Beach heard and liked the new sound. The government imposed "blackouts" on the coast line during the war. A major portion of the dancing crowd moved inland to White Lake, NC.
• 1950's -- The Big Pavilion at Myrtle Beach was constructed.
• 1951 -- The hottest R&B record "Sixty Minute Man" was recorded. Became the National Shag Anthem.
• Oct. 1954 -- Hurricane Hazel devastated the Carolina Coast. Many of the dancing pavilions were destroyed. The Shagging culture saw a decline.
• 1960's -- A rebirth of the culture with places like the Pad opening for a new generation of shaggers.
• 1984 -- The Society of Shaggers was created.

National Shagging Finals