FROM THE CRATES
Atlanta beach music ICONS The Tams are still on the road six decades later from the crates Kelly McCoy is a veteran Atlanta broadcaster who writes about the days popular music only came on vinyl records, which often were stored in crates. If I say “beach music” and you think surfers, surf boards and The Beach Boys, I need to clear some things up for you. We Southerners know the real “beach music.” It came from our region, primarily from the Carolinas and Coastal Georgia. Think of it as a blend of R&B and pop music. It was music you could dance the “shag” to (the dance, not the kind of “shag” they talked about in Austin Powers movies). The Tams may not be a household name anymore, but to beach music fans they are musical royalty. And six decades after the band organized in
south Atlanta, it’s still on the road, playing festivals and shows across the southeast. The original members are long gone, of course, but children and even grandchildren of the founders
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SEPTEMBER 2021 | AtlantaSeniorLife.com
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are still touring together. The Tams, an Atlanta institution, date back to the early 1960s. In an earlier article, I mentioned the discovery of The Tams by Southern music
icon Bill Lowery. The group’s first big hit, “Untie Me,” was written by Joe South, a superb Atlanta songwriter who became an established recording artist himself. The Tams’ signature hit, “Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy,” was released in 1968. “What Kind of Fool (Do You Think I Am),” “Hey Girl Don’t Bother Me” and “I’ve Been Hurt” are a few other hits you may know. I’ve always been a sucker for horns and harmony and I’ve been a huge beach music fan most of my life. Although I know plenty about the subject, I did consult with a couple of experts for this article. I contacted Dianne Pope, widow of Charles “Speedy” Pope, the brother of Joe Pope, co-founder of the Tams. Charles passed away in 2013 at the age of 77. Their son Al (Little Redd) joined the group and is still with them today. The Tams formed in south Atlanta and started with appearances at various places on Auburn Avenue, such as The Royal Peacock, and The 617 Club off Hunter Street. Once they had major hits, they toured with
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