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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2016 Call Ivy Moore at: (803) 774-1221 | E-mail: ivy@theitem.com
The current members in the 2016 photo are, from left, John Miranda, Tommie James, Larry Kelly, Dennis Griffin, April Amick Caughman, Belton Caughman, Buzzy Deas and Andy Shull.
PHOTOS PROVIDED
It’s Hall of Fame for Second Nature band Beach music group originated in Sumter BY IVY MOORE ivy@theitem.com
S
econd Nature, a popular and enduring variety and beach
music band that has its origins in Sumter, was inducted into the Carolinas Beach Music Association Hall of Fame in Myrtle Beach Friday night. Tommie "TJ" James, the sole remaining member of the original group, was inducted as an individual in 2004. James, the manager, keyboardist and the only original member still with the band, now lives in Camden with his wife, Barbara Freed James, but he said he still loves performing in Sumter, where he, Hank Martin, Buzz Arledge and Charles Stafford, all
members of Edmunds High School's Class of 1962, played together and ultimately formed Second Nature in 1971. Archie Jordan and Tom Graham, a Columbia native, were also original members. The list of bands the various musicians played in, both together and separately, starting in high school, should be familiar to local beach music lovers. They include The Sensational Epics, The Cobras, The Marquis, The Duprees, The Nomads, The Villagers, The Footnotes and others. James recounted the band's history last week in preparation for the Hall of Fame ceremony. He said Second Nature started when he was in the 11th grade at Edmunds (Sumter) High School, singing in the school chorus with Hank Martin, who was also in his homeroom. Martin "was playing in a band from Bishopville and wanted to start a new one in Sumter and asked me if I would consider joining it on
piano and vocals," James said. "After school one day in September 1960, I watched his Bishopville band perform live on a Columbia TV station where they sang 'In the Still of the Night,' covering a hit version by The 5 Satins, and thought that was very cool. So I told Hank I would give it a try." That first Sumter-based band was The Marquis, comprising James on piano and vocals, Martin on guitar and vocals, John Andersen on guitar and vocals and David Mims on drums. James said some of the group's "most memorable (gigs) were on Friday nights after home football games attended mostly by our friends and fellow students." The Marquis disbanded when Andersen graduated high school and joined the military, but Martin and James joined The Nomads their senior year; by their final semester of high school in 1962, the name had been changed to The Duprees,
The Marquis, a Sumterbased band that played around town for dances and other occasions in the 1960s, was a precursor of Second Nature, which was inducted into the Carolinas Beach Music Academy (CBMA) Hall of Fame in North Myrtle Beach. This photo of several of the Marquis was taken at an Edmunds High School class reunion in 2003. From left are Tommie “TJ” James, Hank Martin, John Andersen and David Mims.
The original members of Second Nature pose for a publicity shot in 1971. From left, they are Buzz Arledge, Charles Stafford, Tommie James, Hank Martin, Archie Jordan and Tom Graham. James is the only original member still with the band, playing keyboards, singing and as manager.
which played through the summer and also disbanded, after playing two three-night bookings at the Myrtle Beach Pavilion on the big stage often called The Magic Attic. Most of the musicians "continued to hone their musical and vocal skills with other bands during college and later," James said. In the summer of 1970, when he was playing with another group, he said, "Hank and guitarist Archie Jordan approached me ... about starting a new group. ... Archie said he used to ride his bicycle over to Hank's house on Baldwin Drive and listen outside while we rehearsed and eventually started a Sumter group called The Cobras." It was almost 46 years ago, in January 1971, that Second Nature began performing at private events, also recording extensively; the band's 1973 cover of "Sixty Minute Man" was a regional hit, and two years later they released their first album, "Second Nature, Volume 1." James said the decade ended with three of the band members having moved to
Nashville and establishing successful music careers. James has continued his association with Second Nature as keyboardist and manager, keeping the band going with new musicians, adding horns and new Rhythm and Blues songs, now often called beach music. Other significant recordings include the 1982 collaboration with Warren Moise and General Johnson, the hit "Christmas, The Best Time of the Year." It was the first beach music-style Christmas song ever recorded. The single "Who's That Guy" was a top 10 hit in 1985, as was "Only You Will Do" in 2002; this song was written by Jordan and received seven CBMA award nominations. Second Nature's 2007 top 10 hit "Just Another Day in the Breeze" featured vocalist April Amick Caughman, whose 2012 song "Missing You" was no. 1 on the beach music chart. You can learn more about Second Nature on its website, www.secondnature-sc.com and find lists of the CBMA Hall of Fame at www.cammy.org.
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