Several things to talk about this week, as the Carolina Beach Music Awards took place, while the Grammy nominations were announced. A Halloween song is in Billboard's Top 10, and---wait for it---the annual unthawing of Mariah Carey, with a possible new Hot 100 record in its sight. Also, a local from my hometown passes away, but had a lot to do with the industry, whose scope of work transcended music.
While I will wait until another time to discuss the Grammy noms, which will be held in February, as part of the "big 3" that month (the Super Bowl halftime show and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees being the other two), let's start with the CBMA awards, or "Cammys" as they are known. As I mentioned last week, it was the big weekend for that genre's stars, as they converged on North Myrtle Beach and played several venues, followed by a tailgate party in the parking lot at the Alabama Theatre on Sunday, where the awards ceremony took place.
Now that I live down here, this is almost in my backyard (actually 20 miles away, but much close than when I resided in New Jersey). Many artists and fans who are CBMA members who had passes, attended and performed at many events over those four days. It's something that I may consider for next year, that being a member which also entitles you to vote. With us still getting our home decorated and making necessary changes, I wasn't able to take part, but with many of the artists, and producers that I've connected with, and who have embraced Scenes 'n' Soundwaves (without them, I have to admit, I probably would have discontinued it a while ago), I am feeling more and more like a part of things. So we shall see.
 |
| Laura Kepley accepts her CAMMY award for best Female Vocalist |
Anyway, here are the winners (marked in boldface), along with some comments;
FEMALE VOCALIST: Deb Browning, Karen Clayton (The Castaways), Laura Kepley (The Tonez), Lesa Hudson (Rich Strickland Band), Rhonda McDaniel (Carolina Coast Band), Sharon Woodruff (The Main Event), Terri Gore.
Laura, the female lead singer of The Tonez, had a busy year, with three singles released, all hitting my top 20. "Flip Flops" hit #1 on many beach lists this past summer.
MALE VOCALIST: Allen Pier (Rivermist), Dustin Ahkuoi (Band of Oz), Gary Lowder (Gary Lowder & Smokin' Hot), Jackie Gore, Jim Quick (Jim Quick and Coastline), Rick Strickland (Rick Strickland Band), Steve Long (Too Much Sylvia).
It was a great year for the legendary singer, one of several he had won. His duet with his daughter Terri Gore, a cover of the classic Nat 'King' Cole, "Unforgettable", scored on many charts this year, including #20 on SNS.
RISING STAR(S): Andy & Oneida, Evan Wright (The Pink Slips), I-42 Band, The Mac Daddy's, Pepper Creek, Steve Cheek.
While the last three on this list were my picks, The Pink Slips made inroads, with songs like "God Is Great", and "Dance" which hit #6 here last year.
GROUP OF THE YEAR: Band of Oz, Embers ft. Craig Woolard, Gary Lowder and Smokin' Hot, Jim Quick & Coastline, Swingin' Medallions, The Tonez, Too Much Sylvia
Too Much Sylvia repeated their success from last year, garnering another Group of the Year nod this year as well.
SONG OF THE YEAR:
Too Much Sylvia, "Jukebox Playing 45's" (#18 peak on SNS)
Rick Strickland & Lesa Hudson, "All Because of You" (#3)
Jim Quick and Coastline "Can't Drive Me Away"
The Tonez, "Flip Flops" (#5)
The Swingin' Medallions, "Hit Me With Those Horns" (#101)
Craig Woolard, "Pretty Women Everywhere" (#55)
Rhonda McDaniel "Sad Girl" (#1)
Jackie Gore and Terri Gore, "Unforgettable" (#20)
Too Much Sylvia repeats as winners of this category as well, as their "Another Day" won last year. "Jukebox" scored a top 20 here and hit #1 on several other charts.
SMOOTHIE BALLAD:
Rick Strickland & Lesa Hudson, "All Because of You" (#3)
Jim Quick and Coastline "Can't Drive Me Away"
Holiday Band, "Drowning in a Sea of Love"
Rhonda McDaniel, "Keep Reaching For the Top"
Gary Lowder and Smokin' Hot - Patience
Jackie Gore and Terri Gore, "Unforgettable" (#20)
COLLABORATION OR DUO:
Dustin Ahkoul and Sharon Woodruff, "Back By Popular Demand" (#5)
Deb Browning and Michael Fite, "I Never Wanted To" (#1)
Sylvia Johns Ritchie and Laura Kepley (with the Tonez), "Ladies Man" (#11)
Craig Woolard and Jackie Gore, "Someday at Christmas"
Jackie Gore and Terri Gore, "Unforgettable" (#20)
Two more wins for the Gores!
SONG WRITER(S):
Rivermist, "Oceans Apart" (written by Charlie Sattenfield) (#8)
Jim Quick and Coastline "Can't Drive Me Away" (Casey Meyer/Jim Quick)
The Tams, "My True Love" (Charlie Sattenfield) (#2)
The Tonez, "Flip Flops" (Jonathan Treece) (#5)
The Swingin' Medallions, "Hit Me With Those Horns" ( John Buchon, Jayson Free, Shawn McElrath) (#101)
Rick Strickland & Lesa Hudson, "All Because of You" (Rick Strickland) (#3)
Sylvia Johns Ritchie, "My Heart Knows You By Heart" (Sylvia Johns Ritchie) (#1)
MUSIC VIDEO:
Too Much Sylvia, "Jukebox Playing 45's" (#18)
Jim Quick and Coastline ft Albert Rogers, "Hustlin'" (#17)
Deb Browning and Michael Fitz, "I Never Wanted To" (#1)
Sylvia Johns Ritchie, "My Heart Knows You By Heart" (#1)
Rivermist, "Right Place, Right Time" (#16)
Gary Lowder and Smokin' Hot, "That's the Life"
Another repeat for TMS, as that band won last year, also for "Another Day"
NATIONAL DANCE/SHAG SONG:
Lenny Kravitz, "Honey" (#41)
Niko Moon, "I Love This Beach"
The Tams, "My True Love" (#2)
California Honeydrops, "One More Time"
Teddy Swims and Thomas Rhett, "Somethin' 'Bout a Woman" (#3)
Dion and Valerie Tyson, "Stop Drop & Roll"
I had this as a toss-up between The Tams and Swims & Rhett, who won last year with "Broke". But "My True Love", which invokes the classic beach sound out of the legendary group, was definitely the expected winner here.
ALBUM OF THE YEAR:
Embers ft. Craig Woolard, Christmastime Memories
Rick Strickland and Lesa Hudson, Power of Two
Rhonda McDaniel, Reaching For the Top
Rivermist, Right Place, Right Time
Gary Lowder and Smokin Hot, That's the Life
Various Artists, Tribute to General Johnson
While my pick was for Reaching For the Top, it made perfect sense for this tribute album to one of the beach music legends.
A few other winners include Wayne Troutman of Ocean Drive Productions for the Michael Branch Award, The Engineer award went to David Rhyne, another for "A Jukebox Playing 45's"....Band of Oz's Saxophonist Daniel Morris won for Instrumentalist.....Producer honors when to Freddy Tripp & OK Productions, another for "Unforgettable"....Jim Quick won Entertainer of the Year.
The awards results in some songs reversing course and moving back up: "My True Love" moves back to #21 from 24; and "Jukebox" goes back up from 82 to 70.
A big "Congratulations" too all the CAMMY winners this year!
DUAL HOLIDAYS: The Hot 100 continues to make news (as it probably will for the next month and a half). While Taylor Swift logs a 5th week at the top with "The Fate of Ophelia", HUNTR/X's "Golden", which previously had a nine-week run at the summit, is still #2 and can still overtake Taylor for the top spot. Alex Warren's "Ordinary" is still #3, and Taylor Swift's "Opalite" and Olivia Dean's "Man I Need" round out the top five. Ms. Swift is down to just two songs in the top 10, but all twelve songs are still listed, with the lowest, "Honey" at #55.
Missing from the Hot 100 is Billie Eilish's "Wildflower" which was a "special case" hanging around after 72 weeks but below the criterion for keeping the song as an active entry. The song lost its bullet this week, thus was removed. It seems that a song can stay on the chart for longer than the limit, if it's still advancing, which was what kept the song on for a few more weeks after the rule went into effect.
The reporting week included Halloween, and hitting the top ten is Michael Jackson's "Thriller", which seems to chart higher and higher each year. It re-entered last week at #32 and moves to #10 this week. The song originally peaked at #4 in early 1984, as the seventh single from the album of the same name; it probably would have hit #1 had Epic Records released the song as a single earlier; the long-form video was a mainstay on MTV for several weeks before it came out as a single release.
The other Halloween songs include the usual suspects that I mentioned last week: "Monster Mash" (Bobby Boris Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers) is #21, "Ghostbusters" (Ray Parker Jr) at #22, "Somebody's Watching Me" (Rockwell, with an uncredited vocal by Michael Jackson), #24. "This Is Halloween" (The Citizens of Halloween) from The Nightmare Before Christmas moved 47-26. Of course, now that Halloween is in the rear-view mirror, all of those will disappear next week.
THAWED AND READY: But while the Halloween songs were on the chart, so are some of the Christmas entries. Two of them re-enter, including Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You" debuting at #31. If this seems a week or so early to re-enter, it's actually due to the new chart recurrent policy. The song has logged 72 weeks so far. Based on the previous chart rules, the song couldn't re-enter unless it can enter in the top 25, which is why it took an extra week to enter (which it would do the following week at #17) last year. But the new rules have a special case for holiday songs. They can re-enter if they're in the top 50, regardless of the number of weeks logged.
The song, which has ruled the Hot 100 during the holiday season for several years, scoring at least two weeks at the top each year, has 18 total weeks at #1. The record is 19, originally set by "Old Town Road" (Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus) in 2019, and tied last year by Shaboozey's "A Bar Song (Tipsy)". It should be a no brainer that the song will break the record.
The question is, will "All I Want For Christmas Is You" run the table like last year? While Brenda Lee's "Rockin Around The Christmas Tree" logged three weeks at the top (beating Mariah which had two) in 2023 (then relegated to its usual runner-up spot last year) , a real threat this year comes not from Ms. Lee, but Wham!'s "Last Christmas", which is the other re-entry this week at #43. The song has been gaining momentum each season, peaking at #3 in 2024, its highest position to date. Could this be the year it beats out Mariah? Also watch for "Santa Tell Me" by Arianna Grande, which also set a new high in 2024, peaking at #4. The race should be interesting to watch this year.
SNS 100: It's a fifth week at the top for North Tower's "Pretty Lady". That ties Rick Strickland and Lesa Hudson's 2003 hit "Got It Right (The First Time) for the second-longest run at number one for a beach music act. It is one week off the six-week, non-consecutive run of Deb Browning and Marlisa Kay Small's "Sunshine and Summertime" from last year. The song has a comfortable lead; thus, it's a good bet to tie the record next week. The song is either #1 or in the top 7 at eight other charts. Congratulations to the band's Larry Dean, who was just elected to the Carolina Beach Music Hall of Fame. He joined at the band's inception 45 years ago (yes, they've been around that long).
Pepper Creek and MT Jones hold steady at 2 and 3, as does Ruth Morayniss at #5. Moving into the #4 position is Deb Browning and Michael Fite's "Getaway Car" (7-4). Alice Merton is the only new entry into the top ten as "Ignorance is Bliss" moves 12-10.
The second ten is active with seven bullets and three new entries. The Impact award goes to Starbuck's revamped "Everybody Be Dancin' II" (22-16). The other two are also blog chart veterans, St. Paul and the Broken Bones' "Sushi and Coca-Cola" (21-18), and David F. Porfirio's "The Things I See" (23-20). The three acts have seven number one blog songs between them.
Movers include last week's two highest debuts, Durand Jones and the Indications' "Don't You Know" (58-28, Mover of the Week), and The Jay Vons' "Keep On Moving" (66-31). Anna Lavigne's "Dark Angel", the Top Debut two weeks ago, continues to move up, from 35 to 23.
DEBUTS: Between the beach music entries and the neo-soul groups and artists that have seemingly dominated my chart the past few years, it's no surprise that Curtis Harding, who hit #1 back in 2022 with "I Won't Let You Down"---the last blog chart topper before The Six Piece Suits and Deb Browning had the first local beach #1 with "Take Me By The Hand'--has the Top Debut with his new one, "The Power". The new one has sort of a funky dance, pseudo disco beat. I could see beach music outlets play this (well, maybe John Hook, if he's smart!). It has that early 70's sound, reminiscent of Joe Simon in style, if not sound.
Next is Vance Joy, with "Fascination in the Dark", which has a bouncy, beach-like beat, but it purely in the alt-pop lane. It's very catchy as well, one can't help dancing along. Sort of a feel-good jam here.
Is disco making a comeback? First Starbuck's remake, and now Say She She's aptly-named "Disco Life", a song that could have come out in the 1970's. It's done in a very appealing way. While the trio's recent output had paled to their outstanding songs from their last album, this one should put them back in the top 10. The group has always had nice variety in its songs. The melody reminds me a bit of "Electric Feel" by MGMT but with a discofied bass line. This one cooks!
The Chelsea Curve makes its blog debut with "Never Come Down". This Boston band has sort of a throwback alt-pop sound to it, but it has overtones of music going back to the 1960's. But this would feel at home at early 1990's modern rock radio. Very appealing.
As Sombr makes it way to the Billboard Top 10 with "Back to Friends" (in its 32nd week, it hits its new peak at #11), sombr (real name: Shane Michael Boone) follows it up with "12 on 12", on the alternative charts. Rhythmic in nature, with a rumbling bass line, the song has it all together and moves very well. Should make it two in a row for the New York City artist.
Finally, we have Cannons' new one, "All I Need". The trio led by Hannah Joy is no stranger to the top, and this one is a bit subtle, understated but still has the band's trademark sound. With a few listening, this could put them back near the top of the charts.
Two songs which bubbled under last week, enter the big chart, and includes Beach Weather's follow-up to the top 10 "Seth Cohen", with "Hardcore Romance", a rather offbeat but interesting song; and Rhonda McDaniel's "I Can't Wait for the Weekend", which has topped some beach charts recently, one of many tracks from her current album. This is a boogie-oriented tour-de-force from the accomplished beach music singer. Happy and uptempo, this should be yet another hit for Ms. McDaniel.
REMEMBERING AL: The name may not be familiar to anyone outside of Union County in New Jersey, but he had accomplished his share in the music business, booking various acts, including some name artists, but also helped his hometown with its own music festival and other local activities. Allen "Al" Walcoff was involved in many facets of both entertainment and sports. A graduate of Roselle Park High School (NJ) in 1972, he then went to Kean College (now University) where he was active in developing the college radio station, and booking talents to perform at the school, including the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Les Paul, George Benson and Todd Rundgren, among many others.
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| Al Walcoff and his sister Barbara Roche at the 2021 Roselle Park Arts Festival |
But music wasn't the only art form that he worked with. Al created a program called Picture Person, which brought interactive experiences to children, encouraging them to explore and interpret creativity in their own unique way. Perhaps his specialty was coordinating music festivals, booking talent to perform. One such example was Union County's Jersey Jazz festival, held at the county's Nomahegan Park. In more recent years, he lent his talents to his hometown's Arts Festival, booking some artists that are perhaps known to blog readers, like ScreenAge, its spin-off Colorjoy, Jennifer Cintron, Ryan Chatelain, and Swingadelic, led by his fellow Roselle Parker Dave Post, as well as more well-known area acts like the Verdict.
Away from the music scene, he helped design a stamp for each country represented in the 1994 World Cup, ones that captured the beauty, spirit and diversity of global culture. He also championed the environment, helping Union County Connects, an organization devoted to convert abandoned rail lines into rail-to-trails hike and bike paths.
Al Walcoff was 73 and will be remembered by his dear family (including his sister Barbara, who I've known since first grade, and who worked with Al at the Arts Festival, and by his many classmates and friends.
Scenes ‘n’ Soundwaves 100 Playlist
November 9, 2025
|
This Week |
Last Week |
ARTIST-Title |
Weeks on List |
|
1 |
1 |
NUMBER ONE:  (Single Release) (5 Weeks at #1) |
10 |
|
2 |
2 |
9 |
|
|
3 |
3 |
9 |
|
|
4 |
7 |
5 |
|
|
5 |
5 |
11 |
|
|
6 |
9 |
8 |
|
|
7 |
4 |
14 |
|
|
8 |
8 |
12 |
|
|
9 |
10 |
7 |
|
|
10 |
12 |
6 |
|
|
11 |
11 |
HUNTR/X
- Golden |
11 |
|
12 |
6 |
13 |
|
|
13 |
15 |
8 |
|
|
14 |
14 |
5 |
|
|
15 |
17 |
9 |
|
|
16 |
22 |
TOP 20 IMPACT OF THE WEEK:  (Single Release) |
4 |
|
17 |
20 |
8 |
|
|
18 |
21 |
10 |
|
|
19 |
19 |
9 |
|
|
20 |
23 |
10 |
|
|
21 |
24 |
The
Tams - My True Love● |
17 |
|
22 |
13 |
14 |
|
|
23 |
35 |
3 |
|
|
24 |
28 |
Johnny O and the
Pocket Rockets - Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love) |
6 |
|
25 |
25 |
Barry Duke and
Sharon Woodruff - Sometimes Love Is Not Enough |
10 |
|
26 |
16 |
15 |
|
|
27 |
18 |
14 |
|
|
28 |
58 |
MOVER OF THE WEEK:  DURAND JONES AND THE INDICATIONS Album: American Love Call |
2 |
|
29 |
29 |
10 |
|
|
30 |
27 |
20 |
|
|
31 |
66 |
2 |
|
|
32 |
40 |
4 |
|
|
33 |
37 |
9 |
|
|
34 |
47 |
4 |
|
|
35 |
31 |
12 |
|
|
36 |
43 |
6 |
|
|
37 |
26 |
12 |
|
|
38 |
36 |
9 |
|
|
39 |
38 |
8 |
|
|
40 |
32 |
21 |
|
|
41 |
30 |
20 |
|
|
42 |
42 |
8 |
|
|
43 |
57 |
4 |
|
|
44 |
51 |
5 |
|
|
45 |
54 |
5 |
|
|
46 |
64 |
3 |
|
|
47 |
67 |
3 |
|
|
48 |
33 |
14 |
|
|
49 |
34 |
13 |
|
|
50 |
46 |
7 |
|
|
51 |
48 |
7 |
|
|
52 |
63 |
5 |
|
|
53 |
45 |
25 |
|
|
54 |
49 |
6 |
|
|
55 |
53 |
7 |
|
|
56 |
60 |
4 |
|
|
57 |
65 |
5 |
|
|
58 |
39 |
13 |
|
|
59 |
44 |
8 |
|
|
60 |
62 |
5 |
|
|
61 |
59 |
Scotty McCreery
ft.. Hootie and the Blowfish - Bottle Rockets |
7 |
|
62 |
70 |
5 |
|
|
63 |
74 |
4 |
|
|
64 |
71 |
4 |
|
|
65 |
41 |
13 |
|
|
66 |
92 |
2 |
|
|
67 |
50 |
12 |
|
|
68 |
52 |
7 |
|
|
69 |
83 |
3 |
|
|
70 |
82 |
22 |
|
|
71 |
84 |
3 |
|
|
72 |
81 |
3 |
|
|
73 |
87 |
7 |
|
|
74 |
88 |
2 |
|
|
75 |
56 |
26 |
|
|
76 |
--- |
TOP DEBUT:  Album: Departures and Arrivals: Adventures of Captain Curt |
1 |
|
77 |
55 |
Sonny Russell
and Cannonball Joe - Carolina Sunshine Is Calling Me |
15 |
|
78 |
69 |
6 |
|
|
79 |
77 |
22 |
|
|
80 |
80 |
16 |
|
|
81 |
90 |
2 |
|
|
82 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
83 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
84 |
79 |
33 |
|
|
85 |
61 |
21 |
|
|
86 |
78 |
22 |
|
|
87 |
98 |
2 |
|
|
88 |
101 |
1 |
|
|
89 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
90 |
75 |
9 |
|
|
91 |
94 |
2 |
|
|
92 |
102 |
1 |
|
|
93 |
68 |
16 |
|
|
94 |
89 |
6 |
|
|
95 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
96 |
76 |
20 |
|
|
97 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
98 |
72 |
The
Cynz -Can't Help Thinking About Me |
11 |
|
99 |
73 |
Los
Staitjackets - Spinout |
11 |
|
100 |
100 |
2 |
Tremors:
101. The Swingin' Medallions, Hit Me With Those Horns
102. Ed Sherran, Camera
103. Cigarettes After Sex, Anna Karenina
104. Wayne Free, I Love Kissing You
Tremors: Songs which have steady
or increasing points but not enough to chart on the SNS 100.
Murmurs:
High Frequencies - Tonight and Every Night
Murmurs: Songs which are in the queue for future adds onto the Scenes ‘n’ Soundwaves 100 Playlist.
|
|
Songs
with the greatest increase in favorite points over the prior week
●Songs garnering 25 plays
on Spotify (“Scrobbles”) according to Last.Fm (effective October 2024) ▲ Songs garnering 50 plays.
Songs
on the SNS 100 are included on the following public Spotify playlists
Scenes
‘n’ Soundwaves Top 40: Contains songs in positions 1-40 on the SNS
100
Scenes
41-100 and Newbies Songs in Positions 41-100 on the SNS 100 plus
new additions
Scenes
Recurrents: Songs which had been in
the top 20 and/or songs on the chart 25 weeks or more, that have dropped off
the SNS 100.
(Rob Sheldon
is a music fan who has followed music trends the past 60 years, and covers new
and classic music, specializing in pop, rock, alternative, beach, soul and
country genres). He can be contacted
at rsheldonx4804@gmail.com
