Band of Oz | |
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| Origin | Greenville, North Carolina, United States |
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| Website | bandofoz |
The Band of Oz is a prominent band of the United States beach music genre. Starting in the mid-1960s with high school students, the band turned professional in the early-1970s with a core group mostly from the Greenville, North Carolina Rose High School Stage Band, that featured Chuck French on trumpet, Gary Warren saxophone, Randy Hignite keyboards, Jim Heidenreich drums, Johnnie Byrd bass, Buddy Johnson vocals and Keith Houston guitar. In 1971 Billy Bazemore replaced Johnson.
In 1978, the group recorded and released their first single "Shaggin". This was followed by "Star of My Life" in 1979, and national radio airplay. They performed 200 to 300 shows per year throughout the 1980s amidst massive personnel restructuring. In 1995 they released the hit single "Shama Lama Ding Dong", the People's Choice Song of the Year at that year's Cammy Awards, and one of the most requested beach songs of all time.[citation needed]
In 1997, the band was inducted into the Beach Music Hall of Fame.