Beach Music, the Shag and 
Chicken Hicks ..... A True Story

Carolina Beach’s legendary Chicken Hicks didn’t invent the shag, but he was an important cog in the wheel of shag evolution. Not only was he a mover and a shaker, he was a key factor in how real beach music changed the Boardwalk during its heyday back in the 40s.

Still a floor-cleaning shagger, Chicken has females of all ages clamoring to be his partner -- besides being an awesome freestyle dancer, he’s a charmer, that’s for sure. Though never interested in shag competition, never a national champion (as rumor has it), never an instructor, and never a publicity seeker, Chicken Hicks is well-known from Florida to Virginia. Maybe he hasn’t ever won a competitive event, but he’s truly a winner when it comes to his shag dance style and charismatic personality.

According to Chicken, beach music really originated as Negro rhythm and blues – like the "60-minute Man." He got introduced to this kind of music when he was 17 or 18 years old. Born and raised in Durham, North Carolina, he took advantage of his opportunities.

At that time, the "Colored Only" Durham Armory featured top swing bands, so he’d go there on Friday nights. Not one to sit in the balcony and watch with other whites when music called him to dance, Chicken was on the dance floor. He’d dance with any partner -- black or white made no difference to him -- still doesn’t. He says he really took to their dance style and their upbeat music.

Famous for his "camel walk," Chicken says he learned that move in five minutes at Skinny’s Shoeshine Parlor in the middle of the Durham’s black section. In earlier times, he liked to "hot dog" -- to show off his prowess. Other dancers would just move over; they’d "clean the floor" for him. He loved it! Even today, he’s called upon to give exhibitions all over the country, including the Grand National Dance Championships in Atlanta.

A natural-born dancer, he says, "The music does my dancing for me. I feel what most other people can’t feel. . . . I wish I could give people what I feel." (A lot of us pseudo-dancers wish that, too!)

When questioned about why he doesn’t enter competitions, Chicken replied, "Because when you compete, you have to practice, and that’s work. Competition takes the fun out of it. Dancing is for enjoyment, it shouldn’t be work."

You ask: What did this guy do for Carolina Beach? I’ll tell you. He brought himself, his love of dancing and a disregard for conventions of the day. A frequent summer visitor to the area, he found an environment that suited his style, so as a young adult, he spent several months a year here – just hanging out.

He went over the bridge to the "Colored Only" Seabreeze community where he found music and dance styles that brought out the best moves his feet could produce. Two of his buddies serviced jukeboxes and put records in them. Chicken convinced the pair to put some of the same tunes he’d found to his liking at Seabreeze into jukeboxes on the Boardwalk, replacing slower, more traditional dance numbers. Beach music and dancing history changed forever in a moment’s time.

Of course, ham that he is, he delighted crowds everywhere on the Boardwalk when he danced, and it wasn’t long before others were trying to copy him. The music, the new dance style, and Chicken Hicks were instant hits.

Reminiscing, Chicken says that the mid 40s was a magical time in Carolina Beach. The Boardwalk area was "like a movie set." People were having fun. In summer months, our strand of sand was always full of people. Open patios facing the sea had jukeboxes that beckoned young and old to come dance. He had a great time. And so did everyone else.

Chicken and his wife Lynda have shared the joys of dancing to beach music for more than 25 years. Sand is in their veins. How lucky they are. They’ve got plenty of shag stories to tell, too, like the time shortly after they met when Lynda was Chicken’s partner for an impromptu exhibition in front of 400 people. Just think, they live right here ... a dance legend and his partner for life.

Postscript: Chicken Hicks passed away in the summer of 2004.