October 1994
Calvin Gilmore Leads Myrtle Beach Entertainment Boom
By: Bruce Honick
Myrtle Beach got its first real taste of country music from 1973-80 when a band called Wild Country later changed its name to Alabama and became a national sensation.
Now, it’s a regular stop on the touring schedules for groups such as Shenendoah and a permanent home for others. Alabama has opened its own theater there, and The Gatlin Brothers followed suit this summer.
The man behind the recent country boom is singer/songwriter turned entrepreneur Calvin Gilmore, 46, whose success with local country music theaters, starting in 1986…