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…