How Do You Like Southern Living’s Taste in “South Carolina” Music?

Southern Living is mostly full of good advice, like their Wednesday Web site feature that invites you to "Take a Drive Along Our Favorite Byways of the South." Included in the interactive tour is a virtual trip along SC US 17, which takes you from South Carolina's Lowcountry north through Georgetown, Pawleys Island and through the Grand Strand to North Myrtle Beach.

And for each of the 17 states featured in this Web segment, Southern Living also offers a suggested iTunes music soundtrack to play in the car during your road trip, with "the tunes that represent the different artists and areas throughout the South." The South Carolina mix features songs from 10 artists who all originally hail from the Palmetto State.

The compilation includes a predictable mix of old-time and contemporary artists - Chubby Checker, Dizzy Gillespie, Hootie & the Blowfish and Edwin McCain, to name a few. But what really surprised me was the inclusion of a few artists in particular, presumably in lieu of a few more who I was shocked were not part of the mix.

The head-scratching inclusions:

• The Mamas & the Papas - OK, I understand that group lead John Phillips was born in Parris Island. Beyond that, if the group has a more tangible or powerful tie to South Carolina, I simply haven't found it yet. And that's said with all due respect to the group best known for "California Dreamin'."
• Duncan Sheik - Huh? I actually like his best-known song ("Barely Breathing" in 1996), but one-hit wonders just don't make me long for a Pawleys Island rope hammock.

And the mystifying omissions:

• The Marshall Tucker Band - The Southern rock pioneers are originally from Spartanburg; their hits include "Can't You See" and "Heard It in a Love Song."
• Josh Turner - Born in Hannah, he's a country music artist whose hit singles "Your Man" and "Would You Go With Me" rose to the top of the Billboard Country charts, and who last year received Grammy Award nominations for Best Male Country Vocal Performance and Best Country Album.
• The Drifters - It would have been a fitting tribute to the last surviving member of the original Drifters, Bill Pinkney (a native South Carolinian who passed away this past June), and his influence on the beach music scene.
• James Brown - A native of Barnwell who's better known as "The Godfather of Soul."

I'm sure I'm missing lots more, but these were the first ones that came off the top of my head. Tell us, Beach Bloggers, what South Carolina performing artists you would have on your iPod!

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