One of the most popular bands ever to come out of the Carolinas, The Catalinas have enjoyed continued success for over 35 years. The band is known for their recordings, thousands of live performances including many concerts and their antics from their lively shows.
The Catalinas were inducted into the Beach Music Hall of Fame in 1995, and Gary Barker was given the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Cammy Association and inducted into the Legends of Beach Music and the South Carolina R & B Beach Music Hall of Fame in 2001.
An early recording success was “You Haven’t the Right” which was released in 1967 on Scepter Records. The year the public began associating The Catalinas with summertime and Myrtle Beach was 1975, when the group released the hit record “Summertime’s Calling Me,” which made it to No. 4 on the all-time beach music hit list.
It was 1980 before the band followed with the “Summertime’s Calling Me” album, which included single releases of “Dancin-Romancin” and “Facts of Love,” and a remake of “You haven’t the right.”
Working continuously on dance and show material and blanketing the Southeast with live performances, The Catalinas began work on another album at Studioeast in Charlotte in 1989. The album, “Line Up,” got off to a quick start with the release of a double-sided hit. “They Call Me Mister Bassman” and “Whatja Do That Fo” both charted in the Top-40 with Carolina Class magazine, Dancin on the Edge magazine and WRDX-FM Radio, the pacesetters for beach music in the Carolinas at that time.
In 1999, a new release entitled “Love Bandit,” put The Catalinas back on the charts, and in 2001, “She’s So Fine” and “Sexy Lady” were released and received a great deal of radio recognition.
Another recording effort is The Catalinas Anthology CD, which goes back to the begining, with recordings from the band back in the early 1960s, up to the present.
The Catalinas are managed internally by Gary Barker of Statesville, who has been in the group for more than 35 years. Gary is the guitarist and does much of the singing in the band, as well as taking care of business and the bookings.
The other members of the group are: Andy King, vocals and trumpet, flugelhorn and keys; Jeppy White, vocals and trombone; Bob Nantz, vocals and trumpet; Ronnie Gittens, vocals and keyboards; Mark Bost, vocals and drums; and Greg Watson, vocals and bass guitar.
