Dr. Rick Simmons, the George K. Anding Endowed Professor of English and director of the honors program at Louisiana Tech, has had his fourth book, “Carolina Beach Music: The Classic Years,” published by The History Press. The book chronicles the classic hits of the East Coast phenomenon known as beach music, and features interviews Simmons conducted with national and international recording artists such as Freda Payne,  Sonny Turner of the Platters, G.C. Cameron of the Spinners, Bruce Channel, Clem Curtis of the Foundations, Norm Burnett of the Tymes, Bob Kuban of Bob Kuban and the In-Men, Meadowlark Lemon of the Globetrotters, Gene McDaniels, John McElrath of the Swingin’ Medallions, Bobby Moore Jr. of Bobby Moore and the Rhythm Aces, Jan Bradley, Ammon Tharp of Bill Deal & the Rhondels, Pat Upton of the Spiral Starecase and many others. The book also tells the stories behind hits by Louisiana artists such as Benny Spellman, Ernie K. Doe, Brenton Wood, Jewell and the Rubies, and Willie Tee. The book is now available online at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.com, Books-A-Million and other national book retailers, as well as at bookstores along the East Coast. “Carolina Beach Music: The Classic Years” follows Simmons’ previous books, “Factory Lives: Four 19th-Century British Working-Class Autobiographies” (Broadview Press, 2007), “Defending South Carolina’s Coast: The Civil War from Georgetown to Little River” (The History Press, 2009), and “Hidden History of the Grand Strand” (The History Press, 2010).