After twenty-seven years singing with The Embers as one of North Carolina’s Official “Ambassadors of
Beach Music”, Craig Woolard is now on his own!
Craig has won many awards with The Embers, and is proud of his tenure with the group as lead singer. A
veteran of the music industry since he was 14 years old, Craig has performed for Presidents, governors,
and ambassadors (Including Elizabeth Dole’s and former President Clinton's inaugurations); appeared on
stage with famous groups as The Four Tops, The Temptations, the Beach Boys, Percy Sledge, Archie
Bell, and Alabama. He has played such events as the 100th Celebration of The Wright Brothers at Kitty
Hawk. His music has been heard from the Caribbean, to New York, to California, Chicago, Atlantic City
and as far away as Hawaii and Europe. For the past 2 years, he has co-hosted the acclaimed the
Carolina Beach Music Awards (affectionately known as the “CAMMYS”) held each November at the
Alabama Theatre in Myrtle Beach. And once again, Craig was the GRAND MARSHALL for the ever so
popular SOS parade held each spring at Myrtle Beach, SC. He is currently working with Petty Enterprises
producing a Beach Music CD to benefit Victory Junction, a camp for seriously ill children, as well as a TV
show spotlighting Beach Music.
On May 7, 2005, the CWB performed right on the racetrack at the Darlington Dodge 500 in front of
120,000 NASCAR and Beach Music Fans! But there’s more - Craig was honored to be invited to sing the
NATIONAL ANTHEM at the race, which was aired on FOX TV for Millions of people!
As further recognition for his accomplishments throughout his career, Craig has received the following
awards, with the most recent at the 2004 CBMA:
Entertainer of the Year
2004 Male Vocalist of the Year
Best Duo for “Cruisin’” with Marsha Handcock
Male Vocalist of the Year for many years, including 2002 (Cammy Awards)
Producer of the year (with Chris Biehler) 2002 (Cammy Awards)
Collaboration of the Year 2002 (Cammy Awards)
Song of the Year 2002 (Cammy Awards)
Male Vocalist 2002 (Rhythm & Beach Awards)
Song of the Year 2002 (Rhythm & Beach Awards)
One of 4 #1 Songs in 2002 (Rhythm & Beach Awards)-“Love Don’t Come No Stronger”
Other awards while with The Embers include: Most Charted Songs, Entertainer of the Year, Group of the
Year, Blues Song of the Year; the list goes on.
Furthermore, Craig is one of the most loved entertainers in Beach Music today. He will go out of his way
to help his many fans…singing at a five year-old’s class birthday party, entertaining at a school function,
performing for a Christian Businessman’s Luncheon. or at a Fundraiser for a person in need. You may
see his eight year-old daughter on stage with him at many shows, and his son (who appeared with him
since he was in diapers and is now at UNCW) is writing songs everyday!
Craig is committed to giving his audience MORE than their money’s worth. When you attend a function
with Craig as the featured performer, you WILL be caught up in the fun! More than just an artist, Craig
relates to the crowd, and insists that they have as good a time as he has. Many people can sing, but
Craig has a special gift that puts him light-years above the rest – he is a SHOWMAN, and THAT’S the
difference!
Craig’s audience knows no age boundaries – he appeals to the young and the old and everyone in
between. Small children at town festivals adore him…College kids at fraternities and beach music
concerts scream for him …the more mature crowd comes away with the sweet memory of that special
someone from a lifetime ago…
His #1 Beach Music mega-hit, “Love Don’t Come No Stronger (Than Yours or Mine) has become more
than just another Beach hit. It is also the theme song for the VJG Camp and appears on the CD produced
by Craig to raise money for the camp “TOTALLY BEACH FOR THE KIDS”. This great song transcends
the genre, reaching people who are not even into the Beach Scene. It is the longest-charting Beach song
ever (over 2 1/2 years and still on the charts as of this writing 1/04) and has been predicted to be the
song of the decade in our market by many who know and understand the music! His second recent solo
release “What In The World Am I Gonna Do Without You” has just become #1, and is destined for
enduring success as well. Craig even has a great new song out with his long-time friend and renown
gospel singer, Gerald Hinton called "Meet Me In the Middle", which is distributed nationally on the
Malaco/Savoy label and due out July 2004. Craig’s newest release single, released at Fall 2004 SOS “Til
the Day After” is already climbing the charts to #1. (Made #1 Fall 2004, still there as of 5/2005!)
And more than just Beach Music, Craig strives to please as many different tastes as possible….he likes it
all, and it shows! A crowd-pleaser for years, you cannot go wrong with a tried and true veteran like Craig,
who keeps the music and the act fresh, while continuing with what has made him so well-known and loved.
(Just ask anyone who has been fortunate enough to have seen him!)
Craig’s catalog of music is well diversified. Included, of course, are all the standard songs you would
expect to hear from a legend in Beach Music, but with Craig you get so much more. If you were to hear
him sing “Georgia on My Mind”, you would swear Ray Charles was in the house. His version of “Hot Legs”
and “Have I Told You Lately That I Love You” might even fool Rod Stewart. Tina Turner might even move
over for his version of “Rolling on The River”, or “Let’s Stay Together”. Other artists that will remind you
of Craig are Huey Lewis, James Brown, Bob Seger, Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding, Al Green, Sam Cook and
David Ruffin of the Temptations. He IS the “Soul Man”, but he’s got his own unique style too! And if that
weren’t enough, he plays a mean saxophone too!
Not content with performing only Beach Music, Craig recalls the seventies and eighties with all the great
dance music from that era…..”Brick House”, “Play that Funky Music White Boy”, “Bad MammaJamma”,
etc… You might hear songs by Chicago, Tower of Power, Little Feat, Def Leoppard, AC/DC, ZZ Top, Los
Lonely Boys, Jimmy Buffet …. A whole set of dance music… whatever type of music it takes to please
your crowd is what you'll get from Craig Woolard …If the band doesn’t know a certain song, they will do
their best to learn it! With Craig as your entertainment, you get more than just a band-you get personal
attention. Craig WANTS you to enjoy yourself, and he will do just about anything it takes to see to it that
you do have fun at his performances.
On a personal note, Craig was born and raised in Washington, NC. where he was voted class President
at Washington High. Craig went on to attend Duke University. His dad, now deceased, was an attorney,
and had high hopes of Craig following in his footsteps – that didn’t happen. Craig was destined to be an
entertainer. He now resides in Cary and has 2 great kids – Craig, in college, and his precious little girl,
who has taken her brother’s place on stage, in elementary school. They have a dog and 2 cats! He has
been blessed!
In 2004, Craig and The Embers parted ways – and Craig went on to a new adventure. Thus.
THE CRAIG WOOLARD BAND WAS BORN!
