They became one of the most popular groups in the Charlotte area during the time and had a major regional hit with the song "Abba", which is now regarded as a garage rock classic.

[3] Jim Charles, from Texas who earlier relocated with his family to Charlotte and played in another Charlotte band, the Abbadons, joined on guitar for several months and brought with him a song which he and his brother, Bill, wrote while living in Texas called "Abba" that went on to become a part of the Paragons' repertoire and which they eventually recorded in modified form without Charles.

[1][4][5] Worried about the possibility that using a controversial moniker might cause the band to lose church gigs and elsewhere, the group decided to change their name from the Pagans to the Paragons.

[6] Bobby and Johnny Pace's mother helped them find the new name when looking in a thesaurus and noticing the word "paragon" not far below "pagan" on the page.

"[1][7] Le Roy Pace, Bobby and Johnny's father was a TV repairman who moved the band's equipment around in his Ford truck.

[1][11] The group occasionally played at the Park Road Shopping Center and on other occasions the local National Guard armory.

[14] Other popular bands in the area were the Barons, whose membership included future member of the Paragons Pat Walters on guitar, and the Young Ages, the Hodads, and the Die Hards, who sometimes played at some of the same venues, as well as the Grifs, the Stoaways, and T.C.

[1][9] In late 1966, the group went to Arthur Smith Studios in Charlotte where James Brown had recently recorded "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" to cut the single for "Abba" backed with their version of the Yardbirds' "Mister, You're a Better Man Than I", which was released in January 1967 on their private-pressing label, Bobbi (Bobbitown Music), named after their manager Barbara (Bobbi) Cashman.

[1][4][25] It even received airplay on black radio station WGIV, perhaps due to DJ Manny Clark's involvement with the record.

[25] According to Gill Vanderlip, member of local band the Losse Screws, "Abba" was "the 'I Wanna Hold Your Hand' of Charlotte, North Carolina".

[27] When Charles noticed the omission, he went to band member Danny Huntley's house to inquire about the matter, and when he arrived, the group's manager Bobbi Cashman happened to be there that moment.

[27] She was not aware of their role in the authorship and sent Charles a copy of the BMI registration form which listed both he and his brother as writers along with Pace and Huntley, thus enabling them to share royalties.

[1] Bobby Pace went on to play in a local band called the New Mix and eventually followeded in the footsteps of his father and became a TV repairman.