Take a 2,000-step journey through Spartanburg’s musical history along Spartanburg Music Trail, a half-hour stroll highlighting 20 of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll, soul, gospel, opera, and pop musicians to come out of Hub City.
The trail launched in 2011 as a collaboration between City of Spartanburg, the nonprofit Hub City Writers Project, Spartanburg Philharmonic, and Spartanburg Convention & Visitors Bureau, and winds its way through downtown Spartanburg.
Each each stop is marked by hard-to-miss signs offering brief, interactive summaries of the artists’ lives, contributions, and claims to fame, along with snippets of their music.
The fully immersive experience is available for anyone with a smartphone.
The summaries are the collaborative work of journalists Peter Cooper and Steve Shanafelt, whose encyclopedic knowledge of Spartanburg music history is evident.
Spartanburg Music Trail Guide
Lace up your shoes, fill a water bottle, and head to stop one at the corner of North Daniel Morgan Avenue and West Main Street, where you’ll learn about gospel singer Ira B. Tucker of the Dixie Hummingbirds, whose style is said to have influenced a host of legends ranging from B.B. King to James Brown to Stevie Wonder.
A few steps later, learn about Singin’ Billy Walker at stop two, a 19th century bookstore owner and music minister at First Baptist Church Spartanburg, whose The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion forever changed the way congregations worshiped.
Take it fast or slow and enjoy the vibe of Marshall Tucker Band’s “Can’t You See” at stop number three of the tour at Morgan Square, where you’ll learn that, no, there was no one named Marshall Tucker in the band, but there was a man named Marshall Tucker in Spartanburg.
By now, you’ve crossed South Church Street and are within sight of stop five at the corner of East Main and Liberty Street, adjacent to Denny’s Plaza. Here, take a breather and reflect on the story of Walter Hyatt, whose life was cut short in a 1996 plane crash, but not before he’d made a mark on the Austin and Nashville music scenes.
From there, the tour turns northwest along Liberty Street with stops six through eight. Get a second wind at stop seven with a helping of the ’50s-era rockabilly group The Sparkletones, whose famous single, “Black Slacks,” will make you want to dance in place.
Just a few more steps and you’ll be listening to the distinctive banjo and steel guitar styling of Buck Trent of Arcadia Mills, whose career took him to Nashville, where he performed with Roy Clark and made regular appearances on the ’70s-era mainstay, Hee-Haw.
Now in the home stretch and heading west along St. John Street, take a minute at stop nine to learn about world-famous countertenor David Daniels, the son of Spartanburg voice teachers Phyllis and Perry Daniels.
Daniels, by the way, is not the only famous vocalist from Spartanburg. At stop 10, listen to soprano Gianna Rolandi, who was born in New York City but lived in Spartanburg through high school, performing in Mozart’s famous Marriage of Figaro.
Places to Stop and Listen at Spartanburg Music Trail
Stop 1: Ira Tucker, Arthur Prysock
Stop 2: Singin’ Billy Walker, Clara Smith
Stop 3: Pink Anderson, Marshall Tucker Band
Stop 4: Johnny Blowers, Hank Garland
Stop 5: Walter Hyatt, Champ Hood
Stop 6: Don Reno, Blue Ridge Quartet
Stop 7: Sparkletones, Marshall Chapman
Stop 8: David Ball, Buck Trent
Stop 9: David Daniels, Carlos Moseley
Stop 10: Rev. Julius Cheeks, Gianna Rolandi
