Undertaking the South Carolina city’s downtown tour combines music, history, artworks and a good walk.
Adobestock
Spartanburg, South Carolina has a knack for combining the modern with the whimsical.
What a hoot!
Laurie and I are on a street in downtown Spartanburg, South Carolina, and we’re acting kind of silly, singing along with a recording by Spartanburg-raised Pink Anderson, “Soft and easy, good and greasy; Crazy ‘bout them greasy greens!”
Yet, no passersby are paying attention to us, as they all seem to know that we’re on a walking tour of the Music Trail and just doing what probably scores of other people who have come before us have done.
The tour runs for several blocks with signs identifying close to two dozen individuals or bands that were influential in a variety of musical genres. The really cool part, though, is that with a GPS-enabled smart phone you can listen to snippets of songs from these artists while also learning more about them.
Singing along with “Fire on the Mountain,” we learned that the Marshall Tucker Band, was not named for a band member, but rather a local piano tuner. Pink Anderson’s blues guitar playing inspired the name of the world-famous British band, Pink Floyd.
Leonard M. and Laurie Adkins
The musical aspect of walking Spartanburg includes both displays for area musicians and GPS-enabled snippets of their songs and music.
Spartanburg-born Don Reno co-penned “Feudin’ Banjos,” which became famous as the “Dueling Banjo” theme in the movie “Deliverance.” “Singin’ Billy” Walker’s 1835 book on shape note singing was the first to combine a poem by John Newton with a traditional song called “New Britain,” giving us the version of “Amazing Grace” that is popular today.
Much of Spartanburg’s Historic Downtown Walking Tour coincides with the same streets as those on the Music Trail, so it’s easy to learn a bit about the city’s past events. The clock tower dates from the 1870s, when town visitors arrived by horse and buggy (although it has been moved from its original location).
The mid-1920s Montgomery Building became infamous for two unrelated plans that were hatched in the offices of the Soil Conservation Service. In the 1930s, this federal agency distributed kudzu to landowners in the south as a way to control erosion—all of us know how that turned out! During World War II maps developed by the agency were used by those planning the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Interestingly, the building also housed the Carolina Theater where, in 1956, Elvis Presley gave four concerts in a single day.
As our walk was nearing its end, we came to the sign for Clara Smith just a few minutes after singing along to “Amazing Grace.” She was known as the “Queen of the Moaners” in the 1920s, and we decided her song, “It’s Tight Like That,” was probably just a bit too risqué for us to sing in public.
Where to Stay and Dine
The obvious choice is AC Hotel Spartanburg (marriott.com/hotels/travel/spaac-ac-hotel-spartanburg), just across the street from the Music Trail’s first stop.For a most delicious (and filling!) breakfast, it’s the Downtown Deli and Donuts (downtowndelianddonuts.com). It’s a good name, but comes nowhere close to describing the dining pleasures to be experienced here. We are still dreaming about the huge cinnamon roll French toast topped by a cream cheese icing drizzle.
Spartanburg Sculptures
Some are whimsical, like the metal tennis player by the sculptor “Hoondirt,” while others are more traditional, such as the newspaper reader (artist Glenna Goodacre) in front of the Spartanburg Herald-Journal building. Most impressive is “Self-made Man” (artist Bobbie Carlyle) who is chiseling himself out of rock.
Leonard M. and Laurie Adkins
Find out more about Leonard’s walking and hiking adventures at habitualhiker.com.
The story above first appeared in our January / February 2022 issue. For more like it subscribe today or log in with your active BRC+ Membership. Thank you for your support!