William Walker / Clara Smith
William Walker
1809-1875
William ("Singing Billy") Walker, perhaps South Carolina's most famous musician of his day, was a singing school teacher, composer, and collector of folksongs.
He published four shape-note tunebooks, bringing musical literacy to isolated churches across the country. His popular "Southern Harmony" (1835) was the first to include "Amazing Grace" with its familiar tune. Walker's bookstore was located near this site.
Clara Smith
1894-1935
Clara Smith was one of the best-known female bluses singers of the 1920s. Born and raised in Spartanburg, she found early success in vaudville, and later in Harlem.
Smith was billed as the "Queen of the Moaners," and recorded some 122 songs for Columbia Records, working for the likes of Louis Armstrong, Bessie Smith, and Lonnie Johnson.
Marker is at the intersection of West Main Street and Magolia Street, in the median on West Main Street.
Courtesy hmdb.org
