Coming Home To Spartanburg
The Marshall Tucker Band Homecoming Concert
June 1977
by Michael B. Smith
(February 2001)
The Homecoming program
One of my fondest Marshall Tucker Band memories is the 1977 Homecoming
Concert in my home town of Spartanburg, S.C. It's been twenty-four years, but I still remember it like it was yesterday.
Friends, family and neighbors as well as folks from Atlanta, Charlotte,
New Jersey and all across the USA packed into Memorial Auditorium for what would turn out to be almost a four-hour long benefit show, filled
with some true hell raisin' Southern Rock and Roll. This was the first in a long line of backstage experiences, and I was hooked. There was
just something special about hanging backstage with the band. This was also the only time I can recall that I went backstage without writing
about it. That is, until now.
My first meeting with Charlie Daniels was in the stairwell at this show.
I rounded a flight of stairs, and Charlie was standing there, smiling. "How ya doin?" he asked. "Great!" I said. "I'm looking
forward to hearing you." He just beamed. It would be twenty years before Charlie
and I would speak again, but I would never quit listening to his music. Like Marshall Tucker, Charlie's music endures. I love it just as much
today as I ever did.
Inman's Marshall Chapman opened the festivities with her own set of
infectious rock and roll, and when the Tuckers hit the stage, with their huge "Long Hard Ride " mural hanging in the background, they found an
auditorium jam packed full of fired-up hometown fans. With Jaimoe from The Allman Brothers Band playing drums alongside Paul T. Riddle, and
Charlie Daniels sawing some mighty tasty fiddle, The Marshall Tucker Band never sounded better. Doug Gray's voice was in top form, Jerry
Eubanks played his heart out, and the whole band was tighter than ever.
Marshall Chapman, seated on rooftop, and her band.
The band was hot. From their rocking "Fly Like an Eagle" to what was
at the time a major radio hit, "Heard it in a Love Song," those Tucker
boys could do no wrong. The band smoked through "Long Hard Ride," with Toy
Caldwell delivering some of the hottest thumb picking on that Les Paul that he had ever played. Tommy drove the band through jam after jam,
from "Take The Highway" to "Can't You See," to "Blue
Ridge Mountain
Skies." At one point, Toy took center stage to play a moving "Ab's Song," a tune from the band's debut album that was hardly ever performed
in concert.
MTB Circa 1977
"Desert Skies," "Never Trust a Stranger," and "Ramblin"
brought thew house down, with Doug Gray singing in peak form. Paul T. Riddle was dead
on on the drum kit, and George McCorkle played with all the passion and fire he could muster. Jerry Eubanks' smooth sax and flute, as well as
keyboard work underscored the rest of the band, blending their magical mix of rock, blues, jazz and country into the sound that we all adored.
Before the evening was over, the band was joined onstage by Charlie (who had already joined in on several tunes, including the scorching
obligatory "24 Hours at a Time"), Jaimoe, and Marshall Chapman.
Mayor Frank Allen, at 28, the youngest mayor ever in Spartanburg's
history, presented the band with the key to the city, and WORD's Billy Mac was on hand to aid in the presentation of a check for $23,500 from
the proceeds of the show to Shriner's Hospital for Crippled Children. Everyone was so pumped, that even the news of a bomb scare couldn't sway them.
"Someone called and said they've planted a bomb in here," said Tommy
Caldwell from the stage, as cool as a mint julep. "But we ain't goin' no where if ya'll ain't!" The crowd went wild.
We weren't about to leave this show. No way, baby.
The show lasted a good four hours at least, and when it was all over, we
walked out of the auditorium, sweat soaked and smiling. I made my way over to speak to Tommy, whom I had gotten to know while working at the
local grocery store. Tommy was always such a nice guy. Always.
"Great show, Tommy," I said.
"Glad you liked it, man!" He said, grinning from ear to ear.
I shook hands with Toy and Charlie, and headed off toward home, knowing
that I would remain a Tucker fan for the rest of my life.
If you have Tucker memories you'd like to share, drop us a line!
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