The Sonoco Men’s Club is a group of men who have dedicated a great part of their lives to singing gospel and traditional music. Organized in 1960, the Sonoco Men’s Club is comprised mostly of retired employees of Sonoco Products Company, a textile manufacturer based in Hartsville. While most of the members are recognized individually as outstanding singers or musicians, they prefer to perform as a group. The majority of the members have been singing together since the 1940s.
Singing a variety of gospel, traditional hymns, and spirituals, the members profess no formal training, only a fondness and appreciation for the songs they learned from their parents and grandparents. The Sonoco Men’s Club has spent countless hours every month to enrich the lives of the people living in their community and raise the level of awareness regarding traditional gospel music. They perform regularly at prisons, hospitals, and senior citizen centers in the Pee Dee region and throughout the state.
In addition, the group hosts programs in numerous churches in their area, with any proceeds going to a need within the specific church. They also sponsor sick and shut-in programs, which generate assistance for the needy in the community. The Sonoco Men’s Club continues to perform, free of charge, throughout the Pee Dee and around the state of South Carolina. The group has been the recipient of numerous honors, including the TV 13 “Giving Your Best” Award. Truly men of the community, the Sonoco Men’s Club finds, through their music, they can communicate the traditional message of Christianity to a contemporary audience. Their message is one of joy, hope and brotherly love. They received the Jean Laney Harris Folk Heritage Award in 2001.
