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“Lauterbach’s tribute . . . is welcome and overdue.” —Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post
“A well-researched valentine to a lost world of seedy con men, promoters and club owners, the power brokers and hustlers who made the ‘circuitry spark.’ ”—Eddie Dean, Wall Street Journal
“Lauterbach spins the tale with enormous vitality and it’s terribly fun to read. He masterfully explains the complex logistics of the entertainment industry, and studs the book with fascinating, little-known characters. . . . The reader will finish with an overwhelming urge to turn up the volume.”—Kate Tuttle, Boston Globe
"A major achievement and an important contribution to American musical history.”—Booklist, starred review
“Opens new doors in pop-music scholarship as well as American (and African-American) cultural history.”—Michaelangelo Matos, A.V. Club
“[T]he genius prequel to an oft-told epic.”—New Orleans Times-Picayune
“This sprawling, fascinating history drops readers into a chaotic, dangerous, utterly vanished world.”—John Repp, Cleveland Plain Dealer
The development of the Southern black club scene receives a sometimes cluttered history.
In his debut, music journalist Lauterbach plots the early years of the chitlin' circuit, which takes its name from "chitterlings," or hog intestines, an indigenous Southern cuisine. Born in the late swing era, the circuit owed its existence to canny entrepreneurs like Denver Ferguson, a numbers racketeer and club owner in Indianapolis' "Bronzeville" district, and Walter Barnes, a self-promoting bandleader andChicago Defender columnist who barnstormed black markets in the South. Their efforts opened the way for other regional bookers like Don Robey (Houston), Sunbeam Mitchell (Memphis) and Clint Branley (Macon). The chitlin' circuit gained traction during the 1940s, as the big bands waned and small combos like Louis Jordan's Tympany Five set the stage for popular R&B acts like Roy Brown, Johnny Ace, Little Richard and James Brown. Frequently citing the black press of the day, Lauterbach tells his story with big splashes of color. At times, the narrative slows as the author trots out endless band itineraries. Possibly the biggest problem with the book is Lauterbach's failure to make a completely compelling case for Ferguson's enduring importance. He devotes most of his space to the Indiana promoter's hometown business, and material about Ferguson's later years, in which he grappled with tax troubles and a messy divorce, add little to the main narrative. Furthermore, Lauterbach ends the story with the arrival of the '50s performers who gained fame in the rock 'n' roll era (and a pointless coda about the destruction of Memphis' Beale Street district). While he alludes to the colorful careers of modern chitlin' circuit artists like Bobby Rush and the late Marvin Sease, whose popularity extended into the new millennium, he leaves that vital story untold.
A lack of organizational rigor derails an interesting tale.
List of Illustrations ix
Introduction Nondescript Places 1
Chapter 1 A Hundred Dollars Crooked 15
Chapter 2 The Midget Maestro 31
Chapter 3 The Stroll 43
Chapter 4 Sunset 59
Chapter 5 Rock and Stomp Opus 73
Chapter 6 The Loser Goes to the Hospital, the Winner Goes to Jail 93
Chapter 7 The Bronze Peacock 113
Chapter 8 The Gate Swings 131
Chapter 9 'Tween the Tip In Inn and the Church of God 147
Chapter 10 Roy Brown's Good Rockin' Revival 157
Chapter 11 Female Trouble 169
Chapter 12 All Part of the Game 179
Chapter 13 A Little Like Going to Heaven 197
Chapter 14 Crossover 203
Chapter 15 Shootin' and Cuttin' and Shit 215
Chapter 16 The Hardest-Working Man in Show Business 235
Coda Renewal 265
Afterword 293
Acknowledgments 297
Notes 301
Index 323
Anonymous
Posted September 15, 2011
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted July 21, 2011
No text was provided for this review.
Overview
“Lauterbach’s tribute . . . is welcome and overdue.” —Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post
“A well-researched valentine to a lost world of seedy con men, promoters and club owners, the power brokers and hustlers who made the ‘circuitry spark.’ ”—Eddie Dean, Wall Street Journal
“Lauterbach spins the tale with enormous vitality and it’s terribly fun to read. He masterfully explains the complex logistics of the entertainment industry, and studs the book with fascinating, little-known ...