The Chitlin' Circuit: And the Road to Rock 'n' Roll
“Lauterbach’s tribute . . . is welcome and overdue.” —Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post
For generations, "chitlin' circuit" has meant second tier—brash performers in raucous nightspots far from the big-city limelight. Now, music journalist Preston Lauterbach combines terrific firsthand reportage with deep historical research to offer a groundbreaking account of the birth of rock 'n' roll in black America.
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The Chitlin' Circuit: And the Road to Rock 'n' Roll
“Lauterbach’s tribute . . . is welcome and overdue.” —Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post
For generations, "chitlin' circuit" has meant second tier—brash performers in raucous nightspots far from the big-city limelight. Now, music journalist Preston Lauterbach combines terrific firsthand reportage with deep historical research to offer a groundbreaking account of the birth of rock 'n' roll in black America.
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The Chitlin' Circuit: And the Road to Rock 'n' Roll
“Lauterbach’s tribute . . . is welcome and overdue.” —Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post
For generations, "chitlin' circuit" has meant second tier—brash performers in raucous nightspots far from the big-city limelight. Now, music journalist Preston Lauterbach combines terrific firsthand reportage with deep historical research to offer a groundbreaking account of the birth of rock 'n' roll in black America.
Preston Lauterbach is the author of Bluff City, Beale Street Dynasty, The Chitlin’ Circuit, a Wall Street Journal and Boston Globe book of the year, and co-author of Brother Johnson: Growing Up with Robert Johnson. He is a former visiting scholar at Rhodes College and a Virginia Humanities Fellow. He lives in Virginia.
Table of Contents
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
What People are Saying About This
Barry Mazor
An intensely researched, engaging revelation… This captivating account slips the reader smack into the middle of rock’s own hothouse.