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Summary
Summary
A definitive account of the birth of rock 'n' roll in black America, this book establishes the Chitlin' Circuit as a major force in American musical history. Combining terrific firsthand reporting with deep historical research, Preston Lauterbach uncovers characters like Chicago Defender columnist Walter Barnes, who pioneered the circuit in the 1930s, and larger-than-life promoters such as Denver Ferguson, the Indianapolis gambling chieftain who consolidated it in the 1940s. Charging from Memphis to Houston and now-obscure points in between, The Chitlin' Circuit brings us into the sweaty back rooms where such stars as James Brown, B. B. King, and Little Richard got their start. With his unforgettable portraits of unsung heroes including King Kolax, Sax Kari, and Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, Lauterbach writes of a world of clubs and con men that has managed to avoid much examination despite its wealth of brash characters, intriguing plotlines, and vulgar glory, and gives us an excavation of an underground musical America.
Author Notes
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.
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Six years before a white Pennsylvanian named Bill Haley recorded "Rock Around the Clock," Roy Brown, a black singer and song writer from New Orleans, wrote "Good Rockin' Tonight" as a radio jingle for a whorehouse. Haley and Elvis Presley, who recorded Brown's song, are enshrined in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, while Brown, who died in 1981, remains without the honor. Brown's story is just one stop on music journalist's Lauterbach's rollicking history of forgotten promoters and performers on the loosely organized chain of dance halls, juke joints, and night clubs catering to black audiences-it became known as the chitlin' circuit because chitterlings, the intestines of pigs, were a popular delicacy. Lauterbach's writing is as energetic as a Little Richard song (a performer who started on the chitlin' circuit and crossed over to national fame), although he falls victim to his own enthusiasm and loses momentum in an attempt to recount a litany of figures. Regardless, Lauterbach's first book is a rocking read and a deserving tribute to the people and places who were the foundations of rock and roll. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Th. chitlin' circuit. a thriving African American subculture that few outsiders know much about, formed the brash underbelly of the rock 'n' roll story. In this terrific popular history, music journalist and first-time author Lauterbach uncovers a secret world that involves not only music but also racketeering and bribery, bootlegging, and various scandals. Lauterbach focuses on how the chitlin' circuit developed from the late 1930s to the early 1940s, with a particular emphasis on how it nurtured early rock 'n' roll. He masterfully interweaves the stories of the famous or near-famous, including Louis Jordan, Joe Turner, Wynonie Harris, Roy Brown, B. B. King, Ike Turner, Johnny Ace, Little Richard, and James Brown as well as such unsung heroes as Sax Kari and Clarenc. Gatemout. Brown and two pioneering figures, Walter Barnes, a Chicago Defender columnist, and Denver Ferguson, an Indianapolis businessman. Combining original interviews with secondary research, Lauterbach presents vivid portraits of now-forgotten characters and African American neighborhoods in Chicago, Indianapolis, Memphis, Houston, New Orleans, and Macon, Georgia, cityscapes that have changed beyond all recognition. A major achievement and an important contribution to American musical history.--Sawyers, Jun. Copyright 2010 Booklist
Kirkus Review
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 RB 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.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Library Journal Review
Music journalist Lauterbach has written the definitive history of the musical back roads and back rooms of the southern United States, dubbed the Chitlin' Circuit. From the 1920s through the 1960s, black musicians and their promoters used the clubs of the South to spread their music and eventually to sell records. Artists such as Walter Barnes, Louis Jordan, Ray Charles, B.B. King, Little Richard, and Al Green all worked the circuit in their time, bringing on the dawn of rock 'n' roll, but it is the promoters who take center stage in this tale. Denver Ferguson of Indianapolis built his fortune with a street lottery but came to promote great prerock artists like King Kolax. Professional gambler and club owner Don Robey of Houston eventually came to work with influential acts like Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown and Johnny Ace. The musical battles of Little Richard and James Brown are chronicled as well. VERDICT A great read, well written and insightful. Highly recommended to anyone interested in the seedy history of American popular music.-Todd Spires, Bradley Univ. Lib., Peoria, IL (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Table of Contents
| List of Illustrations | p. ix |
| Introduction Nondescript Places | p. 1 |
| Chapter 1 A Hundred Dollars Crooked | p. 15 |
| Chapter 2 The Midget Maestro | p. 31 |
| Chapter 3 The Stroll | p. 43 |
| Chapter 4 Sunset | p. 59 |
| Chapter 5 Hock and Stomp Opus | p. 73 |
| Chapter 6 The Loser Goes to the Hospital, the Winner Goes to Jail | p. 93 |
| Chapter 7 The Bronze Peacock | p. 113 |
| Chapter 8 The Gate Swings | p. 131 |
| Chapter 9 'Tween the Tip In Inn and the Church of God | p. 147 |
| Chapter 10 Roy Brown's Good Rockin' Revival | p. 157 |
| Chapter 11 Female Trouble | p. 169 |
| Chapter 12 All Part of the Game | p. 179 |
| Chapter 13 A Little Like Going to Heaven | p. 197 |
| Chapter 14 Crossover | p. 203 |
| Chapter 15 Shootin' and Cuttin' and Shit | p. 215 |
| Chapter 16 The Hardest-Working Man in Show Business | p. 235 |
| Coda Renewal | p. 265 |
| Afterword | p. 293 |
| Acknowledgments | p. 297 |
| Notes | p. 301 |
| Index | p. 323 |
