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249th out of 699 books
—
478 voters
The Chitlin' Circuit: And the Road to Rock 'n' Roll
The first history of the network of black juke joints that spawned rock 'n' roll through an unholy alliance between vice and entertainment.
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
Hardcover, 352 pages
Published
July 18th 2011
by W. W. Norton & Company
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The book definitely started off a bit slowly for me. Lots of names and details are thrown at you and despite my love of blues and soul, some of the references did not compute. Once things got going with Denver, Robey and Sunbeam the book really picked up. The story of Johnny Ace, Don Brown and some of the early rock and rollers were great. And once we meet up with Bee Bee, Richard Penninan, James Brown and the Hi records crew things start to rock - but then they end! I know things changed dramat...more
I grew up in Athens and Atlanta, Georgia, and spent a good amount of time in Macon, so the Chitlin' Circuit is a part of my heritage. As a child, I delighted in the sounds of Little Richard and James Brown and the Famous Flames. They played the Peacock Club on Auburn Avenue, and were guest DJs on WIGO- The Black Spot on your Dial. I went to sleep every night to the sound of WIGO, transistor radio pressed to my ear.
I came to the The Chitlin' Circuit expecting to enjoy it, and I did. An impressive...more
I came to the The Chitlin' Circuit expecting to enjoy it, and I did. An impressive...more
As a music enthusiast, I thought there was a good chance I'd enjoy this history of mid-20th century African-American rock music. Indeed, it was a rewarding read for me. The author had a relatively tough task, since this particular aspect of the music history (the mechanisms of this touring circuit) hasn't been especially well documented in a single history. In the book's first half, there's focus on the music scene in Indianapolis, Memphis and Houston. Racial segregation was still the norm in th...more
I'm always leery when fresh-cut, middle-class white guys try to inform me about the blues, and Preston Lauterbach's The Chitlin' Circuit is a good example of why that is. Within the first 30 pages I found myself cringing so often that I had to stop and decide if I was going to continue reading. Which is a shame because this book actually has some very good things going for it. First and foremost is the subject matter. Documenting the Chitlin Circuit that was such a huge part of the early 20th ce...more
Owing largely to white tastes, most blues books focus on prewar Delta styles, and/or the postwar Chicago boom. But rock and roll was truly born on the Chitlin' Circuit, and this interesting - although at times somewhat unfocused - exploration of the rise of this corner of the music industry fills in some gaps that many blues fans lack familiarity with. Starting in the Depression and moving up to the early sixties, the book traces the development of the scene and the music via several key promote...more
I give The Chitlin' Circuit one star more than I might for the sheer in-depth detail and amazing scope of the undertaking. And I also do it because I'm an optimist, and want to encourage Lauterbach to keep writing and work more closely with a sharp editor next time.
But a fantastic result regardless. I grew up in the geographic midst of the circuit, but well after its prime; I also heard its echoes and saw where it still ran strong, and knew there was something more there. Since then I've met a f...more
But a fantastic result regardless. I grew up in the geographic midst of the circuit, but well after its prime; I also heard its echoes and saw where it still ran strong, and knew there was something more there. Since then I've met a f...more
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 Memphi...more
This book wasn't what I was expecting. I was expecting a book about music. Content-wise, this book focuses a lot more on the bookers and the producers than on the musicians. I didn't get a very good sense of the musical history, partly because it seemed like Lauterbach is writing for an audience who is already familiar with the music. That's reasonable for the breakout stars (Little Richard, for example), but there were a lot of influential acts who never recorded -- in fact, the main point of t...more
Preston Lauterbach has written here a perfect companion to Robert Palmer's magisterial blues history, Deep Blues. While the chitlin' circuit lives on in truncated form--and Mr. Lauterbach explains how aptly--this is a book written in the past tense, and therefore serves as an elegy to a colorful but bygone era. That rock and roll would not exist without pioneering performers like Louis Jordan, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, Big Maybelle, Walter Barnes and Big Mama Thornton, it is the African-Americ...more
This is a fun and informative read about the beginnings of "chitlin' circuit" tour routes and the birth of rock 'n' roll. It's extremely well-researched and includes all the big names (B.B. King, James Brown, Johnny Ace) as well as some fascinating characters that I'd never heard of before, and though it's meticulously detailed it's also peppered with enough salacious facts (strange love affairs, murders and tragic accidents) to keep it from getting boring. It also touches on many subjects that...more
Following the creation and expansion of the black music circuit from the 1920s through the 1960s, the book brings alive the black parts of towns and how their cohesion brought musicians to prominence. It also doesn't stint on describing the "cuttin' and all that shit" attitudes of life along those streets, some of which still resonate (such as Beale Street). I was amazed to learn how close I was to a lot of that life myself, as it was only 10 years later that I was living in Houston and hanging...more
Given to me out of the blue by a wonderful old friend (this is using both senses of the word, now) who is Southern by birth and upbringing and who recommended it to me because she knows I like the blues and pocket histories of underworld U.S.A.
It's good so far- some excerpts and music clips to follow when I have the time and inclination.
***
Pleased to say that like a good concert or a fine story, Lauterbach's book finished very strongly. I think I'll just forego the usual dissection and just...more
Frustrated by musicians' unions dominated by white club owners and shut out of mainstream marketing, black musicians and promoters parlayed prohibition networks of bootlegging and numbers running to build a lucrative circuit of clubs "on the stroll" of towns like Macon, Anniston and Beale Street in Memphis. This was a brutal laboratory for music, as WWII made it impossible (by gas rationing and shortage of men) to field big orchestras and the clubs still had to draw paying audiences. The resulti...more
This is a good book for the already initiated. "Memphis Blues Again" by Ernest C. Withers is a great collection of photos to compliment "The Chitlin' Circuit."
http://books.google.com/books/about/T...
Anyone liking "The Chitlin' Circuit" should also check out Peter Guralnick's works.
http://books.google.com/books/about/T...
Anyone liking "The Chitlin' Circuit" should also check out Peter Guralnick's works.
Fascinating history of the beginnings of the touring circuit for African American artists. Little Richard, B.B. King, Gatemouth Brown and many other artists and the promoters who established the circuit to include the smallest most out of the way towns & villages. A must read for those interested in the history of rock 'n' roll.
A unique and well researched examination of a phrase you hear in music circles - "the CHITLIN' CIRCUIT" but never REALLY knew about. Where was it, who was it, what was its' flavor and lessons and contributions to our American musics ? After a dip in the rich book, you will know. AND be mightily Entertained.
Vastly informative and interesting account of the venues available to black blues musicians on the eve of the explosion of rock and roll. The venues were as rough and tumble as the artists who played them and a few of the lucky ones emerged to become major artists in the mainstream of the American music scene.
Great, fascinating, very fun book to read. Endless bizarre, fun, interesting tales of musicians in the 30s and 40s and into the 50s and a whole lot of history along the way. Beautifully written if you are interested in this sort of thing - which I am. And even if you only have a modest interest, this is likely to excite you.
This is a meticulously researched story about the evolution of rock and roll. An interesting story... the only thing that could have improved this book would be a boxed set of CDs to listen to some of the early performers.
Sep 27, 2012
Jeff
added it
Fantastic and fascinating look at this sometimes misunderstood aspect of American music. Love to read ANYTHING about Don Robey. Essential.
This was a fun, quick read. I did not know much about this part of music history and it was both entertaining and informative.
A good read about a little-covered but often-mentioned history of the music business. I really enjoyed it, and learned a lot.
Good book on a fascinating part of history. I didn't care for the flowery writing, but I loved the stories, and appreciated the painstaking research.
I'll get my dad a copy; I think he'll appreciate the stories and the writing a lot.
I wish there were an accompanying DVD, or at least a CD. The history is so alive in these stories, I wanted a more visceral relationship with it. And for music-lovers, reading about music can sometimes be a pretty poor substitute for hearing it.
I'm really glad this...more
I'll get my dad a copy; I think he'll appreciate the stories and the writing a lot.
I wish there were an accompanying DVD, or at least a CD. The history is so alive in these stories, I wanted a more visceral relationship with it. And for music-lovers, reading about music can sometimes be a pretty poor substitute for hearing it.
I'm really glad this...more
I love reading anything about the music industry and how groups and other musicians started out. Very enjoyable read.
I'm not sure you could write a bad book about the history of the Chitlin' Circuit, with all that wild music and those even wilder characters. But our man Lauterbach has written a great one, about the likes of Hardface and Sunbeam and doomed Johnny Ace, the "Chicken Shack Boogie" and "Tutti Frutti" and B.B.'s sublime "Three O'Clock Blues," skinning joints and busted amps and 10-center "splits" of Memphis-brewed Goldcrest 51 Beer. Here he is on page 228, giving us Little Richard in his glory, "wit...more
An uneven read -- sometimes laboriously academic, but often sharp, funny, and informative. More than anything, it'll make you want to listen to the music, and that's about the best thing you can say for a book like this.
Lauterbach's a bit of a Nick Tosches acolyte, but the story he decides to tell here few would have chosen, and he does bring an interesting hero of African-American music to light: Denver Ferguson. Some excellent insights, juicy stories, and appreciation of Don Robey, not an easy thing.
each chapter read like a good magazine article uncovering some roots of rock'n roll often unheard of...Indianapolis, Houston, and of course, New Orleans Memphis. Left me wanting more...more information, deeper diging!
Interesting subject matter but bad, even po' faced, writing... Someone will execute this study better one day -- because pre-WWII African-American culture is an important but understudied topic IMHO...
Jul 18, 2011
Dee Bibb
marked it as to-read
sounds like an awesome read...can't wait to get it!
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Music journalist Preston Lauterbach lives with his wife and children in Memphis, Tennessee. The Chitlin' Circuit is his first book.
More about Preston Lauterbach...
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Jun 09, 2012 10:41pm