Preston Lauterbach's Blog, page 7
July 16, 2011
"Ya got no competition"
This book needed Sax Kari. In 2003, after meeting the glamorous, remarkable, self-proclaimed "King of the Chitlin' Circuit," a performer named Bobby Rush, I began telling people that I was writing a book about this chitlin' circuit. Months piled up, but pages did not. I composed outlines and interviewed artists, but no narrative emerged, due [...]
July 15, 2011
Cleveland Plain Dealer on The Chitlin' Circuit
Check it out: "Now that's America."
July 9, 2011
Washington Post on The Chitlin' Circuit
Check it out: "Lauterbach's tribute…is welcome and overdue."
July 8, 2011
Happy Birthday Louis Jordan!
Louis Jordan Born July 8, 1908, Brinkley, Arkansas Died February 4, 1975, Los Angeles, California Circuit active: 1942-1959 Louis Jordan is one of the more grossly misunderstood artists in American music. Not that he's overlooked. He is in the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame. It's that the writers of music history describe him either as [...]
July 5, 2011
Don't Forget the Blues!
I'm looking forward to talking Chitlin' Circuit with Steve Hoffman on D.C. radio WPFW on Wednesday July 6 at 12:30 EST. His program is called Don't Forget the Blues. He'll play a few key cuts, and we'll discuss gambling, violence, and musician financial planning, among other topics. Beltway people, tune to 89.3 FM. Outside the Beltway, tune [...]
June 28, 2011
Southern Lit Review/Interview
The folks at the Southern Literary Review published an interview with your humble narrator. http://southernlitreview.com/tag/pres...
June 27, 2011
Pre-orders are shipping now!
This is not a drill. Please do not panic. Your long-awaited, much-anticipated copy of The Chitlin' Circuit is flying your way now. Please enjoy it, tell friends about it, and give it as a gift, no occasion necessary. If you haven't already ordered, and cannot wait until July 18 to buy it in your local bookstore, [...]
June 15, 2011
Chitlin' Circuit Ephemera: Houston
Check out the evolution of black music in Houston through colorful ads and photographs that appeared in the Houston Informer. All of the action depicted here went down thanks to the misunderstood Don Robey, a figure who's been depicted as a brute, probably not altogether unfairly, but who was also an ingenious black music businessman [...]
June 10, 2011
Chitlin' Circuit Landmark: Club Desire
New Orleans is the American capital of lush dilapidation. One arresting example of a vacant building with stories to tell sits at 2604 Desire Street in the Upper Ninth Ward: Club Desire. The 1952 Federal Writers' Project New Orleans City Guide mentions the club, saying, "Some of the Negro night clubs are patterned after those [...]
June 3, 2011
Celebrate Jimmie Lunceford (Updated June 9)
The great bandleader, educator, and chitlin' circuit pioneer Jimmie Lunceford was born June 6, 1902 in Fulton, Mississippi. He's being honored Saturday June 4 in Fulton, with the dedication of a historical marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail. My friends Scott Barretta and Jim O'Neal are the wacky geniuses behind the Blues Trail, and my pal [...]
