Because of lauterbachs documentation of the fascinating stories of these talented yet often forgotten musicians, american musical history. From the 1930s until the 1960s, the chitlin circuit had its heyday. The daily show cp time the chitlin circuit facebook. It shows how the early strolls and their black entrepreneurs really laid the groundwork for the infrastructure that would bring, first swing, then blues, then rock and roll, to the masses in all parts of the country. The story of the chitlin circuits great performers. It was like bet, but without all the martin reruns.
This book traces the black successor of the old vaudeville circuit, where entertainers honed their craft after the 40s. He is a former visiting scholar at rhodes college and a virginia foundation for the humanities fellow. Nightclubs black entertainers in the chitlin circuit venues that catered to black audiences. Many prominent black entertainers worked the chitlin circuit from the 1800s through the 1960s, and a tradition of predominantly black venues has endured in the united states, even though segregation laws have been struck from the books. The chitlin circuit and the road to rock n roll by. As blues fans know, the chitlin circuit kept the blues alive after world war ii and helped ensure that this form of african american music would be available in the small towns and cities of the south. The chitlin circuit referred to the grand tour of ever changing southern bars, taverns, holes in the wall, barbeque joints, and makeshift venues for dancing or simply those to showcase new black artists, while turning a substantial buck on the booze sold. This is a really good book on the history of the chitlin circuit, a collection of nightclubs throughout the south eastern and south central united states which featured africanamerican musicians and which, as the title suggests, played a major role in the development of rock n roll. I think any of us who have an interest in blues, jazz, and rock and roll have encountered the term chitlin circuit but theres never been a definitive, researched history of it. Chitlin circuit showcased black entertainment during jim crow.
This is where rock n roll really began, in the hundreds of little shacks all around the south, where music, drink and food and sex flowed with equal abandon. It is also, i believe, why some black authors dont participate in these events. Denver darious ferguson was an american businessman and nightclub owner in indianapolis, who had a leading role in establishing the chitlin circuit of entertainment venues for black entertainers and audiences in the 1930s and 1940s. Chosen by the boston globe as one of top nonfiction books of 2011 an npr best music book of 2011 an onion av club best book of 2011 the first history of the network of black juke joints that. The chitlin circuit, by preston lauterbach, about pre. Cp time the chitlin circuit the daily show youtube. The chop suey circuit of chinese nightclubsprimarily in san francisco. I dont particularly like the term because it marginalizes the events. Tampa bays musical history thrived during the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s, especially in the central avenue district.
Listen to the history of standup on apple podcasts, stitcher, spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. And the road to rock n roll, by preston lauterbach, w. According to national public radio, the chitlin circuit was a group of performance venues located mostly in the south that were safe and acceptable places for africanamerican musicians and. Preston lauterbach is the author of beale street dynasty and the chitlin circuit, a wall street journal and boston globe book of the year. Join him and fellow student, andrew steven, as they look back at some of standups most interesting moments, places, and people. During the years before the civil rights movement got underway, segregated american cities helped give birth to a touring circuit that provided employment the story of the chitlin circuit s great.
Rush also reveals the shocking truth of how african american talented musicians and brilliant performers were treated at other performance venues outside of the chitlin circuit during the jim crow laws era and how so much has changed for. Comedian and professor wayne federman has spent his life studying the art and history of standup comedy. Search the history of over 424 billion web pages on the internet. Earlier in his career he established a newspaper the edmonson county star, in his home town of brownsville, kentucky, before moving to indianapolis where he had a printing company. Legendary bluesman, bobby rush, known as king of the chitlin circuit shares intimate details of touring the club circuit during the 1950s. The chitlin circuit and the road to rock n roll, by. Frequently citing the black press of the day, lauterbach tells his story with big splashes of color. Browns story is just one stop on music journalists lauterbachs 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. A major achievement and an important contribution to american music history.
Preston lauterbachs the chitlin circuit and the road to rock n roll traces black music. After reading this book, i had to amend my chauvinistic focus on the city of memphis as the center of black music in the south and account for the other places. In the chitlin circuit and the road to rock and roll, preston lauterbach has created a noirlike detective story that brings the reader into the shadowy past to locate his subjects in back rooms, where deals were often closed or nullified with firearms and careers were made or destroyed. His book is damned entertaining, a true page turner. Chitlin circuit news newspapers books scholar jstor may 2008 learn how and when to remove this template message. The first half of the chitlin circuit traces the roots of the circuit back to walter barnes, who juggled dual roles as a chicago bandleader and columnist for the chicago defender and whose music and journalism careers alike thrived under the patronage of gangster al capone. The first history of the network of black juke joints that spawned rock n roll through an unholy alliance between vice and entertainment. Little willie john really did have, as the subtitle of susan whitalls book has it, a fast life, mysterious death, and the birth of soul all wrapped up in his 30 years. The chitlin circuit is the variety of black run book events across the country that host black authors. A conversation with chitlin circuit author preston.
The result was creation of pop crossover superstars like joe turner, b. The term chitlin circuit is derived from a popular item which appears on many southern soul food. The chitlin circuit grew out of a time when black people were not allowed to perform at white establishments. Preston lauterbach is the author of bluff city, beale street dynasty, and the chitlin circuit, a wall street journal and boston globe book of the year. The chitlin circuit was almost an entirely africanamerican phenomenon, says the author of the chitlin circuit and the road to rock n roll, preston lauterbach. The chitlin circuit and the road to rock n roll book. Code switch this network of performance venues nightclubs, bars, juke joints and theaters formed during jim crow because black. The story of the chitlin circuits great performers wbfo. During the 1920s and 30s, tampa was a stop on the chitlin circuit. A groundbreaking history of the black juke joints that birthed rock n roll. Toba nurtured such performers as leonard reed and willie bryant, creators of the shim sham shimmy c. The first history of the network of black juke joints that spa.
The chitlin circuit was a collection of performance venues throughout the eastern, southern. The chitlin circuit was a collection of performance venues throughout the eastern, southern, and upper midwest areas of the united states that provided commercial and cultural acceptance for africanamerican musicians, comedians, and other entertainers during the era of racial segregation in the united states from at least the early 19th century citation needed through the 1960s. This is the subject of a great book i just read called the chitlin circuit and the road to rock and roll. Today, rock historian ed ward looks at two books, preston lauterbachs the chitlin circuit and the road to rock n roll and fever, susan. 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. The chitlin circuit and the road to rock n roll documents the second of these campaigns, launched by the musical forces ferguson dispatched to venues throughout the american south where blacks could entertain black audiences. Featured texts all books all texts latest this just in smithsonian libraries fedlink us genealogy lincoln collection. The era described extended from about 1930 to the mid 1980s. It is a wellresearched history of, well, of the road leading to what we know and love as rock n roll, but dont let wellresearched and history scare you away. In successive waves, talented musicians hit those stages running. Browns story is just one stop on music journalists lauterbachs rollicking history of forgotten promoters and performers on the loosely organized chain of dance halls, juke joints, and night clubs catering to black audiencesit became known as the chitlin circuit because chitterlings, the intestines of pigs, were a popular delicacy. Today, rock historian ed ward looks at two books, preston lauterbachs the chitlin circuit and the road to rock n roll and fever, susan whitalls biography of little willie john, one of the. James brown, the chitlin circuit, and me, documents this transitional era of american history.
This is a really good book on the history of the chitlin circuit, a collection of nightclubs throughout the south eastern and south central united states which featured africanamerican musicians and which, as the title suggests, played a. An onion av club best book of 2011 the first history of the network of black juke joints that spawned rock n roll through an unholy alliance between vice and entertainment. The story of the chitlin circuits great performers wfsu. Combining terrific firsthand reporting with deep historical research, preston lauterbach uncovers characters like chicago defender columnist walter. This intensively researched, slyly humorous, and appealing book should. Were talking about the black music businessblack performers, black audiencesrun by predominantly black businesspeople with a few whites in the mix. And the road to rock n roll from the worlds largest community of readers. Jonathan yardley, washington post, the chitlin circuit, and the road to rock n roll, preston lauterbach, 9780393342949. Ferguson started the chitlin circuit as a way to launder money from illegal lottery games, but it unexpectedly became a huge success. Acclaimed journalist preston lauterbach discusses his exciting book the chitlin circuit and the road to rock n roll. Preston lauterbach is the author of bluff city, beale street dynasty and the chitlin circuit, a wall street journal and boston globe book of the year.
By the late 1950s, chitlin circuit performers were breaking the barriers of segregation, and their muscular form of rock and roll became a national phenomenon. Preston lauterbachs book the chitlin circuit and the road to rock n roll is a meticulously researched exploration of africanamerican night clubs and performance halls that began to form in the south during the 1930s. The importance of the literary chitlin circuit black. The chitlin circuit was more than just music it nurtured comedians and was championed in the plays of august wilson but preston lauterbachs focus is on how the chitlin circuit. Preston lauterbachs the chitlin circuit and the road to rock n roll absolutely knocked me out. Of course, the chitlin circuit offered a platform for people who became famous, too, and one of them, little willie john, is the subject of a fine recent biography. 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.
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