The Chitlin' Circuit: And the Road to Rock 'n' Roll

...crucial to our understanding of late-20th-century pop music and all the more impressive for its exhaustive research. Preston Lauterbach s book spirited, studious, surprising, occasionally hilarious is absolutely persuasive on its subject. --Stephen M. Deusner"[T]he genius prequel to an oft-told epic. "A well-researched valentine to a lost world of seedy con men, promoters and club owners, the power brokers and hustlers who made the circuitry spark. --Eddie Dean"Lauterbach spins the tale with enormous vitality and it s terribly fun to read. He masterfully explains the complex logistics of the entertainment industry, and studs the book with fascinating, little-known characters. . . . The reader will finish with an overwhelming urge to turn up the volume. --Kate Tuttle"Opens new doors in pop-music scholarship as well as American (and African-American) cultural history. --Michaelangelo Matos"This sprawling, fascinating history drops readers into a chaotic, dangerous, utterly vanished world. --John Repp"[T]he genius prequel to an oft-told epic.Highly recommended....relishes the criminal origins of the mostly southern black club scene from the early '30s to the late '60s....a coherent, musically savvy history of a performance culture that until now was known only piecemeal.--Robert ChristgauLauterbach has written the definitive history of the musical back roads and back rooms of the southern United States.... a great read, well written and insightful. Highly recommended to anyone interested in the seedy history of American popular music.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).... a rocking read and a deserving tribute to the people and places who were the foundations of rock and roll.Mr. Lauterbach uncovers a story as sensational as any day-glo circuit-show poster...The era's hepcat lingo ("ork" for orchestra, "ofay" for "white") and hard-boiled, noir ambience give Mr. Lauterbach a tune he can carry....the book is at heart a well-researched valentine to a lost world of seedy con men, promoters and club owners, the power brokers and hustlers who made the "circuitry spark.--Eddie DeanA great read, well-written, and insightful. Highly recommended to anyone interested in the seedy history of American popular music.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. A major achievement and an important contribution to American music history.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. 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.