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

by Lauterbach, Preston

• ISBN13: 9780393076523
• ISBN10: 0393076520
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-07-18
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

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.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	p. ix
Introduction Nondescript Places	p. 1
A Hundred Dollars Crooked	p. 15
The Midget Maestro	p. 31
The Stroll	p. 43
Sunset	p. 59
Hock and Stomp Opus	p. 73
The Loser Goes to the Hospital, the Winner Goes to Jail	p. 93
The Bronze Peacock	p. 113
The Gate Swings	p. 131
'Tween the Tip In Inn and the Church of God	p. 147
Roy Brown's Good Rockin' Revival	p. 157
Female Trouble	p. 169
All Part of the Game	p. 179
A Little Like Going to Heaven	p. 197
Crossover	p. 203
Shootin' and Cuttin' and Shit	p. 215
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
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