Podcast appearances and mentions of preston lauterbach

Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed Preston Lauterbach, author of BEFORE ELVIS: The African American Musicians Who Made the King. In the interview Lauterbach highlighted the influence of African American musicians on Elvis Presley. He noted that Elvis's first hit, "That's All Right," was originally recorded by Arthur Crudup, and songs like "Hound Dog" and "Mystery Train" had African American origins. Lauterbach also explored the economic exploitation of Black artists and the cultural appropriation by white artists. He shared insights into the evolution of R&B and its impact on pop music in the 1970s, emphasizing the importance of recognizing Black music's roots and contributions to American culture. Preston Lauterbach is author of the American music classic The Chitlin' Circuit (2011) as well as Beale Street Dynasty (2015) and Bluff City (2019).  He has co-authored three memoirs with significant figures in Black music, including Brother Robert (2020) with the stepsister of bluesman Robert Johnson, Timekeeper (2021) with Memphis soul drummer Howard Grimes, and the Blind Boys of Alabama biography Spirit of the Century.  Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media: Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreview Instagram - @diverse_voices_book_review Email: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.com 

This week on BSC we feature a performance by Bill Abel from the Mighty Mississippi Music Fest during Bridging the Blues. He's an accomplished potter and visual-artist, but most folks know him as an omni-present force on the Delta festival and jook joint circuit. Also BSC contributor Preston Lauterbach continues his series the Chitlin' Circuit and The Road to Rock n Roll.

Preston Lauterbach is a former Memphian who has written extensively about African-American music and history and has helped musicians tell their own stories, as well. Preston has appeared on Book Talk several times to discuss his books, The Chitlin Circuit and the Road to Rock ‘n' Roll, Beale Street Dynasty, and Bluff City. Today, we'll be discussing his latest title, Before Elvis:The African American Musicians Who Made The King, which is published by Da Capo Press. 

Preston Lauterbach – Before Elvis: The African American Musicians who made the King...with TRE's Anna Glowinski

Grammy nominated blues artist, Cedric Burnside, is back with us this week. Cedric is the grandson of the late, great R.L. Burnside, and he plays the Hill Country blues like nobody else. This performance was captured at The Memphis Blues Society's Bonafide Blues Festival during Bridging the Blues. Also on the program, BSC contributor, Preston Lauterbach, discusses the Chitlin' Circuit and The Road to Rock n Roll.

    After Gurdip & Justin discuss the latest FTDs: The Making of King Creole, The Last Tour Volume 2 and The Girl Happy Sessions, the guys answer a handful of listener emails, landing on one from fellow patron Robin, whose visit back to an early TCBCast episode that touched upon the subject of Elvis's Black influences, which conveniently leads us right into our main topic. For the main discussion, John Michael Heath of EAP Society taps in as we're joined by Preston Lauterbach, author of acclaimed books such as "The Chitlin' Circuit," "Beale Street Dynasty," "Bluff City: The Secret Life of Photographer Ernest Withers" and several others about Black musicians in the early 20th century, whose latest book, "Before Elvis: The African-American Musicians Who Made The King" is being published by Hachette Books on January 7, 2025. Keen-eared Elvis fans may also recognize Preston's voice as an interviewee from 2018's "Elvis Presley: The Searcher."  Preston's new book examines the life stories of Arthur Crudup, Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton, Reverend W. Herbert Brewster, Junior Parker and Calvin and Phineas Newborn and numerous other major and minor figures that factor into their stories and complicated, nuanced relationships with Elvis both as a person and as a phenomenon as they impacted him, and he in turn impacted them. It's a book for Elvis fans and non-fans alike, even Elvis skeptics are sure to find it extremely revealing as Preston thoroughly dispels many rumors and accusations thrown at Elvis over the decades, with receipts, while centering his narrative around lifting and celebrating the voices and life stories of these figures far beyond a mere connection to Elvis. Yet it never shies away from hard truths, all informed by a history of Memphis, the political landscape of the Deep South in the 1950s, inner workings of the record and music publishing industries, and the ways both white and black audiences responded to changing perceptions of artists, genres and influences across the decades. It's likely to be the most in-depth discussion about the book to be done in its release media cycle, as Preston was extraordinarily generous with his time, answering all our questions, geeking out with us about Memphis music history, and having a thorough discussion that we hope will help this episode stand on its own, well into the future beyond the publication date. You can learn more about "Before Elvis" and where to buy it at: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/preston-lauterbach/before-elvis/9780306833083/?lens=hachette-books And you can follow Preston's blog on Substack at: https://thechitlincircuit.substack.com/  If you enjoy TCBCast, please consider supporting us with a donation at Patreon.com/TCBCast. Your support allows us to continue to provide thoughtful, provocative, challenging and well-researched perspectives on Elvis's career, his peers and influences, and his cultural impact and legacy.

This week we feature recording artist Southern Avenue in a performance at Loflin Yard as they celebrate the release of their self titled debut album. With their unique melting pot of blues, gospel, and soul influences, they epitomize what great Memphis music is all about. Also BSC contributor Preston Lauterbach continues his series the Chitlin' Circuit and The Road to Rock n Roll.

This week on BSC we go back in the archives with Grammy winner and blues legend Bobby Rush in a performance at the 2017 grand reopening of the legendary Club Paradise in Memphis, TN. We also continue our series with BSC contributor Preston Lauterbach discussing the Chitlin' Circuit and The Road to Rock n Roll.

Preston Lauterbach, music journalist and author of Beale Street Dynasty, is also the author of The Chitlin Circuit: And the Road to Rock 'n" Roll, where he explores the origins of rock-and-roll in Black culture, specifically Black/Delta blues culture. Cooki B and Tonya talk to him about his book, the artists and songs that served as a springboard for rock music and of course Robert Johnson. Often classified as second tier, the Chitlin Circuit birthed and nurtured some of our country's most renowned musicians and singers whether directly or indirectly! 

Elijah Wald and Preston Lauterbach interview Jim O'Neal, founding editor of Living Blues magazine and the research director of the Mississippi Blues Trail. Jim tells of crossing paths with Robert Johnson's memory during his long career as a journalist in Chicago and Mississippi. He shares audio of a 1980 interview with a musician named James Banister who volunteered some fascinating information touching on the subject of Robert Johnson's unrecorded repertoire while offering the strangest rumor ever recorded about the cause of Johnson's death. Jim also shares audio of the great piano player Memphis Slim who weighs in on Johnson's taste in women in a 1975 interview, not long after Slim's return to the U.S. from Paris.

Elijah Wald and Preston Lauterbach compare and contrast B.B. King and Robert Johnson and discuss the surprising link between the two very different artists in light of a new biography of King. They revisit the great Honeyboy Edwards and his enthralling memoir The World Don't Owe Me Nothing and debate the history of Robert Johnson's murder. Later, they interview Jerron "Blind Boy" Paxton, touching on a wide variety of subjects from L.A. juke joints to blackface minstrelsy, proving how painfully difficult the latter subject is to talk about.

Elijah Wald and Preston Lauterbach discuss the most irritating myth associated with Robert Johnson and conclude that the deal with the devil at the crossroads is not it. They do, however, shed light on the importance of the crossroads to Robert Johnson, and it's not what you think. The featured guest is Larry Cohn, producer of Robert Johnson: The Complete Recordings who tells a tale of big record company sloth and indifference to music of historical and artistic greatness that makes dealing with the devil seem preferable by comparison. For a deeper dive into the crossroads, check out the research of Harry Middleton Hyatt, who interviewed hoodoo conjurors in the South during Robert Johnson's life and found a surprising number of the artist's lyrical inspirations. So, stuff some hot food powder into that nation sack and let's go: https://thechitlincircuit.substack.com/p/hoodoo-at-the-crossroads.

Elijah Wald and Preston Lauterbach interview Peter Guralnick, author of Searching for Robert Johnson. Peter discusses the impact of Robert Johnson on artists Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters, whom he knew, as well as his relationship with the enigmatic blues researcher Mack McCormick. You can jump to the interview at around the 9:30 mark. Elijah and Preston discuss Robert Johnson's guitar, Charles Dickens's prose, and the strange career of White researchers of Black music.

In our debut episode, Elijah and Preston debate Robert Johnson's greatness and interview the last living person who knew Johnson well, revealing what became of a holy grail of American music: Robert Johnson's guitar. Mrs. Annye C. Anderson, author of the memoir Brother Robert, about growing up with Johnson in Memphis, makes a few revelations about Johnson's music and influences that aren't available in her book, as well as sharing charming anecdotes about the great artist as a normal human. Roll up a Bull Durham, pour a glass of non-poisonous spirits, and enjoy.

Preston Lauterbach is a music journalist, author and former visiting scholar at Rhodes College, known for his books Bluff City, Beale Street Dynasty, and The Chitlin Circuit, which was a Wall Street Journal and Boston Globe book of the year. He is the co-author of Brother Robert: Growing Up With Robert Johnson, which is co-written by Annye C. Anderson, step-sister to the legendary blues musician. That book is out now. Subscribe to Endeavours on Spotify, Google, Apple, or wherever podcasts are sold! IG: @EndeavoursRadio Web: www.endeavoursmedia.com --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/dan-mcpeake/message

This episode could be a ground breaker! The new book, "Brother Robert: Growing Up With Robert Johnson" is the family's story about the Blues legend, written by his half-sister, Annye C. Anderson and author Preston Lauterbach. It's a side of his story that we have never heard: his family, his travels, his real path to guitar god status, all revealed! The basis for this episode is an interview with Preston, who shares our reverence for the one and only Mr. J.!Thanks to our sponsors, Crooked Eye Brewery AND One CBD for their support of the podcast!!This show is part of Pantheon Podcasts

This episode could be a ground breaker! The new book, "Brother Robert: Growing Up With Robert Johnson" is the family's story about the Blues legend, written by his half-sister, Annye C. Anderson and author Preston Lauterbach. It's a side of his story that we have never heard: his family, his travels, his real path to guitar god status, all revealed! The basis for this episode is an interview with Preston, who shares our reverence for the one and only Mr. J.! Thanks to our sponsors, Crooked Eye Brewery AND One CBD for their support of the podcast!! This show is part of Pantheon Podcasts

The re-release of our double episode about Robert Johnson And The Progenitors Of The Blues, which originally debuted in November 2019, is sparked by our interview with Preston Lauterbach, which will post on 7/6/20. He and Robert Johnson's half-sister, Annye C. Anderson have written the family's story about Mr. J., "Brother Robert: Growing Up With Robert Johnson."Here's Part 2, our addendum, if you will! That leads up to the release of Brother Robert: Truth Behind A Blues Legend, on 7/6. That's a lot of Robert Johnson, but it's groundbreaking, legend shifting, devil-legend dispelling stuff!This show is part of Pantheon Podcasts

The re-release of our double episode about Robert Johnson And The Progenitors Of The Blues, which originally debuted in November 2019, is sparked by our interview with Preston Lauterbach, which will post on 7/6/20. He and Robert Johnson's half-sister, Annye C. Anderson have written the family's story about Mr. J., "Brother Robert: Growing Up With Robert Johnson." Here's Part 2, our addendum, if you will! That leads up to the release of Brother Robert: Truth Behind A Blues Legend, on 7/6. That's a lot of Robert Johnson, but it's groundbreaking, legend shifting, devil-legend dispelling stuff! This show is part of Pantheon Podcasts

The re-release of our double episode about Robert Johnson And The Progenitors Of The Blues, which originally debuted in November 2019, is sparked by our interview with Preston Lauterbach, which will post on 7/6/20. He and Robert Johnson's half-sister, Annye C. Anderson have written the family's story about Mr. J., "Brother Robert: Growing Up With Robert Johnson."Part One is re-released now, and look for Part 2, our addendum, if you will, on Thursday 7/2/20. That leads up to the release of Brother Robert: Truth Behind A Blues Legend on 7/6. That's a lot of Robert Johnson, but it's groundbreaking, legend shifting, devil-legend dispelling stuff!This show is part of Pantheon Podcasts

The re-release of our double episode about Robert Johnson And The Progenitors Of The Blues, which originally debuted in November 2019, is sparked by our interview with Preston Lauterbach, which will post on 7/6/20. He and Robert Johnson's half-sister, Annye C. Anderson have written the family's story about Mr. J., "Brother Robert: Growing Up With Robert Johnson." Part One is re-released now, and look for Part 2, our addendum, if you will, on Thursday 7/2/20. That leads up to the release of Brother Robert: Truth Behind A Blues Legend on 7/6. That's a lot of Robert Johnson, but it's groundbreaking, legend shifting, devil-legend dispelling stuff! This show is part of Pantheon Podcasts

On this episode of the Funky Politics, DC is joined by Preston Lauterbach, author of Beale Street Dynasty: Sex, Song and the Struggle for the Soul of Memphis, The Chittlin Circuit: And the Road to Rock and Roll and Bluff City: the Secret Life of Photographer Ernest Withers. They talk about race in America during these turbulent times. Make sure you tune into this Funky episode and the latest episodes of the Funky Politics on the Kudzukian App.  

On this episode of Funky Politics we hear from author Preston Lauterbach on his new book, Bluff City: The Secret Life of Photographer Ernest Withers. We discuss Ernest Withers' ties to Memphis and his historical photos. We also get into the uncomfortable truths of Withers' life as an FBI informant and his connection to the Civil Rights Movement. That and so much more is explored on Calling the Bluff, an episode you don't want to miss.  

Preston Lauterbach and Meredith Clark  document.write(''); Guests: Meredith Clark, Assistant Professor of Media Studies at the University of Virginia. Her scholarship focuses on the intersections of race, media, and power.… Read More

Preston Lauterbach  is an author of non-fiction who has concentrated on the African-American experience of the American South, and Memphis in particular. Hi First book was The Chitlin' Circuit and the Road to Rock 'n' Roll, about musical venues and musicians in the south and neighboring states serving a black clientele with good times and better music. His second book was Beale Street Dynasty, which looked at the early and prime days of the capital of black America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Today we're talking about his latest book, Bluff City: The Secret Life of Photographer Ernest Withers, the man responsible for many of the greatest photos of the civil rights era and how his legacy has come into question since it was revealed that he was an informant for the FBI.

  In this gripping narrative history, Preston Lauterbach examines the complicated political and economic forces that informed Withers’ seeming betrayal of the people he photographed. Withers traversed disparate worlds, from Black Power meetings to raucous Memphis nightclubs where Elvis brushed shoulders with B.B. King. He had a gift for capturing both dramatic historic moments and... The post The Secret Life of Ernest Withers | Preston Lauterbach appeared first on Archive Secrets.

Author of Beale Street Dynasty and Chitlin Circuit, Preston Lauterbach, hangs out with the Funky Politics Crew.  They reflect on his visit to Memphis and the "Funky Politics Live at Club Paradise", when Preston was the featured guest.  At the time of the visit, the City of Memphis' had yet to remove its Confederate Statues from its public parks and that public debate, that colored a lot the conversation during the event. Not only do they discuss the removal of the statues, but they reflect on Charlottesville, President "45", Race and a few other hot topics. 

My new podcast: Big Joe said he just sang the blues for years and eventually they called it rock and roll. Research material: The Chitlin’ Circuit and the Road to Rock ‘n Roll, by Preston Lauterbach (and a nod to … Continue reading →

This week on BSC we go back in the archives with Grammy winner and blues legend Bobby Rush in a performance at the 2017 grand reopening of the legendary Club Paradise in Memphis, TN. We also continue our series with BSC contributor Preston Lauterbach discussing the Chitlin’ Circuit and The Road to Rock n Roll. #ilistentomemphis

Paul Young and Joyce Cox visit visit with Preston Lauterbach, author of the award-winning books Beale Street Dynasty, The Chitlin Circuit and the widely-read article, Memphis Burning  [ https://placesjournal.org/article/memphis-burning/ ]  and Felicia Harris of the Memphis Heritage Trail Project. They cover a wide range of topics: Preston's work (Beale Street Dynasty and Memphis Burning) Confederate Statues South City and its development Enjoy!!!

This week we feature Stax Records recording artist Southern Avenue in a performance at Loflin Yard as they celebrate the release of their self titled debut album. With their unique melting pot of blues, gospel, and soul influences, they epitomize what great Memphis music is all about. Also BSC contributor Preston Lauterbach continues his series the Chitlin’ Circuit and The Road to Rock n Roll.

[ Click on the Image to Listen ] Funky Politics Radio | June 03, 2017 | 60 min Great Politics Great Music Great Fun…Did We Mention Great Politics!!!  Enjoy…

 [ Click on the Image to Listen ] Funky Politics Radio | June 3, 2017  Preston Lauterbach, Author, Beale Street Dynasty and The Chitlin' Circuit: And the Road to Rock and Roll hangs out with the Funky Politics Crew.  Great Politics Great Music Great Fun…Did We Mention Great Politics!!!  Enjoy…

This week on BSC we feature Scott Sharrard performing with Memphis' own Bo-Keys in Studio A at the Stax Museum of American Soul Music. Hi Records legend Don Bryant joins in for a couple of songs. Also BSC contributor Preston Lauterbach continues his series the Chitlin’ Circuit and The Road to Rock n Roll.

This week on BSC we feature a performance by Bill Abel from the Mighty Mississippi Music Fest during Bridging the Blues. He's an accomplished potter and visual-artist, but most folks know him as an omni-present force on the Delta festival and jook joint circuit. Also BSC contributor Preston Lauterbach continues his series the Chitlin’ Circuit and The Road to Rock n Roll.

This week’s episode showcases two bluesmen whose music can be heard at blues festivals around the world, in documentary films, or performing at juke joints right in the heart of the Mississippi Delta.  Both play harmonica and guitar, and both were recorded during Bridging The Blues performances last fall. Listen as Watermelon Slim takes the stage at the Bonafide Blues Festival and Terry “Harmonica” Bean plays the Mighty Mississippi Music Festival. BSC contributor Preston Lauterbach continues his series the Chitlin’ Circuit and The Road to Rock n Roll.

This week on BSC we feature a performance by Jericho Road Show from the Mighty Mississippi Music Fest during Bridging the Blues. The group is a collaboration between well-seasoned Americana Roots & Blues musicians Rambling Steve Gardner, Libby Rae Watson, Wes Lee and Bill Steber. All successful artists in their own right, together they create a powerhouse. BSC contributor Preston Lauterbach continues his series the Chitlin’ Circuit and The Road to Rock n Roll.

This week we catch up with the one and only James "Super Chikan" Johnson and his raw, electrified, Mississippi juke joint sound. This performance was captured at The Memphis Blues Society’s Bona Fide Blues Festival during Bridging the Blues. Also on the program, BSC contributor, Preston Lauterbach, discusses the Chitlin’ Circuit and The Road to Rock n Roll.

Grammy nominated blues artist, Cedric Burnside, is back with us this week. Cedric is the grandson of the late, great R.L. Burnside, and he plays the Hill Country blues like nobody else. If your butt doesn’t shake during this week’s show, there might be something wrong with you. This performance was captured at The Memphis Blues Society’s Bonafide Blues Festival during Bridging the Blues. Also on the program, BSC contributor, Preston Lauterbach, discusses the Chitlin’ Circuit and The Road to Rock n Roll.

When we think about the roots of rock n' roll, we generally tend to think about people like Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Buddy Holly. For reasons owing to politics, race, and the various prejudices of historians and music journalists, many of the earliest African-American blues, jazz, and r n' b pioneers, such as Louis […] The post Ep. 15: The Chitlin' Circuit and the Road to Rock n' Roll: Preston Lauterbach on Rock's Forgotten Pioneers appeared first on Zachary Stockill.

When we think about the roots of rock n’ roll, we generally tend to think about people like Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Buddy Holly. For reasons owing to politics, race, and the various prejudices of historians and music journalists, many of the earliest African-American blues, jazz, and r n’ b pioneers, such as Louis […] The post Ep. 15: The Chitlin’ Circuit and the Road to Rock n’ Roll: Preston Lauterbach on Rock’s Forgotten Pioneers appeared first on Travels in Music.

Writer and cultural historian Preston Lauterbach is the guest on this week's installment of The Chauncey DeVega Show. Preston is the author of the great new book Beale Street Dynasty which examines the intersecting lives, fascinating personalities, the power of the color line, and self-made men in the post-Civil War South. In all, Beale Street Dynasty is an amazing work that reveals a great deal about sex, song, and politics in Memphis, Tennessee, and America, more broadly. Preston does some great sharing and teaching in this week's episode. Chauncey and Preston talk about Elvis Presley and race, day-to-day life for black entertainers on the "Chitlin' Circuit", politics and life in the post war South, navigating freedom and slavery, and the life of the amazing black politician-gangster-entrepreneur-arts patron Mr. Robert Church. During this week's episode of the podcast, Chauncey talks about Donald Trump and professional wrestling, offers up his own conspiracy theory about the death of Antonin Scalia, and complains about impending decrepitude and his irritated skin.

Following the Civil War, Memphis emerged a center of black progress, optimism, and cultural ferment, after a period of turmoil. Preston Lauterbach joins host Jonathan Judaken for an in-depth discussion in advance of the launch of Lauterbach’s latest book, Beale Street Dynasty: Sex, Song, and the Struggle for the Soul of Memphis (Norton, 2015). Robert Church, Sr., who would become “the South’s first black millionaire,” was a slave owned by his white father. Having survived a deadly race riot in 1866, Church constructed an empire of vice in the booming river town of post-Civil War Memphis. He made a fortune with saloons, gambling, and–shockingly–white prostitution. But he also nurtured the militant journalism of Ida B. Wells and helped revolutionize American music through the work of composer W.C. Handy, the man called “the inventor of the blues.” In the face of Jim Crow, the Church fortune helped fashion the most powerful black political organization of the early twentieth century. Robert and his son, Robert, Jr., bought and sold property, founded a bank, and created a park and auditorium for their people finer than the places whites had forbidden them to attend. However, the Church family operated through a tense arrangement with the Democrat machine run by the notorious E. H. “Boss” Crump, who stole elections and controlled city hall. The battle between this black dynasty and the white political machine would define the future of Memphis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Following the Civil War, Memphis emerged a center of black progress, optimism, and cultural ferment, after a period of turmoil. Preston Lauterbach joins host Jonathan Judaken for an in-depth discussion in advance of the launch of Lauterbach's latest book, Beale Street Dynasty: Sex, Song, and the Struggle for the Soul of Memphis (Norton, 2015). Robert Church, Sr., who would become “the South's first black millionaire,” was a slave owned by his white father. Having survived a deadly race riot in 1866, Church constructed an empire of vice in the booming river town of post-Civil War Memphis. He made a fortune with saloons, gambling, and–shockingly–white prostitution. But he also nurtured the militant journalism of Ida B. Wells and helped revolutionize American music through the work of composer W.C. Handy, the man called “the inventor of the blues.” In the face of Jim Crow, the Church fortune helped fashion the most powerful black political organization of the early twentieth century. Robert and his son, Robert, Jr., bought and sold property, founded a bank, and created a park and auditorium for their people finer than the places whites had forbidden them to attend. However, the Church family operated through a tense arrangement with the Democrat machine run by the notorious E. H. “Boss” Crump, who stole elections and controlled city hall. The battle between this black dynasty and the white political machine would define the future of Memphis.

Following the Civil War, Memphis emerged a center of black progress, optimism, and cultural ferment, after a period of turmoil. Preston Lauterbach joins host Jonathan Judaken for an in-depth discussion in advance of the launch of Lauterbach’s latest book, Beale Street Dynasty: Sex, Song, and the Struggle for the Soul of Memphis (Norton, 2015). Robert Church, Sr., who would become “the South’s first black millionaire,” was a slave owned by his white father. Having survived a deadly race riot in 1866, Church constructed an empire of vice in the booming river town of post-Civil War Memphis. He made a fortune with saloons, gambling, and–shockingly–white prostitution. But he also nurtured the militant journalism of Ida B. Wells and helped revolutionize American music through the work of composer W.C. Handy, the man called “the inventor of the blues.” In the face of Jim Crow, the Church fortune helped fashion the most powerful black political organization of the early twentieth century. Robert and his son, Robert, Jr., bought and sold property, founded a bank, and created a park and auditorium for their people finer than the places whites had forbidden them to attend. However, the Church family operated through a tense arrangement with the Democrat machine run by the notorious E. H. “Boss” Crump, who stole elections and controlled city hall. The battle between this black dynasty and the white political machine would define the future of Memphis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Following the Civil War, Memphis emerged a center of black progress, optimism, and cultural ferment, after a period of turmoil. Preston Lauterbach joins host Jonathan Judaken for an in-depth discussion in advance of the launch of Lauterbach's latest book, Beale Street Dynasty: Sex, Song, and the Struggle for the Soul of Memphis (Norton, 2015). Robert Church, Sr., who would become “the South's first black millionaire,” was a slave owned by his white father. Having survived a deadly race riot in 1866, Church constructed an empire of vice in the booming river town of post-Civil War Memphis. He made a fortune with saloons, gambling, and–shockingly–white prostitution. But he also nurtured the militant journalism of Ida B. Wells and helped revolutionize American music through the work of composer W.C. Handy, the man called “the inventor of the blues.” In the face of Jim Crow, the Church fortune helped fashion the most powerful black political organization of the early twentieth century. Robert and his son, Robert, Jr., bought and sold property, founded a bank, and created a park and auditorium for their people finer than the places whites had forbidden them to attend. However, the Church family operated through a tense arrangement with the Democrat machine run by the notorious E. H. “Boss” Crump, who stole elections and controlled city hall. The battle between this black dynasty and the white political machine would define the future of Memphis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/african-american-studies

Following the Civil War, Memphis emerged a center of black progress, optimism, and cultural ferment, after a period of turmoil. Preston Lauterbach joins host Jonathan Judaken for an in-depth discussion in advance of the launch of Lauterbach’s latest book, Beale Street Dynasty: Sex, Song, and the Struggle for the Soul of Memphis (Norton, 2015). Robert Church, Sr., who would become “the South’s first black millionaire,” was a slave owned by his white father. Having survived a deadly race riot in 1866, Church constructed an empire of vice in the booming river town of post-Civil War Memphis. He made a fortune with saloons, gambling, and–shockingly–white prostitution. But he also nurtured the militant journalism of Ida B. Wells and helped revolutionize American music through the work of composer W.C. Handy, the man called “the inventor of the blues.” In the face of Jim Crow, the Church fortune helped fashion the most powerful black political organization of the early twentieth century. Robert and his son, Robert, Jr., bought and sold property, founded a bank, and created a park and auditorium for their people finer than the places whites had forbidden them to attend. However, the Church family operated through a tense arrangement with the Democrat machine run by the notorious E. H. “Boss” Crump, who stole elections and controlled city hall. The battle between this black dynasty and the white political machine would define the future of Memphis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Following the Civil War, Memphis emerged a center of black progress, optimism, and cultural ferment, after a period of turmoil. Preston Lauterbach joins host Jonathan Judaken for an in-depth discussion in advance of the launch of Lauterbach’s latest book, Beale Street Dynasty: Sex, Song, and the Struggle for the Soul of Memphis (Norton, 2015). Robert Church, Sr., who would become “the South’s first black millionaire,” was a slave owned by his white father. Having survived a deadly race riot in 1866, Church constructed an empire of vice in the booming river town of post-Civil War Memphis. He made a fortune with saloons, gambling, and–shockingly–white prostitution. But he also nurtured the militant journalism of Ida B. Wells and helped revolutionize American music through the work of composer W.C. Handy, the man called “the inventor of the blues.” In the face of Jim Crow, the Church fortune helped fashion the most powerful black political organization of the early twentieth century. Robert and his son, Robert, Jr., bought and sold property, founded a bank, and created a park and auditorium for their people finer than the places whites had forbidden them to attend. However, the Church family operated through a tense arrangement with the Democrat machine run by the notorious E. H. “Boss” Crump, who stole elections and controlled city hall. The battle between this black dynasty and the white political machine would define the future of Memphis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I talked to Preston Lauterbach about his book "Beale Street Dynasty". Between Reconstruction and Prohibition, Beale Street thrived as a cauldron of sex and song, greed and race hatred--a strip with unique soul that inspired folk legends, scandalized Faulkner, and reshaped American politics. Lauterbach gives readers a street-level view of these historic events, telling the simultaneous stories of popular music, civil rights, and a community's commitment to and pride in their conflict-ridden city. Brilliantly researched and swiftly plotted, Beale Street Dynasty evokes a lost world of swaggering musicians, glamorous madams, and ruthless politicians on the fabled Memphis strip. Preston Lauterbach is author of The Chitlin Circuit (W.W. Norton, 2011), a Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, and NPR book of the year, and Beale Street Dynasty (W.W. Norton), a story of sex, song, and the struggle for the soul of Memphis, out in April of 2015. More information about Preston Lauterbach and his book "Beale Street Dynasty" is available at http://prestonlauterbach.com/

Where does rock ‘n’ roll begin? In The Chitlin’ Circuit and the Road to Rock ‘n’ Roll (W. W. Norton, 2011), Preston Lauterbach makes a strong case for its beginnings in the backwoods and small-town juke joints, fed by big-city racketeering, of the black American South. It begins, possibly, on Indianapolis’s Indiana Avenue where Denver Fergusun ran numbers, paid-off cops, and operated the Sunset Terrace. It begins, maybe, in Houston where Don Robey was the proprietor of the Bronze Peacock, oversaw a network of bars and taverns throughout Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana, and was a founder of the seminal Peacock Records. Maybe it began in Memphis, home of W.C. Handy, Beale Street, and the Mitchell Hotel. Or maybe it was the multitude of juke joints that littered the American South from Texas to Florida, Georgia to Chicago, in the 1930s and 40s that afforded artists such as Walter Barnes, Louis Jordan, Little Richard, and Roy Brown a series of non-stop one-nighters to ply their raunchy jumped-up versions of swing and the blues to an insatiable audience of primarily African American men and women looking for good times. In the book Lauterbach details the Chitlin’ Circuit as it was, a network of promoters, clubs, radio stations, con-men, highways and, most importantly, musicians that supported an underground artistic economy and lifestyle just beneath the surface of the mainstream music industry; a network that gave birth to rock ‘n’ roll. The Chitlin’ Circuit is Preston’s first book. He is currently working on his second, a hustler’s history of Beale Street. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Preston Lauterbach speaks about his book, "The Chitlin Circuit and the Road to Rock n' Roll."

Where does rock ‘n’ roll begin? In The Chitlin’ Circuit and the Road to Rock ‘n’ Roll (W. W. Norton, 2011), Preston Lauterbach makes a strong case for its beginnings in the backwoods and small-town juke joints, fed by big-city racketeering, of the black American South. It begins, possibly, on Indianapolis’s Indiana Avenue where Denver Fergusun ran numbers, paid-off cops, and operated the Sunset Terrace. It begins, maybe, in Houston where Don Robey was the proprietor of the Bronze Peacock, oversaw a network of bars and taverns throughout Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana, and was a founder of the seminal Peacock Records. Maybe it began in Memphis, home of W.C. Handy, Beale Street, and the Mitchell Hotel. Or maybe it was the multitude of juke joints that littered the American South from Texas to Florida, Georgia to Chicago, in the 1930s and 40s that afforded artists such as Walter Barnes, Louis Jordan, Little Richard, and Roy Brown a series of non-stop one-nighters to ply their raunchy jumped-up versions of swing and the blues to an insatiable audience of primarily African American men and women looking for good times. In the book Lauterbach details the Chitlin’ Circuit as it was, a network of promoters, clubs, radio stations, con-men, highways and, most importantly, musicians that supported an underground artistic economy and lifestyle just beneath the surface of the mainstream music industry; a network that gave birth to rock ‘n’ roll. The Chitlin’ Circuit is Preston’s first book. He is currently working on his second, a hustler’s history of Beale Street. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Where does rock ‘n’ roll begin? In The Chitlin’ Circuit and the Road to Rock ‘n’ Roll (W. W. Norton, 2011), Preston Lauterbach makes a strong case for its beginnings in the backwoods and small-town juke joints, fed by big-city racketeering, of the black American South. It begins, possibly, on Indianapolis’s Indiana Avenue where Denver Fergusun ran numbers, paid-off cops, and operated the Sunset Terrace. It begins, maybe, in Houston where Don Robey was the proprietor of the Bronze Peacock, oversaw a network of bars and taverns throughout Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana, and was a founder of the seminal Peacock Records. Maybe it began in Memphis, home of W.C. Handy, Beale Street, and the Mitchell Hotel. Or maybe it was the multitude of juke joints that littered the American South from Texas to Florida, Georgia to Chicago, in the 1930s and 40s that afforded artists such as Walter Barnes, Louis Jordan, Little Richard, and Roy Brown a series of non-stop one-nighters to ply their raunchy jumped-up versions of swing and the blues to an insatiable audience of primarily African American men and women looking for good times. In the book Lauterbach details the Chitlin’ Circuit as it was, a network of promoters, clubs, radio stations, con-men, highways and, most importantly, musicians that supported an underground artistic economy and lifestyle just beneath the surface of the mainstream music industry; a network that gave birth to rock ‘n’ roll. The Chitlin’ Circuit is Preston’s first book. He is currently working on his second, a hustler’s history of Beale Street. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Where does rock ‘n' roll begin? In The Chitlin' Circuit and the Road to Rock ‘n' Roll (W. W. Norton, 2011), Preston Lauterbach makes a strong case for its beginnings in the backwoods and small-town juke joints, fed by big-city racketeering, of the black American South. It begins, possibly, on Indianapolis's Indiana Avenue where Denver Fergusun ran numbers, paid-off cops, and operated the Sunset Terrace. It begins, maybe, in Houston where Don Robey was the proprietor of the Bronze Peacock, oversaw a network of bars and taverns throughout Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana, and was a founder of the seminal Peacock Records. Maybe it began in Memphis, home of W.C. Handy, Beale Street, and the Mitchell Hotel. Or maybe it was the multitude of juke joints that littered the American South from Texas to Florida, Georgia to Chicago, in the 1930s and 40s that afforded artists such as Walter Barnes, Louis Jordan, Little Richard, and Roy Brown a series of non-stop one-nighters to ply their raunchy jumped-up versions of swing and the blues to an insatiable audience of primarily African American men and women looking for good times. In the book Lauterbach details the Chitlin' Circuit as it was, a network of promoters, clubs, radio stations, con-men, highways and, most importantly, musicians that supported an underground artistic economy and lifestyle just beneath the surface of the mainstream music industry; a network that gave birth to rock ‘n' roll. The Chitlin' Circuit is Preston's first book. He is currently working on his second, a hustler's history of Beale Street. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/african-american-studies