This book review of “Chitlin ‘Circuit and the Road to Rock’ N ‘Roll” is for fans of music and history. It is recommended reading for anyone who appreciates the intersections of music and history.

The book helps any music fan to share with others how popular music today evolved. It can also help self-declared fans of any of the following forms of music: rock, jazz, blues, soul, and r & ba gain a greater appreciation for current and past artists of those musical genres.

I don’t know more about the author of the book, Preston Lauterbach, than what is on the inside cover of the book or on his website at prestonlauterbach.com. But what I do know is that Mr. Lauterbach has a great ability to present how Rock ‘N’ Roll evolved.

Mr. Lauterbach’s writings educated me on how historical economic changes, political changes, and sociocultural changes in the United States contributed to the evolution of music. This included an incredible presentation of how non-musical forces drove the development of the ‘chitlin’ circuit, and then, in turn, how the chitlin ‘circuit facilitated the development of an American musical art form alongside an entirely new economic sector. itself: the combination of live music production, the recording industry, and radio and television broadcasting of music.

One of the surprises for me: Before reading the book, I thought that the chitlin ‘circuit was a reference to a network of clubs or music venues located in the concentrated region of the southeastern states of the US. what I learned was that the chitlin ‘circuit was a complex network located in a larger and sometimes changing group (depending on changing economic circumstances) of clubs, bars, cafes / restaurants, music venues, and sometimes, makeshift places (barns). This network was located in the southeastern states of the US, as well as Houston, Los Angeles, Kansas City, Indianapolis, Chicago, Detroit, and cities on the east coast.

I also learned that the chitlin circuit was really informal and formal. Mr. Lauterbach’s book shows the reader how smart club owners and recruiting agents / talent agencies connected with each other to develop a successful music performance market that later resulted in a profitable market for recorded music.

I also found an intriguing presentation of “The Chitlin ‘Circuit and the Road to Rock’ N ‘Roll” of how tour booking agents developed and controlled the circuit in the early days, leading to the development of successful clubs and other venues. for live music. Mr. Lauterbach tells us how the touring business and related live musical performances produced successful artists. Successful artists then produced new creative music that later brought about changes in the way live music was presented to audiences across the circuit. And those changes, in turn, spawned innovations for the recording industry, which ultimately supplanted the touring industry as the main economic driving force behind music in the US.

I also believe that Mr. Lauterbach was providing the reader with a bittersweet story based on historical facts. The bittersweet story involves the evolution of America segregated in the past to a country that is now officially disaggregated. The book explains how racial integration changed the urban economy of the United States, which in turn ultimately led to the demise of “The Stroll,” which was found in every American city. “The Stroll” was another name for the “cities within cities” of African Americans and / or the concentrated economic centers of African Americans within each American community prior to the achievement of desegregation.

The word “bittersweet” is used here because this book presents sad stories caused by the cruel and unjust racism suffered by African Americans in the US, the links of those sad stories to the development of beautiful music, and the classic stories of the poverty to wealth. of successful black music artists. The book gives us the rest of the story about how changes in public policy at the federal and local government levels (such as the federal government’s urban renewal programs and interstate highways) caused the landscape of the chitlin ‘loop to fade. .

But at the end of the day: the book titled “The Chitlin ‘Circuit and the Road to Rock’ N ‘Roll” shows us that the great music produced by the Chitlin’ Circuit remains and is there for all music listeners to enjoy. .