Before Elvis

Amazon, “Best History Books of January (2025)”
“Preston Lauterbach has long since made a place for himself as the most valuable chronicler of African-American music as a fulcrum and a center of American culture. But here, with astonishingly detailed and serpentine storytelling, with no road of intellectual inquiry ever closed, he has outdone himself. And with humor, the cool eye of a hanging judge, and the flair of a dancer, he has lifted his ongoing argument to the realm of Mark Twain, Damon Runyon, Chester Himes, and Percival Everett.”–Greil Marcus, author of “Mystery Train,” “Lipstick Traces,” and “Folk Music”

Preston Lauterbach is author of the American music classic The Chitlin’ Circuit, as well as two secret histories of Black culture, Beale Street Dynasty and Bluff City. Preston has also co-authored three memoirs with significant figures in Black music, including Brother Robert (with the stepsister of bluesman Robert Johnson), Timekeeper (with Memphis soul drummer Howard Grimes), and the forthcoming Spirit of the Century (with the Blind Boys of Alabama). His works have earned book of the year recognition from the Wall Street Journal, NPR, and Rolling Stone. He lives near Charlottesville, Virginia.

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