BLUES-CHITLIN-CIRCUIT

Huge names played the circuit in cities including New York City, Chicago, Washington D.C. and Philadelphia.

Sam Cooke, James Brown, Sammy Davis, Jr, Aretha Franklin, The Jackson 5, Jimi Hendrix, Otis Redding, Little Richard and Tina Turner all played on the music trail.

During this intolerant chapter, deeply segregated American cities gave birth to a touring circuit that provided employment for hundreds of black musicians.

The Chitlin Circuit, which took its name from a soul food dish made out of pig intestines, stretched across the eastern, southern and upper Midwest areas of the USA.

‘It’s definitely a vernacular term,’ says Preston Lauterbach, author of The Chitlin’ Circuit and the Road to Rock ‘n’ Roll.

‘In the African-American press they were typically called the one-nighter circuit or the theatrical circuit, it was dressed up a little bit. Chitlin’ was informal.’

‘It denotes a certain ‘second-classness’ because of the food that it is associated with,’ he says.

‘Little Richard, James Brown — these are strong ingenious personalities that don’t really want to be lumped in with a term associated with ‘second-class.’

‘But still, there was something redeeming in the term.’

In 1896 the US Supreme Court ruled in Plessy v Ferguson that all US citizens could be ‘separate but equal’ — which in reality, ignored “equal,” and legalized “separate.”

This decision allowed bars, restaurants and hotels to discriminate against people on the basis of color.

However, in 1954, in Brown v Board of Education, the Supreme Court under Justice Earl Warren ruled unanimously that ‘separate but equal’ was unconstitutional. 

The case ruled that ‘separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.’ This landmark case proved instrumental to lifting bans on performers appearing in venues depending on their race. [“THE PROBLEM WE ALL LIVE WITH”]

Proud Mary
Ike & Tina Turner
Rolling On The (Mississippi) River
1971 — Live in London
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