The road to rock'n'roll
The Documentary Podcast
BBC
4.3 • 2.7K Ratings
🗓️ 24 July 2021
⏱️ 49 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In a segregated US, black audiences, entertainers and entrepreneurs established their own network of live performance venues known as the Chitlin’ Circuit. Concentrated primarily in the Deep South, it provided many pioneers of modern music with the platform to hone their craft and perfect their style as they travelled the country. Virtually every notable African-American performer from the '30s to the '60s graced the circuit. From famous urban institutions like The Apollo Theater in New York or The Howard Theatre in Washington D.C, to a run-down barn on a country back-road. It was in these settings, amidst a backdrop of segregation, that the sounds of rhythm and blues and rock’n’roll emerged and evolved, long before they captivated the world. Bobby Rush shines a light on a hugely influential network of venues that paved the way for rock’n’roll and shaped music history.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Let's hear it from Mr. Bobby Ray. |
| 0:05.0 | Hi, |
| 0:07.0 | Hi, ladies and gentlemen, my name is Bobby Rush, the Blues Main that is from the US. |
| 0:14.0 | Daddy told me on the dining bed. |
| 0:20.0 | Give up your heart but don't lose your head. |
| 0:22.0 | Today I'm gonna Give up your heart, but don't lose your head. |
| 0:23.0 | Today, I'm going to tell you about the Chitlin Circuit. |
| 0:27.0 | African American owned nightclubs, dance halls, social halls. |
| 0:32.0 | The neighborhood |
| 0:33.4 | jukejunt, the bond, the run-down building, that's all we had. |
| 0:38.9 | Segregation was key to the Chitland Circuit's existence. |
| 0:43.0 | That was what was happening in the black community. |
| 0:46.0 | That's ours. |
| 0:47.0 | We started that, created it. |
| 0:49.0 | Pretty much any African American entertainer |
| 0:52.0 | from a long era of this country's history. |
| 0:55.0 | Had to start out on the Chittling Circuit. |
| 0:58.0 | Jane Brown, Joe Tutter, because we're Ray Charles, |
| 1:00.0 | Jack Baysi King. |
| 1:03.0 | From Tina Tana to Little Richard, |
| 1:05.0 | from Billy Holiday to Sammy Davis Jr. |
| 1:08.0 | From Muddy Waters to the Jackson's |
... |
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