View source for Chitlin' Circuit

{{Short description|Venues central to Black American culture in the 1930s–'70s}}
{{use mdy dates|date=February 2024}}
The '''Chitlin' Circuit''' was a collection of performance venues found throughout the eastern, southern, and upper Midwest areas of the United States. They provided commercial and cultural acceptance for [[African-American]] musicians, comedians, and other entertainers following the era of venues run by the "white-owned-and-operated [[Theatre Owners Booking Association]] (TOBA)...formed in 1921."<ref name="AO" /> The Chitlin Circuit sustained black musicians and dancers during the era of [[racial segregation in the United States]] from the 1930s through the 1960s.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Englehardt|first1=Sheree|title=Musicians trying to save Legendary Blues Joint|url=http://www.baynews9.com/content/news/baynews9/news/article.html/content/news/articles/bn9/2015/8/27/musicians_trying_to_.html#.VeBFhlpYBO0.facebook|access-date= August 29, 2015|publisher=Bay New 9|date=August 27, 2015}}</ref><ref name="AO">{{cite web |last1=Miller |first1=Adrian |title=Inside the 'Chitlin Circuit,' a Jim Crow-Era Safe Space for Black Performers |url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/chitlin-circuit |website=Gastro Obscura |publisher=Atlas Obscura |access-date=6 July 2022 |date=28 June 2022}}</ref><ref name="BBC">{{Cite web |title=The story behind Beyoncé's Chitlin' Circuit tour name |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2egl1k2nwdo |last1=Pandey |first1=Manish |last2=Hafeji |first2=Kulsum |website=BBC |date=February 11, 2025 |access-date=February 23, 2025}}</ref>

== Etymology ==
The name derives from the [[soul food]] dish [[chitterlings]] (boiled pig intestines).<ref name="AO"/><ref name="BBC" /> It is also a play on the term "[[Borscht Belt]]", which referred to particular resort venues (primarily in New York State's [[Catskill Mountains]]) very popular with Jewish performers and audiences during the 1940s through the 1960s.<ref>Frederick Douglass Opie, ''Hog and Hominy: Soul Food from Africa to America'' (Columbia University Press 2008), Chapter 7.</ref>

Chitterlings are part of the culinary history of African Americans, who were often limited to the intestines of the pig to eat as opposed to the bacon or ham. [[Henry Louis Gates Jr.]] suggests the food symbolized acquiring a taste out of necessity and eventually coming to like it.<ref>{{cite magazine |author1=Henry Louis Gates Jr. |author-link=Henry Louis Gates Jr. |title=The Chitlin Circuit |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |date= February 3, 1997 |page=49}}</ref>

The term "Chitlin' Circuit" did not appear in print until a 1972 article on [[Ike & Tina Turner]] in ''[[The Chicago Defender]]''.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|date=July 24, 2011|title=Chitlin'|url=https://www.pressreader.com/usa/the-commercial-appeal/20110724/282376921241816|journal=The Commercial Appeal|via=PressReader}}</ref> In the 21st century, the term is applied to the venues, especially in the South, where contemporary African-American [[blues]] singers such as [[Bobby Rush (musician)|Bobby Rush]], [[Denise LaSalle]], and [[O.B. Buchana]] continue to appear regularly.

== Contemporary use ==
''[[Ebony (magazine)|Ebony]]'' magazine prefers the term "urban theater circuit" for recent work like that of playwright and actor [[Tyler Perry]]. In a January 2004 interview with Perry, the genre's leading practitioner, ''Ebony'' wrote his work marked "a new chapter in the urban theater circuit as a whole—a genre that has been dogged by criticism from some Blacks in the traditional theater. Perry, as the most visibly recognized player in the circuit, has felt the brunt of this criticism." "They say that Tyler Perry has set the Black race back some 500 years with these types of "Chitlin' Circuit" shows. The problem with the naysayers is that they don't take the opportunity to see my shows,' Perry argued. "With my shows, I try to build a bridge that marries what's deemed 'legitimate theater' and so-called 'chitlin' circuit theater,' and I think I've done pretty well with that, in bringing people in to enjoy a more elevated level of theater.{{'"}}<ref>{{cite journal|last=Hughes|first=Zondra|date=January 2004|title=How Tyler Perry rose from homelessness to a $5 million mansion|url=http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1077/is_3_59/ai_111850312|journal=[[Ebony (magazine)|Ebony]]}}</ref>

In 2025, [[Beyoncé]] named her concert tour the [[Cowboy Carter and the Rodeo Chitlin' Circuit Tour]], which supports her 2024 album ''[[Cowboy Carter]]''.<ref name="BBC" />

==Origins==
Leading figures in establishing the Chitlin' Circuit were the Black [[Indianapolis]] entrepreneurs Sea and [[Denver D. Ferguson]].<ref name="AO"/>  After the collapse of the [[Theatre Owners Booking Association]] (TOBA) in 1930, the Ferguson brothers drew on bandleader and influential columnist [[Walter Barnes (musician)|Walter Barnes]] and his contacts to bring top Black entertainers to Indianapolis in the 1930s.<ref name=lauterbach1>{{cite book |last=Lauterbach |first=Preston |date=2011 |title=The Chitlin' Circuit and the Road to Rock'n'Roll |location=New York |publisher=W. W. Norton |pages=31–42 |isbn=978-0-393-34294-9}}</ref>  When their businesses' licenses were revoked in 1940, they opened Ferguson Brothers, a booking agency, which grew rapidly and became the most powerful Black-owned [[talent agency]] in the country.<ref name=born>{{Cite web|url=https://prestonlauterbach.com/tag/denver-d-ferguson/|title=Denver D. Ferguson|website=Prestonlauterbach.com}}</ref>  They helped various orchestras, bands, and [[vaudeville]] shows book gigs, including [[Jay McShann]], [[King Kolax]], [[Tiny Bradshaw]], [[Roosevelt Sykes]], [[Claude Trenier]], the [[Bama State Collegians]], Carolina Cotton Pickers, [[Snookum Russell]], [[Milton Larkin]], [[Clarence Love]], [[Gene Pope]], and the [[International Sweethearts of Rhythm]], and organised tours around the South playing to Black audiences.<ref name=morthland>Morthland, John, [https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/the-chitlin-circuit-celebrating-a-secret-history-of-american-music "The Chitlin’ Circuit: Celebrating a Secret History of American Music", ''WonderingSound.com'', 1 November 2011]. Retrieved 25 November 2019</ref> Musician [[Sax Kari]] described Denver Ferguson as "the man who ''invented'' the chitlin’ circuit".<ref name=circuit>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/chitlincircuitro00laut|url-access=registration|quote=Denver D Ferguson.|title=The Chitlin' Circuit: And the Road to Rock 'n' Roll: And the Road to Rock 'n' Roll|first=Preston|last=Lauterbach|date=July 18, 2011|publisher=W. W. Norton & Company|via=Internet Archive|isbn=9780393082258}}</ref>

== Reach ==
The Chitlin' Circuit was primarily by, for and about black people.<ref name="AO" /><ref name="BBC" /> There are discrepancies among different sources about when the Circuit peaked, whether it was the 1930s, after World War II, or during the heyday of [[the blues]].<ref>Stober, Karl H. "The Chitlin Circuit Revisited". ''Cadence Magazine, the Independent Journal of Creative Improvised Music'', October 2014: 61–4. ProQuest. September 20, 2018.</ref> Several definitive books reviewed on [[Fresh Air|NPR's Fresh Air]] have recognized "the names and careers of men and women – and, yes, some of the toughest of these people were women – who ran bars, booking agencies and clubs, where traveling musicians could come into a black community, play, make money and go to the next town."<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Ward |first=Ed |date=2011-12-20 |title=Review: The Story Of The Chitlin' Circuit's Great Performers |url=https://www.npr.org/2011/12/20/140596530/before-rock-n-roll-the-chitlin-circuit-performed |access-date=2024-01-31 |work=NPR's Fresh Air}}</ref>

The exclusionary systems of racial segregation necessitated the creation of a touring circuit for numerous African American, then Negro or Colored, musicians to make a living in U.S. cities from Indianapolis, Indiana and Clarksdale, Mississippi to "unlikely places like North Dakota and Minnesota"<ref name="AO" /> and more:  <blockquote>[V]enues ranged from rudimentary juke joints in rural areas to nightclubs, restaurants, and higher-end theaters in larger cities. For decades, the circuit was strongly associated with blues, jazz, rock, and soul musicians and singers such as Billie Holiday, B.B. King, Denise LaSalle, and James Brown. Entertainers felt they had “made it” if they performed at one of the highly coveted venues: Atlanta’s Royal Peacock, Baltimore’s Royal Theater, Chicago’s Regal Theater, Detroit’s Paradise Theatre, Harlem’s Apollo Theater, Philadelphia’s Uptown Theater and Washington, D.C.’s Howard and Lincoln Theaters.</blockquote>The Chitlin' Circuit "eventually brought about the birth of rock 'n' roll" in the 1950s as the Civil Rights Movement emerged.<ref name=":1" />

==Notable venues==
{{More citations needed section|date=April 2024}}
Noted theaters, [[nightclub]]s, and dance halls on the Chitlin' Circuit included:
* [[Annapolis, Maryland]]: [[Carr's Beach]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-03-26 |title=Remembering Carr's Beach |url=https://www.visitannapolis.org/blog/stories/post/remembering-carrs-beach-the-most-popular-african-american-beach-and-music-venue-on-the-chesapeake/ |access-date=2023-11-17 |website=www.visitannapolis.org |language=en-us}}</ref>
* [[Atlanta, Georgia]]: [[The Royal Peacock]], originally The Top Hat<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.atlantamagazine.com/list/things-didnt-know-atlantas-past/little-richard-james-brown-cut-teeth-royal-peacock/|title=Little Richard and James Brown cut their teeth at the Royal Peacock|website=Atlanatamagazine.com|access-date=April 2, 2021}}</ref>
* [[Austin, Texas]]: The [[Victory Grill]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Victory Grill |url=https://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/Details/5507015520 |website=Texas Historic Sites Atlas |publisher=Texas Historical Commission |access-date=6 December 2021}}</ref>
* [[Baltimore, Maryland]]: The [[Royal Theatre (Baltimore)|Royal Theatre]] 
* [[Bay St. Louis, Mississippi]]: [[The 100 Men Hall]]
* [[Beaumont, Texas]]: The Raven Club
* [[Birmingham, Alabama]]: The [[Carver Theatre (Birmingham, Alabama)|Carver Theatre]]  
* [[Bowling Green, Kentucky]]: The Quanset 
* [[Chicago, Illinois]]: Robert's Show Lounge, [[Club DeLisa]], and the [[Regal Theater, South Side (Chicago)|Regal Theatre]] 
* [[Detroit, Michigan]]: Paradise Theater,<ref name="AO" /> The [[Fox Theatre (Detroit)|Fox Theatre]], Henry's Palace<ref>{{Cite web |title=Henry's Palace Archive |url=https://read.cv/jadawebster/Byh8iA3ozMsG2Zm4oWo2 |access-date=2023-07-17 |website=read.cv}}</ref>
* [[Dothan, Alabama]]: Club Capri
* [[Eatonville, Florida]]: Club Eaton
* [[Gaithersburg, Maryland]]: The Du-Drop Inn, Emory Grove 
* [[Harlem, New York]]: [[Cotton Club]], [[Smalls Paradise]], and the [[Apollo Theater]] 
* [[Hobson City, Alabama]]: The Men's Club, Holloway's Night Club
* [[Hopkinsville, Kentucky]]: The Skylark and The Chesterfield<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tina Turner Visited Hopkinsville As Part of Famous Chitlin' Circuit |url=https://www.wkdzradio.com/2023/05/25/tina-turner-visited-hopkinsville-as-part-of-famous-chitlin-circuit/news-edge/ |access-date=2023-05-28 |website=WKDZ Radio |language=en-US}}</ref>
* [[Idlewild, Michigan]]: The Paradise Club
* [[Indianapolis, Indiana]]: The [[Madam C. J. Walker]] Theatre 
* [[Jacksonville, Florida]]: The [[Ritz Theatre (Jacksonville)|Ritz Theatre]] 
* [[Lebanon, Kentucky]]: Club Cherry
* [[Lexington, Kentucky]]: The [[Lyric Theatre and Cultural Arts Center (Lexington, Kentucky)|Lyric Theatre]] 
* [[Little Rock, Arkansas]]: [[Taborian Hall|Dreamland Ballroom]]<ref>{{cite book |last=Love |first=Berna J |date=2012 |title=Temple of Dreams: Taborian Hall and its Dreamland Ballroom |publisher=Arkansas Flag & Banner, Incorporated |isbn=9780989049207}}</ref>
*[[Memphis, Tennessee]]: [[Hippodrome (Memphis)|The Hippodrome]], [[Club Handy]], [[Club Paradise (nightclub)|Club Paradise]]
*[[Norfolk, Virginia]]: Attucks Theatre "The Apollo of the South"
* [[Pensacola, Florida]]: Abe's 506 Club
* [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]]: [[Uptown Theater (Philadelphia)|Uptown Theatre]] 
* [[Phoenix, Arizona]]: [[Calderon Ballroom]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-09-01 |title=Jazz & Blues |url=https://www.phoenixmag.com/2013/09/01/jazz-blues/ |access-date=2023-10-10 |website=PHOENIX magazine |language=en-US}}</ref> 
* [[Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania]]: New Granada
* [[Prichard, Alabama]]: The Harlem Duke Social Club 
* [[Richmond, Virginia]]: The [[Hippodrome Theater (Richmond, Virginia)|Hippodrome Theatre]] 
* [[Rochester, New York]]: [[The Pythodd Room]] on Clarissa Street 
* [[San Antonio, Texas]]: Eastwood Country Club,<ref>Karla Peterson, [http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/xde01 "Eastwood Country Club"], ''Handbook of Texas Online'', accessed March 2, 2018.</ref> Keyhole Club ([[1619 West Poplar]])<ref>{{Cite web|last=Corcoran|first=Michael|date=2018-04-14|title=Poplar Street venue has a rich musical past|url=https://www.expressnews.com/sa300/article/Poplar-Street-venue-has-a-rich-musical-past-12875975.php|access-date=2021-11-18|website=San Antonio Express-News|language=en-US}}</ref>
* [[Smithville, Texas]]: West End Park<ref>{{cite web |title=West End Park |url=https://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/Details/5507016674 |website=Texas Historic Sites Atlas |publisher=Texas Historical Commission |access-date=6 December 2021}}</ref>
* [[St. Petersburg, Florida]]: The Manhattan Casino 
* [[Taylor, Texas]]: Chicken Shack, Hidalgo Park & One Acre Club
* [[Tampa, Florida]]: The Blue Note
* [[Tallahassee, Florida]]: The [[Frenchtown_(Tallahassee)|Red Bird Café]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://floridamusictours.com/things-to-do/frenchtown-tallahassee/|title=Frenchtown Tallahassee - Florida Music Tour|website=Floridamusictours.com|access-date=April 2, 2021}}</ref>
* [[Tulsa, Oklahoma]]: The Big 10 Ballroom
* [[Waco, Texas]]: Walker's Auditorium
* [[Washington, D.C.]]: [[Howard Theatre]] 
* [[Williamsburg, Virginia]]: Log Cabin Beach <ref>{{cite web |title=Colonial Williamsburg |url=https://www.colonialwilliamsburg.org/learn/deep-dives/albert-durant-lens/|website=Colonial Williamsburg Albert Durant Photography at Log Cabin Beach |publisher=Colonial Williamsburg |access-date=13 August 2024}}</ref>
Seasonal venues included the still-standing auditorium at John Brown's Farm (also known as "the [[Kennedy Farm]]") outside Sharpsburg, Maryland;<ref>Maliskas, Ed. John Brown to James Brown - The Little Farm Where Liberty Budded, Blossomed, and Boogied, Hagerstown, MD: Hamilton Run Press, 2016</ref> Carr's and Sparrow's Beach in [[Anne Arundel County, Maryland]]; and Rosedale Beach in [[Millsboro, Delaware]].

According to [[Ruth Brown]], an artist needed to play at four specific theaters to prove they had made it: the Regal in Chicago, the Howard in Washington, D.C., the Uptown in Philadelphia, and the Apollo in New York City. This was called the "litchman chain".<ref>
{{cite web
 | title= Why We Should Build the R&B Music Hall of Fame Museum
 | date= 2013-12-10
 | publisher= YouTube
 | url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voHveKbg6ZU
  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/voHveKbg6ZU |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live| access-date= October 26, 2015
}}{{cbignore}}
</ref><ref name="AO"/>

The song "[[Tuxedo Junction]]" was written about a stop along the Chitlin' Circuit in [[Birmingham, Alabama|Birmingham]]. Once the performance was over, the band would leave for the next stop on the circuit. After composing the music, [[Erskine Hawkins]] explained the reason for the title to [[Buddy Feyne]], who created lyrics to express the concept.<ref>
{{cite web
 | title= Buddy Feyne&nbsp;— Tuxedo Junction page
 | url= http://www.buddyfeyne.com/
 | access-date= August 29, 2008
}}
</ref>

== Notable performers ==
{{More sources needed section|date=April 2024}}
Notable performers  who worked on the Chitlin' Circuit included:
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
* [[Albert King]]
* [[Aretha Franklin]]<ref name="BBC" />
* [[B. B. King]]
* [[Billie Holiday]]
* [[Bobby "Blue" Bland]]
* [[Bobby Rush (musician)|Bobby Rush]]<ref name="AO"/>
* [[Cab Calloway]]
* [[Candi Staton]]
* [[Count Basie]]  
* [[Diana Ross]] and [[The Supremes]]<ref name="BBC" />
* [[Dionne Warwick]]
* [[Dorothy Dandridge]]
* [[Duke Ellington]]
* [[Ella Fitzgerald]]
* [[Etta James]]
* [[Fats Domino]]
* [[Flip Wilson]]
* [[Freddy King]]
* [[Gladys Knight & the Pips]]
* [[Howlin' Wolf]]
* [[Ike & Tina Turner]]<ref name="BBC" />
* [[Jackie Wilson]]
* [[James Brown]] & [[The Famous Flames]]<ref name="BBC" />
* [[Jay McShann]]
* [[Jimi Hendrix]]<ref name="BBC" />
* [[Joe Tex]] 
* [[John Lee Hooker]]
* [[Johnnie Taylor]]
* [[Lena Horne]]
* [[Little Richard]]
* [[Little Milton]]<ref name="AO"/>
* [[Louis Jordan]]
* [[Lucky Millinder]]
* [[Marvin Gaye]] & [[Tammi Terrell]]
* [[Moms Mabley]]
* [[Muddy Waters]]
* [[Nona Hendryx]]
* [[Otis Redding]]
* [[Patti LaBelle]] (and [[Labelle]])
* [[Peg Leg Bates]] 
* [[Ray Charles]]
* [[Redd Foxx]]
* [[Richard Pryor]]
* [[Roosevelt Sykes]]
* [[Roy Hamilton]]
* [[Rudy Ray Moore]]
* [[Sam Cooke]]
* [[Sammy Davis Jr.]]
* [[Soul Children]]
* [[Teddy Wilson]]
* [[The Dramatics]]
* [[The Four Tops]] 
* [[The Isley Brothers]] 
* [[The Jackson 5]] 
* [[The Miracles]]
* [[The Temptations]]
* [[Tiny Bradshaw]]<ref name=morthland />
* [[Tyrone Davis]]
* [[Willie Hightower]]
* [[Wilson Pickett]]
{{div-col-end}}

==Mississippi Blues Trail marker==
A historic marker designated by the Mississippi Blues Commission on the [[Mississippi Blues Trail]] was placed in front of the 100 Men Hall in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. The 100 Men Hall is one of the rare still standing, still active blues venues on the trail. The second historic marker designated by the Mississippi Blues Commission on the Mississippi Blues Trail was placed in front of the Southern Whispers Restaurant on Nelson Street in [[Greenville, Mississippi]], a stop on the Chitlin' Circuit in the early days of the blues. The marker commemorates the importance of this site in the history of the [[blues]] in Mississippi.<ref name=bluesmatters>{{cite web|url=http://www.bluesmatters.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2493 |title=Blues Matters! - Delta sites to be included on new blues trail |publisher=bluesmatters.com |access-date=May 28, 2008 }}{{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
</ref><ref>
{{cite web
|url=http://www.msbluestrail.org/blues_trail/
|title=Mississippi Blues Commission - Blues Trail
|publisher=msbluestrail.org
|access-date=May 28, 2008
}}</ref> In the 1940s and 1950s, this historic strip drew crowds to the flourishing club scene to hear [[Delta blues]], [[big band]], [[jump blues]], and [[jazz]].

==See also==
*[[Imperial Hotel (Thomasville, Georgia)]]
*''[[The Negro Motorist Green Book]]''
*[[Sawdust trail]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Lauterbach, Preston. ''The Chitlin' Circuit: And the Road to Rock 'N' Roll''. New York: W. W. Norton, 2011. {{ISBN|978-0-393-07652-3}}
*[http://memphismagazine.com/features/arts/chitlin-circuit/  Preston Lauterbach, "Chitlin' Circuit"], ''Memphis Magazine'', July 1, 2006
*John M. Brewer Jr, [[google:john+brewer+jazz+book&rlz=1C1CHBD enUS894US894&oq=john+brewer+jazz+book&aqs=chrome..69i57j33.11342j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8|''Pittsburgh Jazz'']], part of the ''Images of America: Pennsylvania'' series

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060714205214/http://www.soul-patrol.com/funk/jh_chitlin.htm Jimi Hendrix and the Chitlin' Circuit]
* [https://www.flickr.com/photos/82873840@N00/sets/72157626168024439/ Flickr Photo Set: Historic Chitlin' Circuit Clubs]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chitlin' Circuit}}
[[Category:African-American cultural history]]
[[Category:African-American musicians]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American musicians]]
[[Category:21st-century African-American women singers]]
[[Category:Historically African-American theaters and music venues]]
[[Category:Mississippi Blues Trail]]
[[Category:Vaudeville theaters]]