Preston Lauterbach writes American history from the bottom up — recovering the musicians, hustlers, and power brokers who built modern popular culture and were written out of it.
New to the work? Start with The Chitlin' Circuit.
Coming March 2027
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. 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"
The Hidden History of American Music
Eight books tracing the hidden architecture of American popular music — from the rise of the main Street of Black America to a Robert Johnson family memoir, the segregation-era venues that produced rock and roll, and the musical crime family at the dawn of hip-hop. Meticulously researched and written, as Greil Marcus put it, with the flair of a dancer. These books share an overarching theme: the hustlers, musicians, and power brokers who made American popular culture, turning street money and grassroots culture into gold. And these books share a method: deep archival research told with the rhythm of the music.
The African American musicians who created rock and roll never got the credit — or the money. Before Elvis names them: Big Mama Thornton, Arthur Crudup, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and dozens more who built the foundation Elvis Presley walked onto.
“Meticulous, revelatory, and deeply necessary American music history.” — The Washington Post
“A rich, complicated, and deeply necessary history.”
— Los Angeles Review of Books
Before rock and roll had a name, it had a circuit. The Chitlin' Circuit traces the segregated network of Black-owned clubs, theaters, and juke joints where musicians like Louis Jordan and Wynonie Harris built the sound that would become American popular music — and the entrepreneurs, hustlers, and promoters who made it run.
Wall Street Journal Best Nonfiction Book of 2011
The Boston Globe Book of the Year (2011)
NPR Best Book of the Year (2011)
Booklist Editor’s Choice
The vivid history of Beale Street―a lost world of swaggering musicians, glamorous madams, and ruthless politicians―and the battle for the soul of Memphis.
“Beale Street Dynasty” adds a fascinating chapter to civil rights history— this gracefully written book never loses sight of the fun.”
James Gavin, The New York Times
Ray & Pat Browne Award for Best Single Work from the Popular Culture Association / American Culture Association
""Lauterbach's writing is as energetic as a Little Richard song— a rocking read."
— Publishers Weekly
The little-known story of an iconic photographer, whose work captured―and influenced―a critical moment in American history.
[A] vibrant study of Withers… [and] a love letter to Withers’s hometown.
New York Times Book Review, Editors’ Choice
"Lauterbach writes with a rhythm and pace that matches the very music and lives he covers."
— The Washington Post
Howard Grimes played drums behind Al Green, Ann Peebles, and Syl Johnson — and watched Memphis soul get made from the inside. This is his story, told in the vernacular of the city itself: unvarnished, rhythmic, and indispensable.
“The book is written the way Grimes talks, rhythmically, like the true storyteller he is, in the vernacular of Memphis itself. At times, it’s gruff, and at times smooth, but there is no missing the point….Howard Grimes and Preston Lauterbach penned a book that will resonate with historians, musicologists, and soul lovers of all types. Timekeeper: My Life in Rhythm deserves a spot in your collection.
J. D. Nash, American Blues Scene
"Meticulously researched, compellingly written accounts of hidden American subcultures."
— The Boston Globe
The story of America’s first musical crime family. In 1970s and 80s Harlem, a drug empire funded a cultural renaissance. Harlem Underworld traces the crime boss whose money built the venues where rap took its first steps and kept R&B artists recording when no one else would back them.
Coming March, 2027
An intimate memoir by blues legend Robert Johnson's stepsister, including new details about his family, music, influences, tragic death, and musical afterlife
“[Brother Robert} book does much to pull the blues master out of the fog of myth.”—Rolling Stone
A Rolling Stone-Kirkus Best Music Book of 2020
The Blind Boys of Alabama have been singing together since 1939 — through segregation, the civil rights movement, and six decades of American history. This is their account of what it cost, and what it meant, to endure.
“This is a story you WANT to know. If you know anything about The Blind Boys of Alabama—spirit, heart, and determination go into this fabulous blend of voices and music. And you will understand the struggle, not just theirs but all of ours.”
Whoopi Goldberg
Finalist for the Association of Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC) Awards for Excellence, Best History