Book cover titled "Before" with a silhouette of Africa filled with black-and-white photos of African American musicians and performers, including a woman singing, a man with a guitar, and others, with text "The African American Musicians Who Made the King" and author Preston Lauterbach.

Before Elvis

The African American Musicians who made the King

"Elevated by punchy prose (Crudup threw 'his voice around like a fist in a brawl'), this is a fascinating celebration of a vital moment in music history." —Publishers Weekly

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Awards

Living Blues Best Blues Book of the Year 2025

An Amazon Best History Book

“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"

Press

The Commercial Appeal