Preston Lauterbach – Author

Preston Lauterbach
Author

Preston Lauterbach is author of the American music classic The Chitlin’ Circuit (2011) and the history of the main street of Black America, Beale Street Dynasty (2015). His latest, Before Elvis: The African American Musicians Who Made the King published in January of 2025. Preston has co-authored three memoirs with significant figures in Black music, including Brother Robert (2020) with the stepsister of bluesman Robert Johnson, Timekeeper (2021) with Memphis soul drummer Howard Grimes, and the Blind Boys of Alabama biography Spirit of the Century (2024). His works have earned book of the year recognition from the Wall Street Journal, NPR, and Rolling Stone.

photo by Elise Lauterbach

You can follow Preston’s work by subscribing to The Chitlin’ Circuit Substack