Language of the Blues - Edmonton Blues Society

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C H I T L IN C IR C UI T
During the 1950s and 1960s, the chitlin circuit was a string of small, primarily blackowned
nightclubs that featured hard-touring soul, R&B, and blues acts.
Milton Campbell, Jr. Campbell made his recording debut on the legendary Sun label in
1953, became one of the biggest-selling bluesmen of the 1960s at Chess and Stax
Records, and was still touring worldwide and recording for Malaco Records until his
death in 2005 at age 71.
ink it was because you could play basically any night
of the week and you could draw a crowd. You could put somebody on the door and
charge admission at the door- a little money like maybe twenty-five or fifty cent or what
have you- and you would make enough money to sustain yourself from one day to the
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During segregation, these clubs were the only places where black artists could perform.
The circuit started in the North and extended down through the Southern States. James
Brown, Jimi Hendrix, B.B. King, Solomon Burke, and Jackie Wilson are just a few of the
legends who built their fan bases on the chitlin circuit.
C H U MP
Someone who can be easily victimized- a loser, an easy dupe, or a mark- is a chump. Of
course, even the wiliest man can become a chump when a woman is involved. As Blind
Chump may be de
early as the 1650s and came to mean a friend or pal.
Songs:
- Lovie Austin, recorded by Ma Rainey
- Blind Blake (Arthur Blake)
C O C K, C O C K OPE N E R
White Chicago blues guitarist Michael Bloomfield got the shock of his young life when
he was in a van with blues legend Muddy Waters and members of the Muddy Waters
band, on the way to a gig- and Waters started talking about how much he loved to suck
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