chitlin' circuit (Dec. 1966)

[Ben Zimmer]

On NPR's Code Switch blog, Tanya Ballard Brown has a piece on the
origins of the term "chitlin' circuit," citing Jon Lighter and me,
among others:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/codeswitch/2014/02/16/275313723/the-origin-and-hot-stank-of-the-chitlin-circuit

There's a modest antedating in there -- a Dec. 3, 1966 Billboard
article that edges out the Jan. 8, 1967 L.A. Times article noted by
Bill Mullins on the list back in '05. As with the other early
examples, Lou Rawls is the credited source of the term:

http://books.google.com/books?id=eQ8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA6
"As a result of the disk hits, [Lou] Rawls has become an artist in
demand. He's booked solid through next August and is first starting to
play cities off the 'chitlin' circuit,' his affectionate name for the
small blues clubs."

--bgz

--
Ben Zimmer
http://benzimmer.com/

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