What I never knew--until Freda, Bonnie and I went to the performance at the Little Carver this afternoon--is that many of the musical luminaries of the Fifties sang and played at the Eastwood Country Club in San Antonio. Some even got their start here on the Chitlin' Circuit, a music venue for black musicians. Etta James, Otis Redding, BB King and others sang in the little San Antonio nightclub, then went on to make records.
The Carver space was set up to replicate the actual Eastwood, and we sat at tables of four--listening to what sounded like a reincarnated and flamboyant Little Richard, then a red-frocked James Brown, and others.
The music was outstanding, every song. The rendition of "Your Precious Love" was my favorite--along with a beautiful opening rendition of a gospel song, "Precious Lord," by the only woman in the cast.
I'll be hoping for another show like this next year as part of the Martin Luther King week. This one was based on a book called The Chitlin' Circuit and the Road to Rock and Roll by Preston Lauterbach and recalls what must have been a fascinating time in San Antonio.
Afterwards, Pam and I met at Earl Abel's for dinner and she remembers going there in 1962 or 1963 and hearing James Brown sing!
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