Book Review: Preston Lauterbach “Before Elvis (The African American Musicians Who Made the King)”

Hachette Books, 2025

Before Elvis book cover artIn this new book, ‘Before Elvis‘, subtitled ‘The African American musicians who made the King‘ author Preston Lauterbach brings together the stories of five African-Americans who, the author suggests, were major influences in Presley’s early career both musically and stylistically.

Much of the book details the lives and mixed fortunes of three artists before and after Elvis recorded versions of their hits. Arthur ‘Big Boy’ Crudup, wrote and originally had a hit with Presley’s breakthrough track ‘That’s Alright (Mama)‘; Willie Mae ‘Big Mama’ Thornton made her name with one of the biggest R&B numbers of 1953, Lieber and Stoller’s ‘Hound Dog‘ and Herman ‘Little Junior’ Parker wrote and recorded ‘Mystery Train‘  at Sun Studios.

Clearly these songs are iconic in Presley’s early career but it is not clear from the book how the artists themselves would have influenced young Elvis. Presley never saw Crudup play live, the arrangement of ‘Hound Dog‘ was inspired not by Thornton but by a Vegas lounge act and Parker was too busy to think about Elvis. This perhaps dilutes the claim that these artists “made The King” as suggested by the book’s title. That said, for each artist Lauterbach’s presents a biography that is well researched and detailed in which we learn, among many other things, that despite being successful in their own right, thanks to the exploitative record industry of the time they never received full financial recognition of their work. Crudup never saw any royalties for his song (his family eventually won a settlement after Crudup’s death); Thornton received only $500 for her recording of  ‘Hound Dog‘ and the copyright to Parker’s ‘Mystery Train‘ was signed over to Sam Phillips.

Where the book really comes to life and begins to justify its sub-title is when the author turns the spotlight on people Elvis actually met in his early years – The Rev W Herbert Brewster and the Newborn family. Elvis would often describe gospel music as his ‘first love’ and as a teenager he would frequent Rev W Herbert Brewster’s ‘East Trigg Missionary Church’ just a few blocks from his home in Memphis. Rev. Brewster was a charismatic preacher, Civil Rights leader and accomplished gospel songwriter who opened up the church to white worshippers under the watchful eyes of state politician and segregationist W.H ‘Boss’ Crump. It is in this church, Lauterbach tells us, that Presley began to understand the sheer power of live music. It was also at East Trigg that Presley met Mama Rose Newborn and subsequently her son Calvin. Presley became a friend of the Newborns, visiting their home, sharing meals and, significantly, absorbing Calvin’s stage presence and style. Calvin Newborn was the “star of the best show band in Memphis” and in the West Memphis’ clubs audiences including Presley could watch Calvin deliver the moves and hip-shakes that would soon become Elvis’ trademark.

Through the chapters on Rev. Brewster and the Newborn family, the author weaves together the American civil rights movement, the burgeoning ‘race’ radio stations such as WLAC and WDIA, the stores of Beale Street and the seething clubs of West-Memphis to paint a vibrant picture of Memphis during Presley’s formative years. And it was in this Memphis that, on July 1954, Elvis Presley poured Brewster’s fire and Newborn’s style into Crudup’s lyrics – the rest, as they say, is history. A history that Lauterbach has done a creditable job in documenting.

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