The Chitlin’ Circuit brought many famous singers and musicians to the club scene in Hopkinsville in the 1930s through the 1960s. Among those were Ike and Tina Turner.
Tina Turner passed away Wednesday at the age of 83, leaving fans worldwide reminiscing about her music and her career.
The Chitlin’ Circuit was a series of venues throughout the South and Midwest that featured Black musicians and singers.
In Hopkinsville, the two main stops for the Chitlin’ Circuit were the Skylark and the Chesterfield. The Skylark was located just outside the city limits of Hopkinsville and owned by Edward Babbage. The Chesterfield, owned by Sam Adams Jr., had several locations through the years.
Hopkinsville was a popular stop for the tour because it was the first large city for those traveling north on U.S. 41 from Nashville. Among the Chitlin’ Circuit featured performers in Hopkinsville were Count Bassie, Chubby Checker, James Brown, Little Richard, and Cab Calloway.
Legendary guitarist Jimi Hendrix was stationed at Fort Campbell and moved to Clarksville and later Nashville when he left the service in 1962. He reportedly made several trips through Hopkinsville as part of the Chitlin’ Circuit.
And of course, there was Ike and Tina.
In a KET special on Hopkinsville and the Chitlin’ Circuit that aired in 2013, Bertrel Adams Jr. said Tina befriended several young women on her stops in Hopkinsville.
Alissa Keller, the executive director of the Museums of Historic Hopkinsville and Christian County, was told the story of one of Tina’s stops in Hoptown.
click to download audioSamuel Adams III, whose father Samuel Jr. owned the Chesterfield, remembered Ike and Tina playing the convention center in the late 1960s as part of the Chitlin’ Circuit.
click to download audioIke and Tina also played a concert in Auburn in 1970 and played at Murray State University in 1973.
Once separated from Ike, Tina reinvented herself into an eight-time Grammy Award winner, actress, and status symbol for women.
She died in Switzerland after a long illness.
