Song:That's All Right
Album:The Secret History Of Rock & Roll: When The Sun Goes Down, Vol. 7: Rock Me Mamma
Bluesman Arthur"Big Boy" Crudup's claim to fame is that a truck driver named Elvis Presley went into the Sun Recording Studio in Memphis and recorded a cover of Crudup's 1946 song That's All Right as his first recording in 1954. It was called That's All Right Mama but the song title is actually That's All Right. Crudup recorded for RCA's Bluebird label in the 40s. He was born Aug. 24, 1905 in Forest, MS and was a migrant worker and performed on the side. He moved to Chicago in 1940 and supposedly Bluebird Records producer Lester Melrose found him living in a crate under The L. So he gave him some money and hired him to perform at a party at Tampa Red's house. This resulted in a record contract. Crudup had several hits in the 40s including Rock Me Mama, Who's Been Fooling You and Keep Your Arms Around Me. He recorded That's All Right in 1946 but it wasn't a hit. The song would only become popular later when Elvis covered it. He remained at Bluebird until 1954 despite constant battles over songwriting royalties. Crudup didn't think much of being labeled The Father of Rock & Roll and he used to call Elvis Presley "Elvin Preston". Of course that's because he felt he was cheated out of those royalties. Crudup would record occasionally but mostly worked as a labourer in Virginia while unsuccessfully suing to obtain the rights to his songs. He died on Mar. 28, 1974 at age 68. You can get his Bluebird recordings on this comp. Crudup was not a great guitarist but he was a very good singer. Here's a video that contains Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup's recording of That's All Right and Elvis Presley's recording of That's All Right Mama.
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