Arthur Crudup may well have been
Elvis Presley's favorite bluesman. The swivel-hipped
rock god recorded no less than three of "Big Boy's" Victor classics during his seminal
rockabilly heyday: "That's All Right Mama" (
Elvis' Sun debut in 1954), "So Glad You're Mine," and "My Baby Left Me." Often lost in all the hubbub surrounding
Presley's classic covers are
Crudup's own contributions to the
blues lexicon. He didn't sound much like anyone else, and that makes him an innovator, albeit a rather rudimentary guitarist (he didn't even pick up the instrument until he was 30 years old).
Around 1940,
Crudup migrated to Chicago from Mississippi.
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Arthur Crudup may well have been
Elvis Presley's favorite bluesman. The swivel-hipped
rock god recorded no less than three of "Big Boy's" Victor classics during his seminal
rockabilly heyday: "That's All Right Mama" (
Elvis' Sun debut in 1954), "So Glad You're Mine," and "My Baby Left Me." Often lost in all the hubbub surrounding
Presley's classic covers are
Crudup's own contributions to the
blues lexicon.
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He didn't sound much like anyone else, and that makes him an innovator, albeit a rather rudimentary guitarist (he didn't even pick up the instrument until he was 30 years old).
Around 1940,
Crudup migrated to Chicago from Mississippi. Times were tough at first; he was playing for spare change on the streets and living in a packing crate underneath an elevated train track when powerful RCA/Bluebird producer Lester Melrose dropped a few coins in
Crudup's hat. Melrose hired
Crudup to play a party that 1941 night at
Tampa Red's house attended by the cream of Melrose's stable:
Big Bill Broonzy,
Lonnie Johnson, Lil Green. A decidedly tough crowd to impress -- but
Crudup overcame his nervousness with flying colors. By September of 1941, he was himself an RCA artist.
Crudup pierced the uppermost reaches of the
R&B lists during the mid-'40s with "Rock Me Mama," "Who's Been Foolin' You," "Keep Your Arms Around Me," "So Glad You're Mine," and "Ethel Mae." He cut the original "That's All Right" in 1946 backed by his usual rhythm section of bassist Ransom Knowling and drummer Judge Riley, but it wasn't a national hit at the time.
Crudup remained a loyal and prolific employee of Victor until 1954, when a lack of tangible rewards for his efforts soured
Crudup on Nipper (he had already cut singles in 1952 for Trumpet disguised as Elmer James and for Checker as
Percy Lee Crudup).
In 1961,
Crudup surfaced after a long layoff with an album for Bobby Robinson's Harlem-based Fire logo dominated by remakes of his Bluebird hits. Another lengthy hiatus preceded Delmark boss Bob Koester's following the tip of
Big Joe Williams to track down the elusive legend (
Crudup had drifted into contract farm labor work in the interim). Happily, the guitarist's sound hadn't been dimmed by Father Time: his late-'60s work for Delmark rang true as he was reunited with Knowling (
Willie Dixon also handled bass duties on some of his sides). Finally,
Crudup began to make some decent money, playing various
blues and
folk festivals for appreciative crowds for a few years prior to his 1974 death. ~ Bill Dahl, All Music Guide
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