Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup (August 24, 1905 – March 28, 1974) was an American Delta blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known outside blues circles for writing songs such as "That's All Right" (1946), "My Baby Left Me" and "So Glad You're Mine", later covered by Elvis Presley and dozens of other artists.
Arthur Crudup was born in Forest, Mississippi. For a time he lived and worked throughout the South and Midwest as a migrant worker. He and his family returned to Mississippi in 1926. He sang gospel, then began his career as a blues singer around Clarksdale, Mississippi. As a member of the Harmonizing Four, he visited Chicago in 1939. Crudup stayed in Chicago to work as a solo musician, but barely made a living as a street singer. Record producer Lester Melrose allegedly found him while he was living in a packing crate, introduced him to Tampa Red and signed him to a recording contract with RCA Victor's Bluebird label. (Read more at Wikipedia.)
Links to Peel[]
In the 1960s, Arthur Crudup returned to performing after giving up his music career. He had been living in poverty, having failed to obtain the songwriting royalties he claimed he was owed on Elvis Presley's hit versions of his songs. He visited Britain in 1970 and Peel, as a fan of both blues originals and Elvis Presley, booked him to do a Top Gear session. It went out on 14 February 1970, was repeated on 06 June 1970, and one song from the session was played on the Top Gear Fifth Anniversary show in September 1972.
In 1999, Peel included Crudup's original version of "That's All Right" among his selections for the Peelenium 1946. Recalling the session of 1970, he noted that the singer had referred to “Elvis Preston” (not Presley) in conversation with Peel and John Walters.
Festive Fifty Entries[]
- None.
Peelenium[]
- Peelenium 1946: That's All Right
Sessions[]
Arthur 'Big Boy' Crudup - Peel Session 1970
One session. No known commercial release.
1. Recorded 1970-02-09. First Broadcast 14 February 1970. Repeated 06 June 1970, 26 September 1972. (Also repeated on Gideon Coe's BBC 6Music programme on 6th October 2020.)
- Sunny Road / That's All Right / Rock Me Mama / All I've Got Is Gone / Nobody Wants You When You're Old And Grey
Other Shows Played[]
- 08 September 1999: That's All Right Peelenium 1946 (Peel reminds us that Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup once did a session for “this programme”. Says the singer had always referred to “Elvis Preston” (not Presley) when talking to Peel and John Walters.)
Covered[]
(The list below was compiled only from the Cover Versions page of this site. Please add more information if known.)
Artist | Track | First Known Play
- Jo-Ann Kelly: Rock Me (session) 04 September 1968
- Eilert Pilarm: That's All Right 09 December 1998
- Elvis Presley: My Baby Left Me 02 June 1981
- Elvis Presley: That's All Right 06 June 1970
External Links[]