Arthur Crudup may well have been Elvis Presleys favorite bluesman. The swivel-hipped rock god recorded no less than three of Big Boys Victor classics during his seminal rockabilly heyday: Thats All Right Mama (Elvis Sun debut in 1954), So Glad Youre Mine, and My Baby Left Me. Often lost in all the hubbub surrounding Presleys classic covers are Crudups own contributions to the blues lexicon. He didnt sound much like anyone else, and that makes him an innovator, albeit a rather rudimentary guitarist (he didnt 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 Crudups hat. Melrose hired Crudup to play a party that 1941 night at Tampa Reds house attended by the cream of Melroses 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, Whos Been Foolin You, Keep Your Arms Around Me, So Glad Youre Mine, and Ethel Mae. He cut the original Thats All Right in 1946 backed by his usual rhythm section of bassist Ransom Knowling and drummer Judge Riley, but it wasnt 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 Robinsons Harlem-based Fire logo dominated by remakes of his Bluebird hits. Another lengthy hiatus preceded Delmark boss Bob Koesters 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 guitarists sound hadnt 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.
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