Uploaded November 2017 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
Born in Mississippi in 1905, Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup taught himself how to play the guitar starting out with two strings, adding a third, fourth, and so on. Over the years, he made way to Chicago in 1940 and was reportedly living in a packing crate near an "L" train station playing songs for tips. However, things did improve, and he landed a recording contract that led him to write and record “That’s All Right” in 1946. Though some of the lyrics are traditional blues verses, the song sounded ahead of its time and stands as a convincing ground zero for music that will later be labeled as "rock and roll" in 1951. In 1954, a young Elvis Presley covered this song, and others by Crudup, that sold millions of copies. But like many other performers who had little education, and little familiarity with the music business or copyright law, Crudup fell victim to exploitation. He was never fairly paid for the music he composed and recorded so he left the music industry for other work. Later, a second career in music bloomed for him when the interest in R&B among the white audience surfaced in the mid-1960's. Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup is sometimes referred to as "The Father of Rock and Roll" due to his influence on "The King of Rock and Roll", Elvis Presley.
Born in Mississippi in 1905, Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup taught himself how to play the guitar starting out with two strings, adding a third, fourth, and so on. Over the years, he made way to Chicago in 1940 and was reportedly living in a packing crate near an "L" train station playing songs for tips. However, things did improve, and he landed a recording contract that led him to write and record “That’s All Right” in 1946. Though some of the lyrics are traditional blues verses, the song sounded ahead of its time and stands as a convincing ground zero for music that will later be labeled as "rock and roll" in 1951. In 1954, a young Elvis Presley covered this song, and others by Crudup, that sold millions of copies. But like many other performers who had little education, and little familiarity with the music business or copyright law, Crudup fell victim to exploitation. He was never fairly paid for the music he composed and recorded so he left the music industry for other work. Later, a second career in music bloomed for him when the interest in R&B among the white audience surfaced in the mid-1960's. Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup is sometimes referred to as "The Father of Rock and Roll" due to his influence on "The King of Rock and Roll", Elvis Presley.
