"70 years ago ..." - "That's All Right" - Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup / Elvis Presley

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Last edited Fri Jul 5, 2024, 07:46 PM - Edit history (1)

https://www.npr.org/2024/07/05/nx-s1-5026616/70-years-ago-elvis-recorded-what-would-become-his-first-hit-single

(2 min. audio and transcript at link)

Spoiler - Mr. Crudup got squat in royalties.

70 years ago Elvis recorded what would become his first hit single

JULY 5, 2024 3:31 AM ET
HEARD ON MORNING EDITION
By Hosts

Elvis Presley recorded his first single on July 5, 1954: "That's All Right." We offer an appreciation of not only Elvis's performance but also the man who wrote that song, Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup.

[...]

FADEL: But the song's author never achieved the same fame or wealth as Elvis. Crudup got minimal royalties because he didn't hold the rights to his work. His manager did. That was standard practice at the time, particularly for Black performers.

INSKEEP: DownBeat magazine estimates Crudup should have earned the equivalent of millions of dollars in royalties. Instead, for most of his adult life, he drove buses and worked on farms to earn a paycheck until he died in Virginia in 1974. His estate did later receive some royalties, although only a portion.

FADEL: Today he's honored on the Mississippi Blues Trail and in the Blues Hall of Fame. And while Elvis went on to be called the King of Rock 'n' Roll, Crudup is known by many as one of its fathers.

[...]

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Arthur Crudup - That's All Right (Official Audio)

Arthur Crudup
2022 May 19

"That's All Right” by Arthur Crudup
Listen to Arthur Crudup: https://ArthurCrudup.lnk.to/listenYD

[...]

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Youtube / Elvis Presley