Arthur Crudup, also known as “Big Boy” was famously responsible for creating the hit song “That’s All Right”, a song that would become the first single that Elvis Presley would release. Crudup, labeled “the father of rock ‘n’ roll”, rarely saw any royalties during his career. 

Around the time this song came out, a new genre of music was starting up called rhythm and blues or R&B. R&B wasn’t as sad as the blues, had a hint of country, and added a little bit of Rock ‘n’ Roll. This new genre of music would go on to become extremely popular. We have many famous R&B singers such as Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles and arguably the most famous artist, Michael Jackson. 

Dianni, a business major who is in her junior year, said that she doesn’t find it surprising that a person of color didn’t receive the credit for their work and that it went to someone else. 

Nearly 50 years after his death, Crudup’s granddaughter, Prechelle Crudup, is sharing his story and telling the background behind the hit song that started it all. She tells that he was barely paid during his music career, having to leave the music industry behind in his early 50’s to support his family in his later life. 

Crudup mostly taught himself how to play the guitar, but was also given a few lessons by a music teacher named George Lee. In the 1940s, Crudup was also famous as a recording artist. While Crudup didn’t receive nearly enough credit in his lifetime as a musician, guitar player and singer, his legacy and music style has had a large impact on the music industry. Crudup helped to give birth to one of the most popular genres of music through his unique style of music writing and guitar playing. 

Crudup saw the results of pursuing his dreams and not receiving credit when he eventually fulfilled his dreams. Unfortunately, Crudup’s story is not a unique one. Hopefully as we move forward, we’ll have less and less cases of people’s work being stolen and credit not being given.