Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup helped invent rock ‘n’ roll. His 1946 song “That’s All Right,” an easygoing shrug to a lover, would become the first single Elvis Presley ever released.

Elvis, who was strongly influenced by and nurtured on Black music, was a part of the revolution that stood up against Jim ...

According to Ray Connolly in Being Elvis, Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup, a black Mississippian, had popularized “That’s All Right.” When Presley first entered the recording studio, he was ...

and two of the artists who feature in the book Before Elvis, Arthur ‘Big Boy’ Crudup (top) and Willie Mae ‘Big Mama’ Thornton. Photos: Getty When asked about the death of The King ...

In "Before Elvis," Lauterbach looks at figures like Parker, Thornton and Crudup, as well as lesser-known Presley influences like Beale Street guitarist Calvin Newborn and Memphis gospel artist Rev ...

I thought I could do that. Q: Elvis aficionados know that Presley's breakout song, "That's All Right," was written and performed by Arthur Crudup and that his hit "Hound Dog" was first done by Big ...