Arthur Crudup
 |
Arthur Crudup | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Big Boy |
| Born | August 24, 1905 |
| Died | March 28, 1974 (aged 68) |
| Genres | Blues |
| Years active | 1939–1974 |
Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup (August 24, 1905 – March 28, 1974) was a delta blues singer and guitarist. He wrote songs that Elvis Presley later sang.
Life and career[change | change source]
Early life[change | change source]
Crudup was born in Forest, Mississippi, and worked as a migrant worker until he and his family went back to Mississippi in 1926.
Early career[change | change source]
Crudup sang gospel music and blues music. He played in a band called the Harmonizing Four in 1939. A record producer called Lester Melrose got him work with the Bluebird label.
Later career[change | change source]
Crudup stopped recording in the 1950s. His last Chicago recording was in 1951. He also recorded in 1952–54 for a radio station called WGST in Atlanta.[1] In the 1960s he started recording again with Fire Records and Delmark Records.
Later life[change | change source]
In the mid 60s, Crudup went back to working as a farmer in Virginia, where he lived with his family: his three sons and several of his own siblings.
Death[change | change source]
He died because of heart disease and diabetes. He died in the Nassawadox hospital in Northampton County, Virginia, also on the Eastern Shore in 1974.
References[change | change source]
- ↑ Groom, Bob, Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup, Complete Recorded Works Vol.3 (11 March 1949 to 15 January 1952) DOCD-5203, Document Records, 1993.
Other websites[change | change source]
- Biography of Arthur Crudup Archived 2005-07-16 at the Wayback Machine
- Biography of Arthur Crudup