When the fusion between traditional country and blues which would come to be called Rockabilly erupted in the early to mid-Fifties, most proponents - including Elvis and Carl Perkins - could name Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup as being among their primary influences.
Born on August 24, 1905 in Forest, Mississippi, he was among a small number of blues musicians to get a recording contract with a major label, in his case the RCA Victor subsidiary Bluebird, and in 1945 he put out a double-sided hit, Rock Me Mamma b/w Who's Been Foolin' You. The A-side peaked at # 3 on what then passed as the R&B charts - Most-Played Juke Box Race Records - while the flipside topped out at # 5 on Bluebird 34-0725.
Before the year was out he had Keep Your Arms Around Me climbing the charts to # 3 in January 1946 on Bluebird 34-0738 b/w Cool Disposition. Later that year he scored again, this time on the parent RCA Victor label with another twin hit, seeing So Glad You're Mine reach # 3 and Ethel Mae one notch lower at # 4 in October and November respectively on Rca Victor 20-1949. The A-side would later be recorded by Elvis in 1956 (two years after he recorded another Crudup single, That's All Right (Mama), which itself had failed to chart for Big Boy on RCA Victor 20-2205 in 1946 as simply That's All Right. His last nationally-charting single was I'm Gonna Dig Myself A Hole which peaked at # 9 in November 1951 on Rca Victor 50-0141 b/w Too Much Competition.
All of the foregoing original renditions, along with his other recorded material over the years, are in this magnificent four-volume series from Document Records (Allegro Corporation?), wonderfully re-mastered and with extensive liner notes written by Bob Groom. The first five national hits (and the one non-charting B-side) are in Volume 1, while his last hit and its flipside are in Volume 4.
Obviously an important influence on some of the greatest R&R stars to emerge in the Fifties, Arthur Crudup, who was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1994, but has yet to be so honored in the Early Influence category by the R&R Hall Of Fame, passed away at age 69 on March 28, 1974 following a stroke. This series would be a welcome addition to any serious R&B musical library.
Vol. 1
01 - Black pony blues
02 - Death Valley blues
03 - Kind lover blues
04 - If I get lucky
05 - Standing at my window
06 - Gonna follow my baby
07 - Give me a 32-20
08 - My mama don`t allow me
09 - Mean old `frisco blues
10 - Raised to my hand
11 - Cool disposition
12 - Who`s been foolin` you?
13 - Rock me mama
14 - Keep your arms around me
15 - Dirt road blues
16 - I`m in the mood
17 - That`s your red wagon
18 - She`s gone
19 - Ethel Mae
20 - So glad you`re mine
21 - Boy friend blues
22 - No more lovers
23 - You got to reap
24 - Chicago blues
Vol. 2
01 - Crudup`s after hours
02 - I want my lovin`
03 - That`s all right
04 - I don`t know it
05 - Cry your blues away
06 - Crudup`s Vicksburg blues
07 - Gonna be some changes made
08 - Train fare blues
09 - Katie Mae
10 - Hey mama, everything`s all right
11 - Hoodoo lady blues
12 - Lonesome world to me
13 - Roberta blues
14 - Just like a spider
15 - Some day
16 - That`s why I`m lonesome
17 - Tired of worry
18 - Dust my broom
19 - Hand me down my walking cane
20 - Shout sister shout
21 - Come back baby
22 - You know that I love you
Vol. 3
01 - Mercy blues
02 - She`s just like caldonia
03 - Mean old Santa Fe
04 - Behind closed doors
05 - She ain`t nothin` but trouble
06 - Oo-wee darling
07 - Anytime is the right time
08 - My baby left me
09 - Nobody wants me
10 - Star bootlegger
11 - Too much competition
12 - Second man blues
13 - Pearly Lee
14 - Love me mama
15 - Never no more
16 - Where did you stay last night?
17 - I`m gonna dig myself a hole (1541)
18 - I`m gonna dig myself a hole (1542)
19 - Goin` back to Georgia
20 - Mr. so and so
21 - Do it if you want to
22 - Keep on drinkin`
Vol. 4
01 - Worried about you baby
02 - Late in the evening
03 - Lookin` for my baby
04 - Nelvina
05 - My baby boogies all the time
06 - I wonder
07 - Baby I`ve been mistreated
08 - You didn`t mean a word
09 - Open your book
10 - Tears in my eyes
11 - Tears in my eyes (alt. tk.)
12 - Gonny find my baby
13 - Make a little love (with me)
14 - I love my baby
15 - My wife and women
16 - The war is over
17 - Fall on your knees and pray
18 - If you ever been to Georgia
19 - Help me to bear this heavy load
20 - I love you
21 - She`s got no hair
22 - Bonus tracks (1962): Looka there, she got no hair
23 - I love her just the same
