Arthur Crudup
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.
Arthur Crudup | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Big Boy |
| Born | August 24, 1905 |
| Died | March 28, 1974 (aged 68) |
| Genres | Blues |
| Years active | 1939–1974 |
Life and career
Early life
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
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
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
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
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.
Arthur Crudup Media
Arthur Crudup at the 1969 Ann Arbor Blues Festival. Photo by Jeff Titon.
Crudup's grave, in Franktown, Virginia
References
- ↑ 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
- Biography of Arthur Crudup Archived 2005-07-16 at the Wayback Machine
- Biography of Arthur Crudup