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Arthur Crudup




Born in Forest, Mississippi and living and working in Northern Indiana for a time, he and his family returned to Mississippi in 1926. He sang gospel, then began his career as a blues singer around Clarksdale, Mississippi . He visited Chicago as member of the Harmonizing Four in 1939 and stayed there to work as a solo musician, but barely made a living as a street singer. Record producer Lester Melrose allegedly found him while he was living in a packing crate, introduced him to Tampa Red and signed him to a contract with RCA Victor 's Bluebird label.

Crudup returned to Mississippi after a dispute with Melrose over royalties, then went into Bootlegging . He recorded with RCA in the late 1940s and with Ace Records , Checker Records and Trumpet Records in the early 1950s and toured with Sonny Boy Williamson II and Elmore James . He also recorded under the names Elmer James and Percy Lee Crudup.

Crudup stopped recording in the 1950s , however, after further battles over royalties. He returned to recording with Fire Records and Delmark Records and touring in the 1960s , sometimes labeled "The Father of Rock and Roll", a title which he accepted with some bemusement.


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