Crudup, Arthur - Sunny Road (CD)

(1969 'Delmark') (40:34/10) ARTHUR CRUDUP - voc/gtr, JIMMY DAWKINS - gtr (4,7,10) MIKE THOMPSON - gtr (2), MARK THOMPSON - bass (2,4,7,8,10), WILLIE BIG EYES' SMITH -' drums. Best known for "That's All Right" and two other songs covered by Elvis Presley, bluesman Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup was born in Forest, Mississippi. Crudup visited Chicago in 1939 as a member of the gospel group The Harmonizing Four and stayed to work as a solo artist but was not successful. Record producer Lester Melrose allegedly found him living in a packing crate. He toured the country in 1948 with Sonny Boy Williamson I I and Elmore James. Throughout his career Crudup recorded for Victor, Ace, Checker, Trumpet, Bluebird, Trumpet and in the 60s Delmark. This session was recorded November 10, 1969 and features Jimmy Dawkins and Willie "Big Eyes" Smith. Crudup's guitar was amped through the same rotating Leslie speaker that Buddy Guy used on Junior Wells' Hoodoo Man Blues (Delmark 612) for seven of the nine songs here. There's also a nice talk section between Crudup and producer Bob Koester. When you hear Elvis Presley's first record, That's All Right you are listening to a song by Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup. Arthur Crudup was born in Forest, Mississippi, August 24, 1905 and moved to Chicago in the mid 1930s. Arthur was in an unusually melancholy mood for this session thinking about his late wife — and it shows in his voice, virtually breaking down on some takes. The human voice has rarely been as movingly rich as that of Arthur Crudup nor has the human experience been so thoroughly mirrored as in the simple blues poetry of this big and gentle man from Mississippi. Notes by Bob Koester enclosed.