The Seamier SIde of the Music Business

DUKES FANS: “Just give me some of that rock and roll music..” Chuck Berry I was reading the Inquirer a few weeks ago when I came across an article about July 5, 2024 being the 70th anniversary of the release of the Elvis Presley recording, “That’s Alright, Mama,” the start of the Elvis craze that swept the nation and made him a star. Some consider this the first rock ‘n’ roll song, although that phrase had been used before this release, but it was defintely that recording that started the rock revolution. Jukeboxes, radio stations, teenage dances and more all across the country began to feature that and similar songs, and some outraged parents even gathered rock and roll 45’s and burned them in massive bonfires to protest the influence of this new “evil and sinful music” on their kids. This, along with the explosion of the number of students in high school, teenage driving, the development of the transistor radio, the rise of suburbia, and the popularity of the electric guitar was the start of what was called the “teenage rebellion. Something was going on with a large number of America's teenagers. But the Inquirer article was not about that. Instead, it was about a man named Arthur Big Boy Crudup, a Mississippi foundry worker and bluesman who had written and recorded that song in the 1940’s. Crudup wrote the song and, by rights, should have made thousands of dollars in royalties. But he, like hundreds of other black musicians at the time, had signed contracts that gave copyright ownership over to a manager, in Crudup’s case, Lester Melrose. He got the royalties. It was common practice for this to be done, and it took decades of legal efforts, negotiations, and actions to eventually get royalties from this song to Crudup’s estate and his descendants. He died in 1974, before the legal battles were worked out. His estate is finally getting royalties from other recordings, as well; his material has also been covered by artists such as The Beatles, B.B. King Led Zeppelin, and Elton John.Finally there is sme justice. Elvis, by the way, publicly acknowledged that he got That’s Alright, Mama” from Crudup, as have many of the other performers who covered some of his tunes. The problem is not knowledge of who wrote certain tunes; the problem is the arrangements many managers had their musicians agree to. There are still a number of other Black musicians whose work is still legally under the original copyright agreements, and many of them have yet to see a fair return for their work. It is a story that still has not completely played out, and it is a part of the seamier side of the music business. Arthur Big Boy Crudup is now proudly acknowledged as one of the founders of rock ‘n’ roll. There are still debates about what was the first rock and roll record and what city played the greatest part in its rise, but it is clear to everyone now that rock’n’roll was origianlly an outgrowth of up-tempo blues mixed with country and heavy rhythm. Like so much of American cultural expressions, it is a blend of peoples and styles across and through time. And Elvis and Arthur can stand side by side, with dozens of others who made it all possible.Where would we be without them? (Attached below is the article from the Inquirer. Also, below is a link to the original recording of Jackie Brenston’s Rocket 88, which many people consider to be the first true rock ‘n’ roll record. That is Ike Turner of Ike and Tina fame on the piano: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=260hXID0Yo0. )