That's All Right


"That's All Right Mama" is a song written and originally performed by blues singer Arthur Crudup. It is best known as the debut single recorded and released by Elvis Presley. Presley's version was recorded on July 5, 1954, and released on July 19, 1954 with "Blue Moon of Kentucky" as the B-side. It was ranked number 113 on the 2010 Rolling Stone magazine list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
In July 2004, exactly 50 years after its first issuing, the song was released as a CD single in several countries, reaching number three in the United Kingdom, number 31 in Australia, number 33 in Ireland, and number 47 in Sweden.

History

The song was written by Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup, and originally recorded by him in Chicago on September 6, 1946, as "That's All Right". Some of the lyrics are traditional blues verses first recorded by Blind Lemon Jefferson in 1926. Crudup's recording was released as a single in 1947 on RCA Victor 20–2205, but was less successful than some of his previous recordings. At the same session, he recorded a virtually identical tune with different lyrics, "I Don't Know It", which was also released as a single. In early March 1949, the song was rereleased under the title "That's All Right, Mama", which was issued as RCA's first rhythm and blues record on their new 45 rpm single format, on bright orange vinyl.
Elvis Presley's version was recorded in July 1954 while he started playing around in Sam Phillips studio and played the song faster than the original. Its catalogue number was Sun 209. The label reads "That's All Right", and names the performers as Elvis Presley, Scotty and Bill. Arthur Crudup was credited as the composer on the label of Presley's single, but even after legal battles into the 1970s, was reportedly never paid royalties. An out-of-court settlement was supposed to pay Crudup an estimated $60,000 in back royalties, but never materialized. Crudup had used lines in his song that had been present in earlier blues recordings, including Blind Lemon Jefferson's 1926 song "That Black Snake Moan".
A country music version by Marty Robbins peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in 1955.

Presley's recording

During an uneventful recording session at Sun Studio on the evening of July 5, 1954, Presley, Scotty Moore and Bill Black were taking a break between recordings when Presley started fooling around with an up-tempo version of Arthur Crudup's song "That's All Right, Mama". Black began joining in on his upright bass, and soon they were joined by Moore on guitar. Producer Sam Phillips, taken aback by this sudden upbeat atmosphere, asked the three of them to start again so he could record it.
Black's bass and guitars from Presley and Moore provided the instrumentation. The recording contains no drums or additional instruments. The song was produced in the style of a "live" recording. The following evening the trio recorded "Blue Moon of Kentucky" in a similar style, and it was selected as the B-side to "That's All Right".
Presley's version has different lyrics compared to the Arthur Crudup version. According to a 1986 Rolling Stone interview, Sam Phillips said that Elvis changed some of the lyrics of the songs that he recorded.
The recording session was Presley's fifth visit to the Sun Studio. His first two visits, the summer of 1953 and January 1954, had been private recordings, followed by two more visits in the summer of 1954.
Upon finishing the recording session, according to Scotty Moore, Bill Black remarked, "Damn. Get that on the radio and they'll run us out of town."

Release

Sam Phillips gave copies of the acetate to local disc jockeys Dewey Phillips of WHBQ, Uncle Richard of WMPS, and Sleepy Eyed John Lepley of WHHM. On July 7, 1954, Dewey Phillips played "That's All Right" on his popular radio show "Red, Hot & Blue". On hearing the news that Dewey was going to play his song, Presley went to the local movie theater to calm his nerves.
Interest in the song was so intense that Dewey reportedly played the acetate 14 times and received over 40 telephone calls. Presley was persuaded to go to the station for an on-air interview that night. Unaware that the microphone was live at the time, Presley answered Dewey's questions, including one about which high school he attended: a roundabout way of informing the audience of Presley's race without actually asking the question.
"That's All Right" was officially released on July 19, 1954, and sold around 20,000 copies. This number was not enough to chart nationally, but the single reached number four on the local Memphis charts.
In July 2004, exactly 50 years after its first release, the song was released as a CD single in the United Kingdom, and entered the UK Singles Chart at number three. It also became a modest hit outside the UK, peaking at number 31 in Australia, number 33 in Ireland, and number 47 in Sweden.

Personnel

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Sales and certifications

Legacy

Rolling Stone magazine argued in a 2004 article that Presley's recording of "That's All Right" was the first rock-and-roll record. "That's All Right" has been recorded by numerous artists in a variety of genres.