First Chapter: Those Old School Records by Steve Propes
1,000 Selected $&B, Rock 'n' Roll, and Soul 45 RPM Singles 1946-1987
Ever wonder about who the backing musicians were on Jackie Brenston’s 1951 classic, “Rocket 88”? Or how Joe Turner’s “Honey Hush” got its title? Or what legendary blues songwriter and bass player Willie Dixon had to say about Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley joining Chess Records’ lineup? And what about the story behind how “My Boyfriend’s Back” was written? Maybe you didn’t know the origins of Marlow Stewart and His 4 Guitars’ “Riptide.”
Those Old School Records takes you through the history of rhythm and blues, rock ‘n’ roll, soul, and more from 1946 to 1987 through the lens of top-charting 45 RPM singles. With over 1,000 songs, labels, release dates, suggested pairings, remakes, answers, and other detailed information, Those Old School Records leaves no musical stone unturned.
At over 400 pages, Those Old School Records will answer many of your questions about the origins and history of these chart-topping songs.
Arthur Big Boy Crudup “That’s All Right” Victor/RCA 1946
Style: Blues
Where from: Omaha, NE
Where recorded: Chicago, IL
Suggested pairings: Blind Lemon Jefferson “Right Of Way Blues” 1927; Tampa Kid “Keep On Trying” 1936; Son House “My Black Mamma” 1930; Jimmy Rushing “Boogie Woogie” 1938; Arthur Big Boy Crudup “Keep Your Arms Around Me” 1944; Arthur Big Boy Crudup “If I Get Lucky” 1941
This blues combo—with Arthur Big Boy Crudup, guitar and vocal; Ransom Knowling, bass; and Judge Davis, drums—was recorded in September 1946. “I wasn’t making money off those records to amount to nothing,” Crudup told an interviewer as he was paid a flat sum for each song during recording sessions. Between sessions, he sharecropped or moonshined to support his family.
In March 1949, record technology radically changed with the marketing of the 45 RPM record by RCA/Victor when a reissue of Arthur Big Boy Crudup’s original of “That’s All Right” was the first blues 45 issued by RCA/Victor.
Remakes: Elvis Presley 1954; Marty Robbins 1955
It’s said that Presley financed a Crudup session he made for Bobby Robinson’s Fire Records in about 1959 which resulted in a later remake of “That’s All Right,” though Robinson claimed Presley had nothing to do with the record.
Get the full book here: Those Old School Records