The story of Elvis Presley is quite well known: he was born poor in Tupelo, Mississippi; his family moved to Memphis in 1948; after graduation he made a few demo recordings at Sun Records; and he finally hit upon a musical formula that combined R&B and country music into rock and roll. Less familiar is the depth of Elvis's association with African American culture. After his family's move to Memphis, Elvis spent much of his time in the city's black district, particularly on Beale Street, the entertainment district. In high school he cultivated the image of a "cat," a white teenager who transgressed the segregationist mores of the time and immersed himself in African American culture. Elvis shopped at Lansky Brothers, Memphis's center for the well-dressed R&B singer; he adopted African American slang and hairstyles; and he listened to black music. The first songs he recorded, "My Happiness" and "That's When Your Heartaches Begin" (purportedly for his mother's birthday) were originally by the vocal harmony group the Ink Spots. When he returned to the studio at the behest of Sam Phillips, one of the songs he recorded was "Careless Love," an old African American folk song that had been recorded earlier by Leadbelly and bluesman Lonnie Johnson.
Presley's first major hit, "That's All Right," was written by Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup, a Delta blues singer who moved to Chicago in 1940 and played for change on Maxwell Street before he was discovered by Lester Melrose, a producer for RCA records. He had a number of R&B hits in the '40s; ironically, "That's All Right, Mama" was not one of them! The hits tapered off, and he was dropped from his label in the early '50s. In 1961 he resurfaced, to record an LP for the independent Fire label; it has long been rumored that Elvis Presley paid the recording costs as a gesture of appreciation. The record brought Crudup to the attention of a new generation of blues fans, and he was able to enjoy some celebrity and make some money before he died in 1973.
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Muddy Waters, Jimmy Rodgers, Dean Martin, Billy Eckstein, Red Foley
Must Haves:
 "Heartbreak Hotel"
"All Shook Up"
"Little Sister"
"Are You Lonesome Tonight?"
Buddy Holly, John Lennon, Robert Plant, Cliff Richard, Gene Vincent, Carl Perkins
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