"That's All Right" is a song written and originally performed by the American blues singer Arthur Crudup, and recorded in 1946.
[4] In July 2004, exactly 50 years after it was first released, the song was re-released as a CD single in several countries, including the United Kingdom, where it reached number three.
[5] 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".
[9] At the same session, Crudup recorded a virtually identical tune with different lyrics, "I Don't Know It", which was also released as a single (RCA Victor 20–2307).
[12] While recording an album as part of a trio called The Blue Moon Boys, the band played "That's All Right" in between takes, and the uptempo style characteristic of rockabilly caught the attention of studio executive Sam Phillips, who asked for a refinement of the interpretation that was later recorded.
[16] Arthur Crudup was credited as the composer on the label of Presley's single, but despite legal battles into the 1970s, reportedly never received royalties.
[18] A 2004 article in The Guardian argues that rather than Presley's version being one of the first records of rock and roll, it was simply one of "the first white artists' interpretations of a sound already well-established by black musicians almost a decade before [...] a raucous, driving, unnamed variant of rhythm and blues".
During a break between recordings, Presley began improvising an up-tempo version of Arthur Crudup's song "That's All Right, Mama".
[10] On hearing the news that Dewey was going to play his song, Presley went to the local movie theater to calm his nerves.
[10] Interest in the song was so intense that Dewey reportedly played the acetate 14 times and received over 40 telephone calls.