That's All Right

During a pivotal 1946 session in Chicago, Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup laid down a rhythm that changed American music. Backed only by Ransom Knowling on upright bass and Judge Riley on drums, Crudup slashed at his hollow-body electric guitar and delivered a high, urgent vocal over an incredibly propulsive, driving shuffle. While the record achieved modest success, eight years later a teenager named Elvis Presley would famously fool around with the exact same song in a Memphis studio, dramatically increasing the tempo to accidentally give birth to the defining sound of 1950s rock and roll.