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We are celebrating the 60th anniversary of the day that Elvis Presley recorded “That’s All Right” and kick-started one of the most remarkable careers in music history.

Elvis’ timeless reworking of the Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup blues song was recorded during a try out at Sam Phillips’ Sun Studio in Memphis, TN on July 5, 1954.

Elvis had already cut an amateur record using Phillips’ Memphis Recording Service the previous July, at which point Phillips’ assistant, Marion Keisker, had made a note of Elvis’ name as she felt that Phillips, who was not present at the time, would want to hear Elvis. The young singer was back to record another acetate in January 1954, but would have to wait until June before Phillips finally called him in (with encouragement from Keisker) to try his hand at singing a song called “Without You”. The attempt didn’t go very well, but Phillips was interested enough to send Elvis over to the house of local guitarist, Scotty Moore, to see whether the guitarist thought Elvis might have something. Scotty and bassist Bill Black, whose family Elvis already knew, weren’t exactly knocked out by the young singer, but were sufficiently impressed that they thought it would be worthwhile to get Elvis to the studio for a more formal try out the next evening (July 5, 1954). After a slow start, with Elvis concentrating on ballads, one of the most famous moments in the history of rock ‘n’ roll occurred. Scotty Moore reflected on the incident in a recent interview with singer Chris Isaak for the BBC Radio 2 show “Scotty Moore – The Guitar That Changed the World”:

We’d been there two to three hours, it was starting to get late and we were getting tired, and we stopped and had a cup of coffee or coke or something… and Elvis sets his coke down, picks up his guitar and just starts beating this rhythm thing and starts singing ‘That’s All Right Mama’. It was obvious to me he was just letting off steam… Well Bill picked his bass and started slapping, playing along with it, and my guitar was leaning up on the amp and I picked it up, found out what key they were in and started just kinda vamping along with them… Sam comes round the corner and says ‘What are you guys playing?’ And we said ‘Oh, we’re just goofin’ around’. And he said ‘Well hang on, that sounds pretty good… get back on mic and let me listen to that a little bit more”.

The familiar story indicates that Elvis’ rendition of “That’s All Right” was very off-the-cuff and spontaneous, but an excellent 2012 article (“The Crudup Connection: 5 July 1954 Revisited“) penned by George Smith for the “For Elvis CD Collectors” forum suggests that Elvis had in fact arrived with this song fully formed in his mind. The article reveals that Elvis was clearly knowledgeable about Arthur Crudup’s music and inspired by it, as Elvis’ version of “That’s All Right” does not simply copy the lyrics from Crudup’s version. Crudup had borrowed elements from his earlier songs when putting together “That’s All Right” and it is evident that Elvis knew these earlier songs and had crafted his own version of “That’s All Right” from these sources, but with different lyrics than the Crudup original. In short, as noted by Smith:

What Elvis actually did was to leap into a medley of at least five different Crudup hits. This was a medley that could only have been assembled and performed by a connoisseur of the blues and of Arthur Crudup’s blues in particular.

Could it be that Elvis simply got confused and jumbled lyrics from different songs? That doesn’t seem likely, as he makes the same choices on the alternate take of the song. As asserted by Smith, it seems more credible that Elvis’ own version of “That’s All Right” had been prepared in advance and was ready to be unleashed.

“That’s All Right” – Elvis Presley

Sam Phillips was excited by the perfect fusion of blues and country elements and the young man’s exuberant delivery, and decided to seek the opinion of local DJ Dewey Phillips, whose “Red, Hot & Blue” show played R&B songs and was popular with Memphis teens. Dewey liked the unusual sound and promised to try it out on his audience. The reaction was immediate and dramatic, with many phoning in to hear it again and to find out who this new singer was. Dewey would play the song over and over that night and Elvis, who was too nervous to listen and instead went to the movies, had to be tracked down and taken to the studio to be interviewed.

Elvis Presley, Bill Black, Scotty Moore, Sam Phillips (left to right)

Within days, the trio were back in the studio to record the B-side of the single. This time, instead of adding country elements to a blues song, they did the reverse, and came up with a new take on Bill Monroe’s bluegrass waltz “Blue Moon of Kentucky”.

“Blue Moon of Kentucky” – Elvis Presley

At a distance of 60 years, it might be difficult for the modern listener to appreciate how unusual and imaginative Elvis’ vocal delivery was and why it divided listeners so much. In July of 1953, when Elvis recorded his first personal acetate at the Memphis Recording Service, Marion Keisker asked Elvis what kind of music he sang and he said “I sing all kinds”. She then asked him who he sounded like and he said “I don’t sound like nobody”. He was right and that was a huge part of his appeal. The first statement also hints at why Elvis so naturally performed and developed the new genre-defying music. Elvis was not a young singer who was tied to one style or inspired by one type of music. He embraced R&B, gospel (particularly gospel quartets), country, crooners such as Dean Martin, and even opera. These influences were all part of Elvis’ musical identity and would inform and influence the creative decisions that he made, both deliberately and subconsciously.

Music historians have long debated which song deserves the distinction of being called the first rock ‘n’ roll recording and the debate will no doubt continue, but few would argue about the enormous importance of that Elvis session on July 5, 1954. The reaction to “That’s All Right” allowed Elvis to dare to believe that he could really make it, and it also made believers out of a number of people who could help him achieve success, not least Sam Phillips. Elvis would go on to become the most successful and influential rock ‘n’ roll artist of all time, and it all began with the great “That’s All Right”. That is well worth commemorating!

The 60th anniversary of “That’s All Right” is being celebrated this weekend in Memphis with several events, including:

• Graceland’s “60 Years of Elvis” exhibit, featuring memorabilia from throughout Elvis’ career, including his personal “That’s All Right” 45 rpm record
• a day of special programming from Sirius XM’s Elvis Radio channel, broadcasting live from Graceland
• Sun Studio’s “60 Years” exhibit grand opening, with cake cutting event
• the one-night only “60 Years of Rock ‘n’ Roll – A Celebration of Memphis Music” music event at the historic Levitt Shell (formerly Overton Park Shell), the site of Elvis’ first professional show
• the “60 Years of Rock ‘n’ Roll Tour” around Memphis by Backbeat Tours, with visits to Sun Studio and other important Elvis sites
• public memorabilia tours throughout the day at the Hard Rock Cafe Memphis.

In the UK, BBC Radio 2 is also marking the occasion with “That’s All Right: 60 Years On, live from Sun Studio in Memphis,” hosted by actor and musician Sam Palladio, who is best known for his starring role as Gunnar Scott in the ABC musical drama series “Nashville”. Artists including The Pierces, Laura Bell Bundy and Candi Staton will perform songs Elvis recorded that night and other classic Elvis songs. The performances will be broadcast live during the Dermot O’Leary Show (3-6pm GMT), and the celebration will continue at 6pm as Palladio interviews the performers and others who knew Elvis.

Elvis’ “That’s All Right” and “Blue Moon of Kentucky are featured on the excellent Sun compilation “Elvis at Sun” with belongs in the collection of every rock ‘n’ roll music fan.

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