Born in Forest, Mississippi and living and working in throughout the South and Midwest as a migrant worker for a time, he and his family returned to Mississippi in 1926. He sang gospel, then began his career as a blues singer around Clarksdale, Mississippi. He visited Chicago as member of the Harmonizing Four in 1939 and stayed there to work as a solo musician, but barely made a living as a street singer. Record producer Lester Melrose allegedly found him while he was living in a packing crate, introduced him to Tampa Red and signed him to a contract with RCA Victor's Bluebird label.
He recorded with RCA in the late 1940s and with Ace Records, Checker Records and Trumpet Records in the early 1950s and toured throughout the country, specifically Black establishments in the South, with Sonny Boy Williamson II and Elmore James. He also recorded under the names Elmer James and Percy Lee Crudup.
Crudup stopped recording in the 1950s, however, after further battles over royalties. He returned to recording with Fire Records and Delmark Records and touring in the 1960s, sometimes labeled "The Father of Rock and Roll", a title which he accepted with some bemusement. Throughout this time Crudup worked as a laborer to augment the small wages he received as a singer and non-existent royalties. Crudup returned to Mississippi after a dispute with Melrose over royalties, then went into bootlegging, and later moved to Virginia where he had lived and worked as a musician and laborer. In the early 1970's, two local Virginia activists, Celia Santiago and Margaret Carter, both assisted him in attempting to gain Royalties he felt he were due, to little gain.
From the mid 60's Crudup returned to bootlegging and working as an agricultural laborer, chiefly in Virginia, where he lived with his family including three sons and several of his own siblings. On the Eastern Shore of Virginia, while he lived in relative poverty as a field laborer, he occasionally sang and supplied moonshine to a number of drinking establishments, including one called the Dew Drop Inn, in Accomack County for some time prior to his eventual death, due to complications from heart disease and diabetes. (There was some confusion as to his actual date of death because of his use of several names, including those of his siblings.) He passed away in the Nassawadox hospital in Northampton County, Virginia, also on the Eastern Shore in 1976.
So Glad You're Mine
Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She's like a cannonball.
Say, everytime she loves me,
Lordly, you can hear me squall.
She cried, Ooo-wee.
I believe I'll change my mind.
She said, "I'm so glad I'm living".
I cried, "I'm so glad you're mine".
My baby knows just how
To treat me right.
Gives me plenty loving
Morning, noon, and night.
She cried, Ooo-wee.
I believe I'll change my mind.
She said, "I'm so glad I'm living".
I cried, "I'm so glad you're mine".
When my baby does what she does to me,
I climb the highest mountain,
Dive in the deepest sea.
She cried, Ooo-wee.
I believe I'll change my mind.
She said, "I'm so glad I'm living".
I cried, "I'm so glad you're mine".
My baby's lips are red
And sweet like wine,
And when she kisses me,
I get high every time.
She cried, Oo-wee.
I believe I'll change my mind.
She said, "I'm so glad I'm living".
I cried, "I'm so glad you're mine".
In Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup's song "So Glad You're Mine", the singer is expressing his love and adoration for his partner. The opening lines of the song describe her as being "long and tall" like a "cannonball" implying her strength and power. The singer then goes on to describe the intensity of their physical connection, with the repetition of "oo-wee" indicating his pleasure and enjoyment. Despite this physical connection, there seems to be a strong emotional connection between the two, with the singer expressing that he is glad his partner is in his life.
The second verse continues to describe the singer's love for their partner, with the line "My baby knows just how to treat me right", indicating that the relationship is reciprocal and mutually beneficial. The singer acknowledges the constant affection they receive from their partner, stating that they receive love "Morning, noon, and night". The chorus repeats, with the "oo-wee" indicating the continued pleasure the singer is feeling.
The third verse intensifies the singer's love for their partner, stating that they would go to extreme lengths for them, climbing the highest mountain or diving in the deepest sea. The last verse focuses on the physical aspect of their relationship, as the singer describes his partner's lips as being "red and sweet like wine," a common metaphor for passion and desire. Throughout the song, the singer emphasizes their gratitude and joy for their partner's presence in their life.
Line by Line Meaning
My baby's long and tall,
She's like a cannonball.
My partner is tall and powerful like a cannonball.
Say, everytime she loves me,
Lordly, you can hear me squall.
Whenever my partner loves me, I can't help but cry out in joy.
She cried, Ooo-wee.
I believe I'll change my mind.
She said, "I'm so glad I'm living".
I cried, "I'm so glad you're mine".
Both my partner and I express our immense happiness to be with each other.
My baby knows just how
To treat me right.
Gives me plenty loving
Morning, noon, and night.
My partner always shows me the love and attention I deserve throughout the day.
When my baby does what she does to me,
I climb the highest mountain,
Dive in the deepest sea.
My partner's actions make me feel like I can conquer anything - even climb mountains and dive deep seas.
My baby's lips are red
And sweet like wine,
And when she kisses me,
I get high every time.
My partner's kisses are intoxicating and leave me feeling ecstatic every time.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: SIDNEY BARNES, JEROME LOUIS JACKSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Scouser on the Wirral
Written By Arthur Crudup, and recorded on 22 February 1946.
Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup was a huge influence on Elvis Presley who was 11 when Arthur released this song and who was a huge admirer and recorded “So Glad You’re Mine” on 30 January 1956 and was released as an album track on his second LP “Elvis” Released in 19 October 1956. It wasn’t released as a single.
Raoni Drummond
Thanks from Brazil!!!