Play it, blues boy! "My Baby Left Me"

[Juan Luis]

The 3rd RCA session and first in New York on January 30, 1956, Steve Sholes producing with Elvis Presley, and Ernie Oelrich behind the console.

"My Baby Left Me" (B-Side to "I Want You, I Need You, I Love You") is one great Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup cover! A record that starts with the drumming of DJ Fontana followed by Bill Black's bass run, and the inimitable electric guitar sound of Scotty Moore!
Sam Phillips' Sun records spirit is captured here so well it could have been mistaken for a Sun recording. And it was with some fans as told to the OP!

Arthur Crudup in at least one recorded version sings the "dit, ditty, ditty" ad-lib reminiscent of his "That's All Right", and even name checks the title and a line, in the lyrics! According to David Neale, (words to the effect) it is hard to pinpoint an original Crudup record, cause he made different concoctions of his compositions mixing them up. There is obviously quite a bit of "That's All Right" on "My Baby Left Me", and even "I Want My Lovin'" and "I Don't Know It", according to Neale. Elvis did not do this (dit,ditty,ditty...) for his 1956 record. But he did in 1974, as heard from his live in Memphis release! Elvis was always (including 1977) at home with Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup. Dit ditty ditty....

I love it!

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http://www.elvis-collectors.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=91446 By Skatterbrane for more discussion.

[skatterbrane]

My Baby Left Me and Mystery Train are my two most favorite Elvis recordings.

[jurasic1968]

Great song. Thanks for sharing.

[promiseland]

Well not that it really matters,. but he said "Play The Blues Boy" not "Play It Blues Boy"

[Davelee]

One of the very best tracks Elvis recorded, and probably one of the best tracks in Rock'n'Roll! I also Love Crudup's version too.

Yes, there is a similarity between My Baby Left Me and That's All Right, the melody is very close to each other. Crudup did use this same melody in some other songs he wrote becoming a kind of one-trick pony (and a good one too) but that was only to a handful of songs he wrote, and he wrote some fine Blues that didn't have this same melody. But this Happened quite a lot with some Blues songwriters, its seems that once they get a little recognition with a particular tune that does well for them, to capture the momentum of the success, as a fellow up for their next single they would kind of use the same melody or lyrics but try their best to not make it sound too obvious by slight altering it places. Roy Brown was other who did this with "Good Rockin' Tonight", and there are others too.

But When Elvis came to cut My Baby Left Me he also heard the similarities between the two songs and he made the right decision to cut out the "de de de" bit at the end of the song, as heard on Crudups version, so as not to sound like Thats All Right too much, and it worked.

[jeanno]

Top10 rock'n'roll/r&b by Elvis

10. That's all right
9. Money honey
8. My baby left me
7. Lawdy miss clawdy
6. Hound dog
5. I got a woman
4. Good rocking tonight
3. Heartbreak hotel
2. Baby let's play house
1. Mystery train

[Ciscoking]

Great topic and I love this song ...!

[MikeFromHolland]

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Thank you Juan Luis for again a wonderful topic.

My Baby Left Me was the song that made me a fan back in 1974. Heard it on the radio and thought it to be an impossible voice. It made me curious for more.

Crudop's original version of My Baby Left Me was recorded in Chicago on November 8, 1950, with Ransom Knowling on bass and Judge Riley on drums.

The connection with That's All Right, Mama is an obvious one. Listening to the two Elvis versions (That's All Right in 1954, My Baby Left Me in 1956) you see how fast Elvis and Scotty had grown musically.



Personally I always thought there was some kind of connection with Little Junior's Blue Flames' Love My Baby as well. Which in it's turn is strongly related to Mystery Train. What do you think? Please, have a listen. It was recorded in September 1953 at SUN (SUN-192).

Little Junior's Blue Flames = Junior Parker = Herman Parker (May 27, 1932 – November 18, 1971)

"Love my baby, keeps her feelings to herself"
"Yes my baby left me never said a word"

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[vinelvis]

Great song, great topic!

[Steve Morse]

Well not that it really matters,. but he said "Play The Blues Boy" not "Play It Blues Boy"

Sounds more like, "Play us blues, boy" or, as I've always heard it, "Less (Let's) blues boy" (not that the latter makes any sense !).

[James27]

Definitely one of Elvis' greatest tracks, not just from his R&R catalogue. Always sounds fresh and exciting no matter how many years have passed.

[Steve Morse]

Definitely one of Elvis' greatest tracks, not just from his R&R catalogue. Always sounds fresh and exciting no matter how many years have passed.

Agreed. 'I Feel So Bad', though marginally more refined, is in there too.

[Juan Luis]

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Thank you Juan Luis for again a wonderful topic.

My Baby Left Me was the song that made me a fan back in 1974. Heard it on the radio and thought it to be an impossible voice. It made me curious for more.

Crudop's original version of My Baby Left Me was recorded in Chicago on November 8, 1950, with Ransom Knowling on bass and Judge Riley on drums.

The connection with That's All Right, Mama is an obvious one. Listening to the two Elvis versions (That's All Right in 1954, My Baby Left Me in 1956) you see how fast Elvis and Scotty had grown musically.



Personally I always thought there was some kind of connection with Little Junior's Blue Flames' Love My Baby as well. Which in it's turn is strongly related to Mystery Train. What do you think? Please, have a listen. It was recorded in September 1953 at SUN (SUN-192).

Little Junior's Blue Flames = Junior Parker = Herman Parker (May 27, 1932 – November 18, 1971)

"Love my baby, keeps her feelings to herself"
"Yes my baby left me never said a word"

..

.

Sounds like "Mystery Train" with just lyric change! Those old blues men slapped on different lyrics with minor changes (sometimes only in arrangement) and Voila! New song!
Elvis did that inherently with the same feeling as the the blues players. As if it were HIS blues. Just great creativity at that early stage. The blues (with the rhythm) was more important than any particular song in itself, in my opinion. Get them words out but don't lose the beat, the beat, the beat!

[Domino]

This is one of my favorite Elvis 50's tracks.I can really imagine Elvis doing this at Sun or in concert in 54/55.I wonder if he did this song before 56 ?
I like this song so much that I even like the 74 version in Memphis.

Great topic Juan

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[Juan Luis]

This is one of my favorite Elvis 50's tracks.I can really imagine Elvis doing this at Sun or in concert in 54/55.I wonder if he did this song before 56 ?
I like this song so much that I even like the 74 version in Memphis.

Great topic Juan

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Thanks! He was still ad-libbing there and with "That's All Right" EIC 1977 version.
The 1977 "That's All Right" and 1974 "My Baby Left Me" versions are even closer and more similar to each other, than the original studio 1954 and 1956 versions, IMO. Very interesting to me. Elvis added something again.
And to be perfectly clear. This does not mean the live performances in any way better the originals. Just pointing out creativity and Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup being very much a part of Elvis all the way.

[Ciscoking]

I like later live versions of Thats All Right...be 1976 or 1977..also love My Baby Left Me 1974 live versions...

[Mike C]

I have always felt RCA picked the wrong side to plug for his second single. My Baby Left Me easily could have gone as high, if not higher, had RCA and Elvis plugged it back in mid-1956.

[r&b]

in my top 10. Flawless

[MikeFromHolland]

.

Personally I always thought there was some kind of connection with Little Junior's Blue Flames' Love My Baby as well. Which in it's turn is strongly related to Mystery Train. What do you think? Please, have a listen. It was recorded in September 1953 at SUN (SUN-192).

"Love my baby, keeps her feelings to herself"
"Yes my baby left me never said a word"

.

Sounds like "Mystery Train" with just lyric change! Those old blues men slapped on different lyrics with minor changes (sometimes only in arrangement) and Voila! New song!

Hence the similarities I hear between Crudup's My Baby Left Me (1950) and Junior Parker's Love My Baby (1953) I guess.

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[minkahed]

I have always felt RCA picked the wrong side to plug for his second single. My Baby Left Me easily could have gone as high, if not higher, had RCA and Elvis plugged it back in mid-1956.

It's a great track, but let's not get carried away, it's not better than the A side.

[brian]

It's was a good fifties rock n' roll track that has aged better than the A-side it was paired with.
When I first heard Arthur Crudup's version a couple of years ago I surprised by how much Elvis had copied his arrangement.

[GERRY]

Putting the 40 Greatest hits on and that opening track. Never forget discovering music.

And i was listening to the Bay City Rollers and the rest before this......


Then this double album hit me.

[henryneill]

Putting the 40 Greatest hits on and that opening track. Never forget discovering music.

And i was listening to the Bay City Rollers and the rest before this......

Then this double album hit me.

Exactly the same with me. Though I was listening to Kiss before. The year was probably 1980 and I was only 5 or 6 years old.

Tend to agree with "Mike C": MBLM is much stronger in my book than the A-side. I guess RCA thought is was too black sounding for an A-side then.

[jurasic1968]

It's better than the A side.

[drjohncarpenter]

There are some who claim Bob Luman may've played a role in Elvis' stunning 1956 recording of "My Baby Left Me." It's certainly makes for an intriguing thought.

http://www.rockabillyhall.com/BobLuman.html

P.S. Always hear Elvis' ad lib as "Play it loose, boys."