Floyd Cramer
A distinctive pianist whose unique, slip-note playing style came to typify the pop-oriented Nashville sound of the late 1950s and early '60s, session and solo musician Floyd Cramer was born October 27, 1933, in Louisiana. After a childhood spent largely in Arkansas, he returned to his home state in 1951 and began appearing on the radio program The Louisiana Hayride, where he performed with the likes of Jim Reeves, Faron Young, Webb Pierce, and, in his debut, Elvis Presley.
While Cramer cut a few solo sides in 1953, his most important work in the early '50s was as a session musician, where he first met Chet Atkins, who encouraged the pianist to move to Nashville. He did in 1955, rejoining Atkins as the house pianist at RCA Records to begin developing what would ultimately be recognized as the Nashville sound, a style shorn of the elements associated with traditional country and honky tonk instead favoring a more polished, progressive sheen. With Atkins behind the production boards, Cramer began to perfect his unique style of playing, a method not dissimilar to guitar-picking in that he would hit one key and then slide his finger onto the next, creating a blue, lonesome sound. Under Atkins' guidance, Cramer played on hundreds of sessions, including many for Presley, among them "Heartbreak Hotel."
In 1957, Cramer released his own solo debut, That Honky-Tonk Piano, and in the next year scored a minor pop hit with the single "Flip, Flop and Bop." As his solo career was largely secondary in relation to his session work, he recorded his own music sporadically, but in 1960 notched a significant country and pop hit with the self-penned instrumental "Last Date." The follow-up, a cover of Bob Wills' "San Antonio Rose," reached the Top Ten of both charts. He also released an LP a year between 1960 and 1962, starting with Hello Blues and followed by Last Date and I Remember Hank Williams.
From 1965 to 1974, Cramer annually released a Class Of... album, a collection of the year's top hits done in his own inimitable style. In 1971, he also teamed with Atkins and saxophonist Boots Randolph for the album Chet, Floyd and Boots. By 1977, Cramer was exploring modern technology, and on the LP Keyboard Kick Band, he played a number of instruments, including a synthesizer. In 1980, he released his last significant hit, a recording of the theme from the hit TV drama Dallas. Though largely quiet for most of the decade, in 1988 Cramer released three separate albums -- Country Gold, Just Me and My Piano!, and Special Songs of Love. He died December 31, 1997.
© Jason Ankeny /TiVo
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Floyd Cramer Gets Organized
Jazz - Paru chez CoolNote le 1 janv. 2000
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Last Date (Billboard Hot 100 - No. 02)
Alternatif et Indé - Paru chez Music Manager le 19 déc. 2018
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All Time Instrumental Greats
Pop - Paru chez Play Digital le 17 août 2015
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The Best Vintage Selection - Floyd Cramer
Lounge - Paru chez Retro Music Box le 14 oct. 2020
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Chattanooga Choo Choo
Pop - Paru chez Spotlight Recordings le 29 sept. 2020
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Floyd Cramer's Hits
Country - Paru chez Vintage Jukebox le 22 oct. 2019
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You've Lost That Loving Feeling
Pop - Paru chez Country Music Group le 27 janv. 2013
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Flip Flop and Bop (Billboard Hot 100 - No 87)
Rock - Paru chez Music Manager le 5 nov. 2020
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The Classic Country Collection
Country - Paru chez Play Digital le 23 mai 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Greatest Hits
Lounge - Paru chez Retro Music Box le 30 oct. 2019
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My Blue Heaven
Lounge - Paru chez Wind & Broomfield Records le 5 juin 2015
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My Blue Heaven
Lounge - Paru chez Music All Records le 5 juin 2015
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Blues Stay Away from Me
Blues - Paru chez Mach60 Music le 1 oct. 2014
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I Feel Fine
Country - Paru chez Shami Media Group 3 le 8 févr. 2016
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Fancy Pants (The Abott & Mgm Singles 1953 -1956)
Pop - Paru chez Country Classics le 1 janv. 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo