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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Last Date (Mono Version)
Rock - Released by BNF Collection on Jan 1, 1961
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Super Country Hits
Country - Released by RCA - Legacy on Mar 5, 1973
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Floyd Cramer Gets Organized
Jazz - Released by CoolNote on Jan 1, 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Last Date (Billboard Hot 100 - No. 02)
Alternative & Indie - Released by Music Manager on Dec 19, 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
All Time Instrumental Greats
Pop - Released by Play Digital on Aug 17, 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Best Vintage Selection - Floyd Cramer
Lounge - Released by Retro Music Box on Oct 14, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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I Remember Hank Williams
World - Released by TP4 Music on Jan 6, 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Chattanooga Choo Choo
Pop - Released by Spotlight Recordings on Sep 29, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Floyd Cramer's Hits
Country - Released by Vintage Jukebox on Oct 22, 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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The Swingin' Shepherd Blues
Pop - Released by Spotlight Recordings on Sep 29, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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You've Lost That Loving Feeling
Pop - Released by Country Music Group on Jan 27, 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Flip Flop and Bop (Billboard Hot 100 - No 87)
Rock - Released by Music Manager on Nov 5, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Classic Country Collection
Country - Released by Play Digital on May 23, 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo