Floyd Cramer

Floyd Cramer (October 27, 1933 – December 31, 1997) was an American pianist who became famous for his use of melodic "whole-step" attacks. He was inducted into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His signature playing style was a cornerstone of the pop-oriented "Nashville sound" of the 1950s and 1960s. Cramer's "slip-note" or "bent-note" style, in which a passing note slides almost instantly into or away from a chordal note, influenced a generation of pianists. His sound became popular to the degree that he stepped out of his role as a sideman and began touring as a solo act. In 1960, his piano instrumental solo, "Last Date" went to number two on the Billboard Hot 100 pop music chart and sold over one million copies. Its follow-up, "On the Rebound", topped the UK Singles Chart in 1961. As a studio musician, he became one of a cadre of elite players dubbed the Nashville A-Team and he performed on scores of hit records. thumb

Biography Cramer was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, and grew up in the small town of Huttig, Arkansas. He taught himself to play the piano. After finishing high school, he returned to Shreveport, where he worked as a ragtime pianist for the radio show Louisiana Hayride, with a banjo-bass-and-drums combo. His earliest recordings, on the Abbott label, carry the credit "Featuring Floyd Cramer on the Piano with Louisiana Hayride Band".

After Elvis Presley performed on Louisiana Hayride in 1955, he hired his own band which included Cramer, Jimmy Day, Scotty Moore, Bill Black, and D. J. Fontana. This group remained his supporting band for much of that year; however, when Presley asked them to relocate to Hollywood, Cramer and Day declined to follow him there, preferring to remain in Nashville to pursue independent careers as studio musicians. In Nashville, Cramer found that piano accompaniment in country music was growing in popularity. By the next year he was, in his words, "in day and night doing session". Before long, he was one of the busiest studio musicians in the industry, playing piano for stars such as Elvis Presley, Brenda Lee, Patsy Cline, the Browns, Jim Reeves, Eddy Arnold, Roy Orbison, Don Gibson, and the Everly Brothers, among others. It was Cramer's piano playing, for instance, on Presley's first RCA Victor single, "Heartbreak Hotel". While Cramer was well-established as a session player, he had a long career as a solo performer with dozens of his own albums and singles, including some Top 40 instrumental hits.

Cramer had released records under his own name since the early 1950s and became well known following the release of "Last Date", a 45-rpm single, released by RCA Victor in 1960. The instrumental piece exhibited a relatively new concept in piano playing known as the "slip note" style. The record went to number two on the Billboard Hot 100 pop music chart, sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. The song was kept out of the number one position by Elvis Presley's "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" The session pianist for Presley's recording, in an early morning session (about 4:00 AM) at RCA Studio B in Nashville, was Cramer himself.

In 1961, Cramer had a hit with "On the Rebound", which went to number 4, and number 1 on the UK Singles Chart. ("On the Rebound" was featured during the opening credits of the 2009 Oscar-nominated film An Education, which was set in England in 1961.) Also in 1961, Cramer had a hit with "San Antonio Rose" (number 8).

By the mid-1960s, Cramer had become a respected performer, making numerous albums and touring with guitar maestro Chet Atkins and saxophonist Boots Randolph, sometimes headlining and sometimes as the opening act for Eddy Arnold. Cramer also performed with them as a member of the Million Dollar Band.

Cramer died of lung cancer on New Year's Eve, 1997, at the age of 64. He was interred in the Spring Hill Cemetery in the Nashville suburb of Madison, Tennessee.

Legacy Cramer’s grandson, Jason Coleman, followed in his footsteps taking up the piano, performing with him on television and in concert at a young age. At age 17, he played "Please Help Me, I'm Falling", the first song to feature Cramer's signature slip notes, with Hank Locklin at the Grand Ole Opry, and two years later played piano for the Medallion Ceremony at Cramer's induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame. He carries on his grandfather's legacy with recordings and a touring tribute concert, The Piano Magic of Floyd Cramer, sharing the piano arrangements and story of Cramer's contributions to American music.

Awards In 2003, Cramer was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2004, his recording of "Last Date" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, established to honor recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. In 2008, Cramer was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.

East Tennessee State University, in Johnson City, Tennessee, offers the Floyd Cramer Competitive Scholarship.

Discography

Albums Year Album Chart Positions Label US Country US 1957 That Honky Tonk Piano — — MGM Records 1960 Hello Blues — — RCA Victor 1961 Last Date — — On the Rebound — 70 1962 America's Biggest Selling Pianist — — Floyd Cramer Gets Organ-ized — 113 I Remember Hank Williams — 130 1963 Swing Along with Floyd Cramer — — Comin' On — — Three Great Pianos (with Peter Nero and Frankie Carle) — — 1964 Country Piano-City Strings — — Cramer at the Console — — The Best of Floyd Cramer — — 1965 Hits from the Country Hall of Fame 10 — Class of '65 — 107 The Magic Touch of Floyd Cramer — — 1966 The Distinctive Piano Style of Floyd Cramer — — Only the Big Ones — — Class of '66 — 123 1967 Night Train — — Here's What's Happening! 20 166 Floyd Cramer Plays the Monkees — — Class of '67 21 — We Wish You a Merry Christmas — 26 1968 Floyd Cramer Plays Country Classics 16 — Class of '68 — — Floyd Cramer Plays MacArthur Park 36 — The Best of Floyd Cramer Volume 2 — — 1969 Class of '69 31 — Floyd Cramer Plays More Country Classics 17 — 1970 The Big Ones, Vol. 2 — 183 With the Music City Pops — — This Is Floyd Cramer 39 — Class of '70 43 — 1971 Almost Persuaded — — Chet, Floyd & Boots (with Chet Atkins and Boots Randolph) — — Sounds of Sunday 44 — Class of '71 34 — 1972 Detours — — Class of '72 — — Best of the Class of Floyd Cramer — — Date with Floyd Cramer — — 1973 Floyd Cramer Plays the Big Hits — — Super Country Hits — — Class of '73 34 — 1974 The Young and the Restless — — Spotlight On — — Floyd Cramer in Concert 25 — 1975 Piano Masterpieces 1900–1975 — — Class of '74 and '75 — — 1976 Floyd Cramer Country 46 — 1977 Floyd Cramer & the Keyboard Kick Band 50 — Chet, Floyd & Danny (with Chet Atkins and Danny Davis) 46 — 1978 Looking for Mr. Goodbar — — 1979 Super Hits — — 1980 Dallas 29 170 1981 Great Country Hits — — The Best of the West — — 1982 20 of the Best — — 1985 Collector's Date — — Country Classics — — Pair Records 1988 Special Songs of Love — — Step One Records Country Gold — — Just Me and My Piano — — 1989 Forever Floyd Cramer — — We Wish You a Merry Christmas — — Originals — — 1991 Gospel Classics — — 1994 The Piano Magic of Floyd Cramer — — Ranwood 1995 Favorite Country Hits 1 — — 1996 The Piano Magic of Floyd Cramer 2 — — 1997 Blue Skies — — Favorite Country Hits 2 — —

Singles Year Single Chart Positions Album US US Country US R&B US AC UK 1953 "Fancy Pants" — — — — 1958 "Flip Flop and Bop" 87 — — — — Last Date 1960 "Last Date" 2 11 3 — — 1961 "On the Rebound" 4 — 16 — 1 On the Rebound "San Antonio Rose" 8 8 — 3 36 "Your Last Goodbye" 63 — — — — America's Biggest Selling Pianist "Hang On" 95 — — — — 1962 "Chattanooga Choo Choo" 36 — — 9 — (single only) "Let's Go" 90 — — — — Floyd Cramer Gets Organ-ized "Lovesick Blues" 87 — — 20 — I Remember Hank Williams "Hot Pepper" 63 — — — 46 (singles only) "Swing Low" 110 — — — — "Losers Weepers" 127 — — — — 1963 "Java" 49 — — 12 — Swing Along with Floyd Cramer "(These Are) The Young Years" 129 — — — — Comin' On "How High the Moon" 121 — — — — (single only) "Heartless Heart" 124 — — — — Country Piano-City Strings 1967 "Stood Up" — 53 — 24 — (single only) 1968 "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" — — — 32 — 1970 "Theme from 222" — — — 39 — 1977 "Rhythm of the Rain" — 67 — — — Floyd Cramer & the Keyboard Kick Band 1980 "Dallas"A 104 32 — 34 — Dallas A"Dallas", a cover version of the theme to the popular TV series, peaked at number 8 on the RPM Country Tracks chart in Canada.