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Biography
Infobox musical artist | name = Floyd Cramer| image = Floyd Cramer promo photo.jpg| caption =| image_size =| background = non_vocal_instrumentalist| birth_name = Floyd Cramer| alias =| birth_date = October 27, 1933| birth_place = Shreveport, Louisiana|Shreveport , Louisiana , United States| death_date = death date and age|1997|12|31|1933|10|27| death_place =| origin = Huttig, Arkansas , United States| instrument = Piano | genre =| occupation = Pianist | years_active =| label =| associated_acts = Elvis Presley , Chet Atkins , Patsy Cline | website =| notable_instruments = Floyd Cramer (October 27, 1933 December 31, 1997) was an United States|American Hall of Fame pianist who was one of the architects of the " Nashville sound ". He was known for his " appoggiatura|slip note " piano style, where an out-of-key note slides into the correct note.
Biography
Born in Shreveport, Louisiana|Shreveport , Louisiana , Cramer grew up in the small town of Huttig, Arkansas|Huttig , Arkansas , teaching himself to play the piano . After finishing high school, he returned to Shreveport, where he worked as a pianist for the Louisiana Hayride radio show .
In 1953, he cut his first single, "Dancin' Diane", backed with "Little Brown Jug", for the local Abbott label. He then toured with an emerging talent who would later figure significantly in his career, Elvis Presley .Wadey P, 5 January 1998, Obituary: Floyd Cramer , Independent Monthly (UK), Independent News and Media Limited
Cramer moved to Nashville in 1955 where the use of piano accompanists in country music was growing in popularity. By the next year he was, in his words, "in day and night doing sessions. http://www.countrymusichalloffame.com/site/inductees.aspx? cid=110# 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 national hit, " Heartbreak Hotel ". However, Cramer remained strictly a session player, a virtual unknown to anyone outside the music industry .
Cramer had released records under his own name since the early 1950s, and became well known following the release of " Last Date (song)|Last Date ", a Gramophone record|45 rpm single, in 1960."Last Date" is also featured as the closing theme for Ray Hadley 's radio show on Sydney's radio station 2GB . The instrumental piece exhibited a relatively new concept for 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 music recording sales certification|gold disc .cite book | first= Joseph | last= Murrells | year= 1978 | title= The Book of Golden Discs | edition= 2nd | publisher= Barrie and Jenkins Ltd | location= London | page= 123 | isbn= 0-214-20512-6
In 1961 Cramer had a hit with "On the Rebound," which went to number three, and number one in the UK chart. ("On the Rebound" was later featured during the opening credits of the 2009 Academy Awards|Oscar -nominated film An Education , which was set in 1961 England). That same year Cramer also hit with " New San Antonio Rose|San Antonio Rose " (number eight).
By the mid-1960s, Cramer had become a respected performer, making numerous record albums and touring with guitar maestro Chet Atkins and saxophonist Boots Randolph ; also performing with them as a member of the Million Dollar Band (country music group)|Million Dollar Band .
Over the years, Cramer continued to balance session work with his own albums. Many of these featured standards or popular hits of the era and from 1965 to 1974 he annually recorded a disc of the year's biggest hits prefaced "Class of . . ." Other long-players included I Remember Hank Williams (1962), Floyd Cramer Plays the Monkees (1967), Looking For Mr Goodbar (1968) and Sounds of Sunday (1971). In 1977 Floyd Cramer and the Keyboard Kick Band was released, on which he played eight different keyboard instrument s.
Floyd Cramer died of lung cancer in 1997 at the age of 64 and was interred in the Spring Hill Cemetery in the Nashville suburb of Madison, Tennessee|Madison , Tennessee .
Legacy
His grandson, http://www.jasoncolemanmusic.com Jason Coleman, inherited his grandfather's skill on 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 Cramers induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame. He is currently carrying on his grandfather's legacy with a series of recordings and a tribute concert, The Legacy of Floyd Cramer, sharing the piano arrangements and story of Cramer's contributions to American music while on tour throughout the country.
Awards
In 2003, Floyd Cramer was inducted into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame .
In 2008, Floyd Cramer was posthumously inducted into The Louisiana Music Hall of Fame .
East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tennessee|Johnson City , Tennessee, offers the Floyd Cramer Competitive Scholarship.
Quotation
cquote|Trying to launch myself on a solo career, after being Elvis Presley's pianist for so long, placed me in an unenviable position. Some people thought I was trying to cash in. If I had wanted to cash in on my association with Elvis, I would have done it five years ago. NME - November 1961cite book | first= John | last= Tobler | year= 1992 | title= NME Rock 'N' Roll Years | edition= 1st | publisher= Reed International Books Ltd | location= London | page= 100 | id= CN 5585
Discography
Albums
Year
Album
Chart Positions
Label
US Country
US
1957
That Honky Tonk Piano
MGM
1960
Hello Blues
RCA
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 )
Escott, Colin (1998). "Floyd Cramer". In The Encyclopedia of Country Music . Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. pp.& nbsp;1178.
http://www.countrymusichalloffame.com/site/inductees.aspx? cid=110 Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
Persondata | NAME =Cramer, Floyd | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = United States|American Hall of Fame pianist | DATE OF BIRTH =October 27, 1933 | PLACE OF BIRTH = Shreveport, Louisiana , United States | DATE OF DEATH =December 31, 1997 | PLACE OF DEATH = DEFAULTSORT:Cramer, Floyd Category:1933 births Category:1997 deaths Category:American country singers Category:American country pianists Category:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Category:Abbott Records artists Category:RCA Victor artists Category:People from Shreveport, Louisiana Category:People from Union County, Arkansas Category:Deaths from lung cancer Category:Country Music Hall of Fame inductees Category:Cancer deaths in Tennessee Category:Million Dollar Band (country music group) members
