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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We Wish You A Merry Christmas
Country - Released by RCA Records Label Nashville on 1 Jan 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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The Essential Floyd Cramer
Country - Released by RCA Records Label Nashville on 9 Oct 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
On the Rebound
Country - Released by RCA - Legacy on 30 May 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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The Slip Note Piano Style (Remastered)
Country - Released by Master Tape Records on 8 Nov 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Super Hits
Country - Released by RCA Records Label Nashville on 1 Jan 1979
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Floyd Cramer Plays The Monkees
Country - Released by RCA - Legacy on 1 Jan 1967
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Piano Masterpieces
Country - Released by RCA Records Label Nashville on 1 Mar 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Last Date (Original Album Plus Bonus Tracks 1962)
Pop - Released by Country Classics on 1 Jan 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Class of '68
Country - Released by RCA Victor - Legacy on 22 Apr 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Class of '67
Country - Released by RCA Victor - Legacy on 24 Feb 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Floyd Cramer Plays Mac Arthur Park
Country - Released by RCA Records Label on 27 Sep 1968
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Class of '71
Country - Released by RCA Victor - Legacy on 22 Apr 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Java (Billboard Hot 100 - No 49)
Pop - Released by Music Manager on 5 Nov 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Pop Classics: Volume One
Country - Released by Yell Records on 13 Mar 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
RCA Country Legends: Floyd Cramer
Country - Released by Buddha Records on 1 Oct 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Floyd Cramer Plays Country Classics
Country - Released by RCA Records Label on 13 Jun 1968
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo