Floyd Cramer

Floyd Cramer
Cramer in 1965
Background information
Birth name	Floyd Cramer
Born	October 27, 1933 Shreveport, Louisiana, U.S.
Origin	Huttig, Arkansas, U.S.
Died	December 31, 1997(1997-12-31) (aged 64) Nashville, Tennessee
Genres	Country, Nashville sound
Occupation	Pianist
Instrument	Piano
Years active	1953−1980
Labels	Abbott

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^[1] 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.^[2] 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.^[3] His sound became popular to the degree that he stepped out of his role as a sideman and began touring as a solo act.^[4] 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.