Born today in 1933, the great Floyd Cramer. According to Wiki, “Cramer became famous for his use of melodic “whole-step” attacks. He was inducted into both the Country Music (and 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.”
A great example of this is his song Last Date. It went to number 11 on the country charts and was a number two hit on the Billboard Hot 100. It was kept out of the number one spot by Are You Lonesome Tonight by Elvis Presley. Vocal versions were done by Conway Twitty and Skeeter Davis, both with original lyrics, but the instrumental speaks for itself.
Happy Birthday, Floyd!
