Floyd Cramer
Floyd Cramer (Shreveport (Louisiana), 27 oktober 1933 – Madison (Tennessee), 31 december 1997) was een Amerikaanse country-pianist die vooral furore maakte in de jaren 50, 60 en 70 van de vorige eeuw.
Cramer groeide op in Huttig, een klein stadje in Arkansas. Op vijfjarige leeftijd begon hij met pianospelen en in 1951 kreeg hij een plaatsje in “The Louisiana Hayride Band”. In 1955 trok hij naar Nashville en werd bekend door zijn bijdrage aan de speciale Nashville-sound.
Cramer heeft ook bij uiteenlopende artiesten meegespeeld als achtergrondpianist, onder andere bij Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Patsy Cline, Jim Reeves, Johnny Cash, Chet Atkins, Boots Randolph, Perry Como, The Everly Brothers en vele anderen.
Naast pianist was Floyd Cramer ook een fanatiek golfer en had zijn eigen “Celebrity Golf Tournament”. Een van de hoogtepunten uit zijn carrière was zijn tournee door Zuid-Afrika, samen met Chet Atkins en Jim Reeves, waar bij aankomst op het vliegveld van Johannesburg zeker 60.000 mensen stonden te wachten om hen te verwelkomen. Andere hoogtepunten waren zijn hitsingles “Last Date” en “On The Rebound”, die in 1961 respectievelijk nummer 2 en nummer 4 in de Amerikaanse BillBoard Top stonden.
Cramer overleed aan longkanker. Postuum werd hij in 2003 opgenomen in de Country Music Hall of Fame.
Discografie
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 | Young and 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 | |||
| 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” | 104 | 32 | — | 34 | — | Dallas |
Floyd Cramer