Floyd Cramer
American Hall of Fame pianist
Born on: October 27, 1933Died on: December 31, 1997
Aged: 64 years 65 days (770 months)
Birth Sign: Scorpio
Floyd Cramer 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 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. 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.
His sound became popular to the degree that he stepped out of his role as a sideman and began touring as a solo act.
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.
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