Coleman: ‘The Legacy of Floyd Cramer’
PIANO-PLAYING GRANDSON DOES BACK-TO-BACK SHOWS IN CLEVELAND, SPRING CITY
Floyd Cramer has played his last date, but the music of the legendary pianist lives on in a touring tribute by his grandson.
Jason Coleman will present “The Legacy of Floyd Cramer” in back-toback shows in Southeast Tennessee tonight and Friday, April 16-17.
Tonight’s performance in Cleveland, to be held on the campus of Lee University, is the final show in the Bradley Concerts 2014-15 season. Friday’s show will take place at Tennessee Valley Theatre in Spring City.
Coleman, who turned 30 on April 2, began to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps at an early age, singing when he was only 2 years old at one of Cramer’s concerts at the Grand Ole Opry.
He performed twice with Cramer on national TV. At age 4, he sang while Cramer played on “Nashville Now,” and at age 9, he played a Christmas piano duet with his granddad on “Music City Tonight.” Over time, his playing style matured into an uncanny reflection of the signature stylings of his granddad.
Cramer ( 1933- 1997) was known for his “slipnote” playing, in which an out-of-key note slides into the correct note. He is considered an architect of the “Nashville sound” and was in demand as a session player for some of music’s biggest stars, including Patsy Cline, Roy Orbison, Jim Reeves and Elvis Presley.
Cramer’s biggest solo hit was the 1960 single “Last Date.” The record sold more than a million copies and went to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 Pop Music Chart. It was kept out of the No. 1 position by Presley’s “Are You Lonesome Tonight,” which also featured Cramer on piano.
Five years after Cramer’s death, Coleman made his official Grand Ole Opry debut at age 17 accompanying Hank Locklin on the song “Please Help Me I’m Falling,” which Cramer originally recorded with Locklin more than 40 years earlier. Two years later, Coleman played at the medallion ceremony recognizing his grandfather’s induction in the Country Music Hall of Fame.