calsfoundation@cals.org
December 31, 1997
Pianist Floyd Cramer—who spent most of his childhood in Huttig (Union County)—died of cancer. Cramer was one of the creators of what became known as the Nashville Sound, a style often denigrated as a forerunner of the slick, upscale pop/rock that emerged in Nashville, Tennessee, in the 1990s. Cramer had learned to play the piano by ear as a child and developed a smooth, “slip-note” style that influenced countless other pianists. In 2003, he was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame.