Obit: Architect of honky-tonk- Floyd Tillman

Subject: Obit: Architect of honky-tonk- Floyd Tilman
From: katlaughing
Date: 19 Oct 03 - 11:56 PM

A friend sent me this; thought Mudcatters might be interested:


Tillman Dies at 88
Mike Bronco

Floyd Tillman died Friday morning at his home near Houston at 88. The legendary country singer guitarist had been diagnosed with leukemia. Even so, Tillman recently finished recording an album of duets, aptly titled The Influence, with country legends Willie Nelson, George Jones, Dolly Parton and others. The album is scheduled for released this November. Below is a brief account of Floyd Tillmans brilliant and inovative career in country music.

If Floyd Tillman had wanted to adopt the Nashville Sound, or any other trend that happened to be hot at the moment, he might be a better known artist today. But Floyd Tillman made a name for himself by setting trends, not following them. Tillman was a master stylist, and through his unique vocal delivery and incredible songwriting, not to mention his innovative guitar playing, he brought about tremendous changes that influenced the course of country music for years to come. Tillman was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970, then into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1984. He is much revered, and often emulated by those who understand and appreciate all he has accomplished, and by those who have listened to his records. Names like "The Original Outlaw" and "Architect of Honky Tonk" have been bestowed upon him, and he is certainly deserving of such lofty titles.

Floyd Tillman was born in Ryan, Oklahoma, on December 8, 1914, but moved with his large family to Post, Texas, at the age of one. The Tillmans were a musical family, and Floyd was playing guitar at an early age. He got his start playing in his older brother's band, where he began playing improvised solos on the guitar, an idea he got from a trumpet player. Tillman recalled that one brother advised against it, insisting "You're not supposed to use a guitar that way. It's made for seconding." But young Floyd saw that people liked it, and so he persisted. By the early 1930s, Tillman had made his way to San Antonio, where he impressed western swing icons Adolph & Emil Hofner enough to get a spot in their band. He moved in the mid 30's to form The Blue Ridge Playboys, a band that other featured other future stars such as Moon Mullican and Ted Daffan.

Around this time, Tillman, who still considered himself primarily a guitarist, had also began writing songs. The Blue Ridge Playboys recorded a few of these before briefly disbanding. When Tillman rejoined the group, he had written "It Makes No Difference Now" a song he knew could be a smash, but the boys lacked a recording contract at this time. Cliff Bruner and his Texas Wanderers worked the same Houston radio station as Tillman's group, and saw the attention the song was getting. Daffan recorded the song along with another Tillman original for Decca in 1938, and the record was a smash. Tillman then sold the song to Jimmie Davis who had a hit with it, before passing it on to Bing Crosby, who made it a pop success, making it one of the earliest country songs to do so.

Tillman spent the next couple of years playing with a variety of top-notch artists, and continued to write songs, as well as emerge as a premier vocalist. He had always sang differently, with a jazzy, laid-back delivery, but now he was perfecting his trademark, almost quirky method of bending notes. He was also moving away from western swing and jazz sounds, and was developing a new style that emphasized the singer and melody of a song, an idea that would ultimately lead to the true honky tonk sound. Through the war, Tillman continued to perform with different groups, and in 1947 he scored a huge hit with a cover of Jerry Irby's "Drivin' Nails In My Coffin" which he recorded for his new label, Columbia Records.

In 1947, Tillman managed, with some difficulty, to get "I Love You So Much It Hurts" recorded, as Columbia's A&R man, Art Satherly, feared it was too pop sounding. The song did turn out to be a huge pop smash for several big artists, but was also a country hit for Tillman. Following the success, during the late 1940s, Tillman produced a series of outstanding hit songs such as "This Cold War With You" and "Slipping Around," a cheating song that had considerable influence on country embracing material of a more frank and candid nature. In 1950, Tillman set another trend by breaking off from his band and booking himself as a solo performer, using house bands to back him up. Other artists, especially from South Texas, followed suit, and the result was a prevalence of package shows that marked the era.

Floyd Tillman preferred to remain on the fringe of country music after his semi-retirement in the mid 1950s, choosing to record on occasion and stay put in his native Texas, where he continued to influence up-and-coming artists. Floyd Tillman belongs in the same category as other great Hall of Famers like Hank Williams and Lefty Frizzell.

Subject: RE: Obit: Architect of honky-tonk- Floyd Tillman
From: RangerSteve
Date: 20 Oct 03 - 10:00 AM

Kat, this is fairly old news. I started a thread on it back in late August. Only two other people commented on it, which surprised me. Maybe a lot of folks were away on vacation.

Subject: RE: Obit: Architect of honky-tonk- Floyd Tillman
From: wysiwyg
Date: 20 Oct 03 - 10:05 AM

You can hear a number of Tillman recordings at RECORD LADY, using the artist and song indexes to find and download the songs. And please, support the Record Lady site if you can!

~S~

Subject: RE: Obit: Architect of honky-tonk- Floyd Tillman
From: katlaughing
Date: 20 Oct 03 - 11:11 AM

Oh, sorry RangerSteve! I didn't realise the notice was outdated. I am surprised it didn't get more notice, too. I see your thread, now. Sorry.

Thanks for the link, Susan.

Subject: RE: Obit: Architect of honky-tonk- Floyd Tillman
From: RangerSteve
Date: 20 Oct 03 - 06:10 PM

Hey, Kat, I'm glad you started this thread, maybe this time it'll get some more notice. I hate to see Mr. Tillman go without any notice by the public.

Subject: RE: Obit: Architect of honky-tonk- Floyd Tillman
From: katlaughing
Date: 20 Oct 03 - 07:18 PM

Thanks, RS, me, too!:-)