Flip's Instro Gems #3 - Floyd Cramer

Instro Gem # 3 Floyd Cramer -Flip Flop & Bop

As a kid all I knew about Floyd was his million selling cool country pop instro hits like On The Rebound and Last Date, featuring his famed slip note style and that he played with God.

One of my earliest and still fav El albums was Something For Everybody, a ballad side and a rocking side, guess which one I played the pants off! I spent a year having piano lessons on an old upright playing scales and all these boring things like Golden Slumbers but when ever the old dear slipped out to answer the phone I pummelled away on the Floyd descending chords from the brilliant I`m Comin` Home, couldn't believe it wasn`t a 45.

Later ,when I started collecting in old junk shops (no oldies stores then), I came across an old battered black RCA victor 45 from 1958, one side was Sophisicated Swing (arggghhh) but the other was the epic Flip Flop & Bop where ole uncle Floyd finally tears loose ripping through this roadhouse stomping 12 bar boogie woogie gem with some style, (reminds me of that great piano scene at the end of the marvellous Diner movie) I suspect it`s the A team and his ole Elvis sidekicks like Chet "Boogie" Atkins and Boots Randolph wailing away for the 130 odd seconds of musical bliss, alas though I vainly searched through many of his countryploitan standards recordings which sold by the bucketload I never found anything that moved me as much as this piece of musical mayhem

There is a 70s live album where the Floydster almost kicks back the stool in Killah style whilst ripping through our lil` gem (probably bored shitless by playing those three chord country classics his audience wanted) and the country crowd clap along in classic Steve The Jerk Martin whitefolks style, is just off the actual beat (also on the tube of you)

This bopper sits nicley with those great June 58 rockers he cut with soon to be Germany Pvt Presley I Need Your Love Tonight, A Big Hunk Of Love,Ain`t That Lovin You Baby and I Got Stung and the couple of post army live shows El did with the A team in Memphis and Honolulu. Always wished that he would`ve played on the EP Vegas comeback in 69.

Shame the Flip (which incidentally gave me my moniker) 45 never sold in the truckfuls that Date and Rebound did otherwise we could be talking Floyd C piano rocker and not the famed Nashville sideman and hall of famer. He left us far too young (ciggies apparently) but remember him this way , also check out the El clip as well

Floyd Cramer - Flip Flop & Bop

Elvis and Floyd -I`m Comin Home