The Pianists of Country Music
It may be hard to imagine, but the piano wasn’t always accepted into country and western music. There were many pianists who persevered and brought an entirely new dimension to the music. These musicians brought other playing styles into a very rigid musical genre, allowing it to expand into the force it is today.
Pianists in country and western music were originally borrowed from other genres of music. The first pianist in Western swing was a jazz player named Fred “Papa” Calhoun. Calhoun’s deft playing complemented the rest of the band, which consisted of stand-up bass, tenor banjo and twin fiddles. Other groups followed suit, searching for the right players for their lineup.
John “Smokey” Wood is one of the most famous of these pianists. Known as a bit of an outlaw in his days, Smokey got his name from the enormous amount of marijuana he was known to smoke. He often lit up right in the middle of a set, in full view of the audience and bar owner. Smokey was a teenager when the Houston music scene blew up, and he decided to get caught in the wave.
Though he never became a household name, the swagger of his playing affected country and western music forever. He is credited with bringing blues into hillbilly music and living like a character in one of his songs. Before he died in 1975, he wrote music to be played at his funeral. His wife, who was an accomplished church organist, couldn’t perform it in the swing style, so she convinced an organ salesman to play it. The salesman just happened to be passing by at the right time.
One of the creators of the Nashville sound was a gentleman named Floyd Cramer. After spending his youth playing for the Louisiana Hayride Radio Show, Cramer moved to Nashville to further his musical career. The piano was just beginning to become popular in country music, and Cramer arrived at just the right moment. In a short amount of time he would play with legendary acts like Patsy Cline, Don Gibson and The Everly Brothers.
Cramer’s playing is most notably heard on Elvis Presley’s first big hit, Heartbreak Hotel. Without his legendary fingers, the Nashville music scene wouldn’t be what it is today. Cramer went on to play with guitar legend Chet Atkins and saxophonist Boots Randolph in the Million Dollar Band.
Aubrey Wilson Mullican, otherwise known as Moon Mullican, was one of the first singer-pianists to become a major commercial force. In the 1930s he earned his moniker by performing all night, developing his style from the blues artists of the day. Later in the decade he began playing with the Texas Wanderers, bringing his wild command of the instrument to hillbilly music.
Though he played country music, his style was a precursor to the rock and roll of the 1950s. Jerry Lee Lewis pointed to Mullican as a huge influence. His ability to transcend genres gave his recordings a sound all their own. Mullican became a member of the Grand Old Opry and was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame posthumously.