The son of a sharecropper, Tillman grew up in the cotton mill town
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of Post, Texas, and as a young man worked as a Western Union telegraph operator while playing mandolin with his brothers at local dances. In about 1934 he began singing as well, forging a distinctive style that has influenced numerous singers, Willie Nelson being the best known. As jazz singers did, he freely interpreted meter and melody, often coming in ahead of or behind the beat; likewise, he often slurred words and bent notes. Later he mastered the resonator guitar, eventually playing jazzy solos on an electrified model, and then played lead electric guitar for Adolph Hofner, a western swing bandleader based in San Antonio. There, listening to other musicians as well as recordings, Tillman absorbed the sounds and styles of numerous pop, jazz, blues, and country musicians.
Tillman recorded as a featured vocalist with Selph’s Blue Ridge Playboys in 1938, and, later that same year, Decca recorded him as a solo performer. He scored his first major songwriting hit, "It Makes No Difference Now", giving him his own Decca recording contract. Jimmie Davis purchased the song from Floyd for $300, the rights to which he got back 28 years later. "It Makes No Difference Now" tied with "San Antonio Rose" as the first country-pop crossover hit (Bing Crosby put both songs on the same record)
While his early recordings mainly sought to provide danceable rhythms, songs such as “Daisy May,” recorded in 1940, reveal his trademark half-singing, half-speaking vocals. Tillman's only No. 1 one song as a singer was "They Took the Stars Out of Heaven". It reached the top of the charts in 1944. Previously, he had reached
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No. 2 with "I'm Gonna Change All My Ways". His 1944 hit, "Each Night At Nine", struck a chord with lonely servicemen during World War II. Axis Sally and Tokyo Rose played it heavily to encourage desertion.
No. 2 with "I'm Gonna Change All My Ways". His 1944 hit, "Each Night At Nine", struck a chord with lonely servicemen during World War II. Axis Sally and Tokyo Rose played it heavily to encourage desertion. |
| Jerry Irby, Floyd Tillman and Hank Williams |
At the peak of his career the independent-minded musician decided to retire from grinding road work. In truth, however, Tillman never quit music altogether, and he continued to record occasionally and to make infrequent TV appearances until shortly before his death. He also kept writing, eventually counting more than 1,000 songs to his credit. It is estimated that recordings featuring his tunes have sold in excess of 50 million copies combined. Thus, his election to the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame in 1970 and the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1984 were well-deserved.
Floyd continued to work until he reached his 88th birthday, just months before his death. He passed away peacefully at his home in Bacliff, Texas, on August 22, 2003.
(Compiled and edited from Wikipedia & countrymusichalloffame.com)