Floyd Tillman (December 8, 1914 – August 22, 2003) was an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

ian who, in the 1930s and 1940s, helped create the

Western swing Western swing music is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the Western United States, West and Southern United States, South among the region's Western music (North America), Western string bands. It is dan ...

and

honky tonk A honky-tonk (also called honkatonk, honkey-tonk, or tonk) is both a bar that provides country music for the entertainment of its patrons and the style of music played in such establishments. It can also refer to the type of piano ( tack piano) ...

genres. Tillman was inducted into the

Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame was established in 1970 by the Nashville Songwriters Foundation, Inc. in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. A non-profit organization, its objective is to honor and preserve the songwriting legacy that is u ...

in 1970 and the

Country Music Hall of Fame The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, is one of the world's largest museums and research centers dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of American vernacular music. Chartered in 1964, the museum has amass ...

in 1984.

Biography

Early life

He was born in

Ryan, Oklahoma Ryan is a town in Jefferson County, Oklahoma, United States, located north of the Texas state line. The population was 816 at the 2010 census, a decline of over 8.7 percent from the figure of 894 in 2000. Geography Ryan is located at (34.02167 ...

, United States, and grew up in the cotton-mill town of

Post, Texas Post is a city in and the county seat of Garza County, Texas, United States. Its population was 5,376 at the 2010 census. History Post is located on the edge of the caprock escarpment of the Llano Estacado, the southeastern edge of the Great Pla ...

as a

sharecropper Sharecropping is a legal arrangement with regard to agricultural land in which a landowner allows a tenant to use the land in return for a share of the crops produced on that land. Sharecropping has a long history and there are a wide range ...

's son. One of his early jobs was with

Western Union The Western Union Company is an American multinational financial services company, headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1851 as the New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company in Rochester, New York, the company chang ...

as a

telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...

operator. In the early 1930s, Tilman played mandolin and banjo at local dances and eventually took up the guitar.

Musical career

Tillman moved to

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

played lead guitar with Adolph Hofner, a Western swing bandleader, and soon developed into a songwriter and singer. He took a job with

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

pop bandleader Mack Clark in 1938, and played with Western swing groups fronted by Leon "Pappy" Selph and

Cliff Bruner Clifton Lafayette Bruner (April 25, 1915 – August 25, 2000) was a fiddler and bandleader of the Western Swing era of the 1930s and 1940s. Bruner's music combined elements of traditional string band music, improvisation, blues, folk, and popula ...

. He also worked with

Ted Daffan Theron Eugene "Ted" Daffan (September 21, 1912 – October 6, 1996) was an American country musician noted for composing the seminal "Truck Driver's Blues" and two much covered country anthems of unrequited love, " Born to Lose" and "I'm a Fo ...

, and singer and piano player

Moon Mullican Aubrey Wilson Mullican (March 29, 1909 – January 1, 1967), known professionally as Moon Mullican and nicknamed "King of the Hillbilly Piano Players", was an American country and western singer, songwriter, and pianist. He was associated with t ...

. Tillman recorded as a featured vocalist with Selph's Blue Ridge Playboys in 1938, the same year Floyd scored his first major songwriting hit, "It Makes No Difference Now", giving him his own

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...

recording contract. Jimmie Davis purchased the song from Floyd for $300, the co-rights to which he got back 28 years later. 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 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 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Axis Sally Axis Sally was the generic nickname given to women radio personalities who broadcast English-language propaganda on behalf of the European Axis Powers during World War II. These included: * Mildred Gillars, a German-American who broadcast for Ge ...

and

Tokyo Rose Tokyo Rose (alternative spelling Tokio Rose) was a name given by Allied troops in the South Pacific during World War II to all female English-speaking radio broadcasters of Japanese propaganda. The programs were broadcast in the South Pacific ...

played it heavily to encourage desertion. A big hit for Tillman and also for

Jimmy Wakely Jimmy Wakely (February 16, 1914 – September 23, 1982) was an American actor, songwriter, country music vocalist, and one of the last singing cowboys. During the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, he released records, appeared in several B-Western movies ...

was 1948's "

I Love You So Much It Hurts "I Love You So Much It Hurts" is a song written and recorded by Floyd Tillman in 1948. His version reached number 6 on the Folk Best Seller charts and spent a total of nineteen weeks on the chart. Notable cover versions * In 1948, Jimmy Wakely ...

". His 1949 "

Slippin' Around "Slippin' Around" is a song written and recorded by Floyd Tillman in 1949. The most popular recording was a cover version by Margaret Whiting and Jimmy Wakely which reached number one on the Retail Folk (Country) Best Sellers chart. It is a song ...

", one of the first country western "cheating" songs, was a hit for Tillman as well as

Ernest Tubb Ernest Dale Tubb (February 9, 1914 – September 6, 1984), nicknamed the Texas Troubadour, was an American singer and songwriter and one of the pioneers of country music. His biggest career hit song, "Walking the Floor Over You" (1941), m ...

, Texas Jim Robertson and the duo of

Margaret Whiting Margaret Eleanor Whiting (July 22, 1924 – January 10, 2011) was an American popular music and country music singer who gained popularity in the 1940s and 1950s.Mapes, Jillian.Margaret Whiting, Iconic Standards Singer, Dies at 86. ''Billboard' ...

and

. Tillman had another successful song with his own answer, " I'll Never Slip Around Again", as again did the Whiting-Wakely duo. He slowed down on his performing in the early 1950s, although he appeared on ABC-TV's '' Jubilee USA'' in 1958 and 1959. Tillman's final album, recorded in 2002 and 2003 titled ''The Influence'', paired him with country music artists who were influenced by his style and performing:

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (197 ...

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Haggard was born in Oildale, California, toward the end of the Great Depression. His childhood was troubled af ...

, Leona Williams,

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...

, Justin Trevino, Ray Price,

Frankie Miller Francis John Miller (born 2 November 1949) is a Scottish rock singer-songwriter and actor. Miller wrote for and performed with many recording artists and is best known for his 1977 album ''Full House'', the singles "Be Good To Yourself", " D ...

, Hank Thompson,

Connie Smith Connie Smith (born Constance June Meador; August 14, 1941) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Her contralto vocals have been described by music writers as significant and influential to the women of country music. A similarity h ...

Lawton Williams Lawton Williams (July 24, 1922 – July 27, 2007) was an American country music singer and songwriter. Williams taught himself to play guitar as a teenager but made no steps towards a musical career until, while serving in World War II, he ...

Mel Tillis Lonnie Melvin Tillis (August 8, 1932 – November 19, 2017) was an American country music singer and songwriter. Although he recorded songs since the late 1950s, his biggest success occurred in the 1970s as part of the outlaw country movement, ...

Darrell McCall Darrell McCall (born April 30, 1940) is a country music performer, known for his honky tonk and traditional country musical style at the height of his career in the 1960s, and his return to popularity during the Outlaw country era in the late 1 ...

Johnny Bush John Bush Shinn III (February 17, 1935October 16, 2020) was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. Nicknamed the "Country Caruso", Bush was best known for his distinctive voice and for writing the song "Whiskey River", a t ...

and

George Jones George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for his long list of hit records, including his best-known song "He Stopped Loving Her Today", ...

. The project, released in April 2004, featured liner notes by Dr. Bill Malone,

Bill Mack William or Bill Mack may refer to: * William Mack (Ontario politician) (1828–1897), Ontario businessman and political figure * William L. Mack (1924–2009), provincial level politician from Alberta, Canada * William Mack (judge) (1904–1979), ...

, Hank Thompson and

. It was produced by Justin Trevino on Heart of Texas Records. He was inducted into the

in 1970, and the

in 1984. Floyd Tillman died in August 2003, at the age of 88.

Singles

Selected works

References

External links

*
Country Music Hall Of Fame, 1984
* *
Floyd Tillman mp3s

Bibliography

* Vladimir Bogdanov, Chris Woodstra & Stephen Thomas Erlewine (ed.) (2003)
All Music Guide to Country, 2nd ed., p. 750
', . * Richard Carlin (1995)
The Big Book of Country Music, A Biographical Encyclopedia, p. 458
', . * The Editors of

Country Music (magazine) ''Country Music'' was a bi-monthly magazine on country music founded in New York City in 1972 by John Killion, Russell D. Barnard and Spencer Oettinger as a monthly publication. It was known for taking an approach to music journalism closer in to ...

(1994)
The Comprehensive Country Music Encyclopedia, p. 387
', . * Barry McCloud (1995)
Definitive Country: The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Country Music and Its Performers, p. 810-1
', . * Kurt Wolff (2000)
Country Music: The Rough Guide, p. 149-50
', . {{DEFAULTSORT:Tillman, Floyd 1914 births 2003 deaths People from Ryan, Oklahoma American country singer-songwriters Country Music Hall of Fame inductees RCA Victor artists Starday Records artists Liberty Records artists Decca Records artists Columbia Records artists People from Post, Texas 20th-century American singers Singer-songwriters from Texas Singer-songwriters from Oklahoma Country musicians from Texas Country musicians from Oklahoma