Best of Floyd Tillman
Amazingly, there are "comprehensive" country music references that somehow ignore one of honky-tonk's great pioneers, Oklahoma-born Floyd Tillman. Tillman's 1930s Decca recordings were wonderful examples of vibrant Western swing, but his greatest commercial triumphs came after he signed with Columbia in 1946. This superb 24-song collection focuses on his benchmark Columbia work, which retained the loose feel of his swing sides while morphing into an earthier honky-tonk style that was fused with a pop crooner's sensibility. Tillman's vocal style has been a major influence on many important country singers: his leisurely, relaxed phrasing paved the way for folks likeWillie Nelsonand his agile, swooping note bends can surely be heard in the work ofLefty Frizzell. What's more, Tillman owns a number of significant songwriting credits, including country cornerstones such as the beautiful "I Love You So Much It Hurts" and "Slipping Around," which is generally thought to be the genre's first cheatin' song. His baritone voice was gruff in nature, yet Tillman instilled it with an odd sort of gracefulness that allowed him to be quite a moving ballad singer.--Marc Greilsamer