Back in March, Frank Jive (over at the always excellent Blues All Kinds blog) posted 'Slippin' Around' by Floyd Tillman and it was quite the revelation to your humble author's ears and eyes. Firstly, the song itself is a doozie. A hit in 1949, it was subsequently covered by all manner of artists from Jerry Lee Lewis to Perry Como. In the same post Frank also linked to a slightly later filmed live performance of 'Slippin' Around' and this is where it gets really interesting. In my experience, most country music singers on TV from this period stood stock still, permagrin in place, showing no actual real emotion, while he or she sang of heartache, tragedy or disaster. Floyd though, lived every word. Check this out.
What a performer! Since Frank's post I've been tracking down as much of Floyd's work as I can find and have my eyes on a rather splendid Bear Family 6 Disc compilation, but at £100 it's a bit out of my reach (though if you're reading this Santa Claus, you know where to find me). Floyd Tillman died in 2003 at the ripe old age of 88. Here he is at a sprightly 76, with the fabulous 'I Am Music'.
