Pianist Floyd Cramer will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's class of 2003 in the Sidemen and Non-performer categories.
The Louisiana-born Cramer helped define the Nashville Sound that dominated country music during his nearly half century of performing. Cramer developed a signature style on piano, slurring one note into another, much like a guitarist. Cramer played numerous sessions with Elvis Presley including "Heartbreak Hotel." Though best-known as a sideman, Cramer was also a fairly prolific solo recording artist, from his 1957 debut, That Honky Tonk Piano, up to the time of his death in 1997.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony is scheduled for March 10th at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City. The ceremony will be broadcast by VH1 on March 19th.