Biography

Country performer and songwriter. Born December 8, 1914. Died August 22, 2003. Career most active 1930s-1940s. Recognized for his jazzy, half-speaking singing style. Recorded solo for Decca and Columbia. Songwriting credits include “Slippin’ Around,” “It Makes No Difference Now,” “Each Night at Nine,” and “I Love You So Much It Hurts.” Member, Country Music Hall of Fame.

Interview Summary

1986 October 13
(1 hour, 41 minutes)
Country artist and songwriter Floyd Tillman discusses his career. Topics discussed include his family and childhood; building radios; playing musical instruments with his brothers at dances and private parties; listening to Vernon Dalhart and Jimmie Rodgers on a neighbor’s Victrola; writing “Blue Monday” and “It Makes No Difference Now”; playing with Adolf Hofner in 1934; moving to Houston to play with Leon “Pappy” Selph; recording with the Blue Ridge Playboys for Vocalion; Decca executive Dave Kapp’s guidance; writing “Each Night at Nine” while in the military during World War II; recording sessions with Art Satherley; his big hit “I Love You So Much It Hurts”; other songwriting efforts, such as “Slippin’ Around”; the downturn in country music in the late 1950’s; Ray Charles’s recordings of “I Love You So Much It Hurts” and “It Makes No Difference Now”; Tillman’s method and philosophy of songwriting; and his favorite original song, “The Song of Music.”