ROOTS of Country Music

The Professional Work of Pee Wee King

(Feb. 18, 1914 ~ March 7, 2000)

A flamboyant and influential figure during his heyday, Pee Wee King excelled as an instrumentalist, bandleader, actor, songwriter and business man. King had a long, successful career augmented by the Golden West Cowboys (GWC) and in a part by the popularity of his signature song, The Tennessee Waltz. King helped modernize the sound and style of dance and swing music during the 1940s. It was tightly arranged and more uptown than the average string bands of the day. King and his Glden West Cowboys delivered gently swaying tunes, many featuring the warm glowing voice of Redd Stewart.

Pee Wee King was an unlikely candidate for country stardom. Born in Milwaukie, Wisconsin of Polish stock, he learned fiddle and accordion while playing in his father's polka band. His favoured instrument, the accordion, was not regarded as an appropriate country instrument at that time. In 1929, King formed his first band. By 1934, his band played regularly on the Milwaukee radio show, The Badger State Barn Dance. Around that time, he met Gene Autry, who was hosting his own program on Chicago's WLS. Autry hired them to sing in his Range Riders band. In 1934, Autry and King moved to WHAS Louisville, but after less than a year, Gene departed for Hollywood and the group disbanded.

Pee Wee elected to stay behind and in1936, he formed the Golden West Cowboys, which initially featured Abner Sims (fiddler), Curly Rhodes (guitarist) and singer Texas Daisy. In 1937, fiddler Redd Stewart joined the lineup. King ran a tight ship with elaborate stage shows which promoted the band well around the Louisville area.

In 1937, the King and the Cowboys accepted a spot on the Grand Ole Opry. King first used an amplified electric guitar on-stage at the extremely conservative Opry in 1940 and introduced drums to the Opry stage in 1947. Several prominent vocalists passed through the ranks of the GWC. In the span of just five years, Eddy Arnold, Milton Estes, Cowboy Copas and Tommy Sosebee all spent time with the GWC. Redd Stewart, who outlasted them all, became the lead vocalist, formerly held byArnold.

In 1948, Pee Wee King signed a contract with RCA Records.  When Redd Stewart did step front and center, he ended up singing on most of King’s popular hits, beginning with the Tennessee Waltz (No. 3, 1948). King and Stewart also co-wrote dozens of songs, including this song. Tennessee Waltz sold millions of copies throughout the years, rivaling Jimmie Davis’ You Are My Sunshine as the most popular songs in country music.

The Tennessee Waltz kicked off a string of singles, most of which charted in the top-10. Slow Poke (No. 1, 1951) claimed the top chart spot for fifteen weeks and crossed over to the pop charts where it spent three weeks at number one. It was the biggest song in country music that year, just edging out Tennessee Ernie Ford's, The Shot Gun Boogie, which claimed the top spot for forteen weeks. A series of moderate chart activity carried Pee Wee through mid-50s, including, Tennessee Polka (No. 3, 1949), Bonaparte's Retreat (No. 10, 1950), Silver and Gold (No. 5, 1952), Busybody (No. 8, 1952), Changing Partners (No. 4, 1954) and Bimbo (No. 9, 1954).

There were many different band members through the years, but Redd Stewart, Gene Stewart, Shorty Boyd, Sticks McDonald, Roy Ayres and Chuck Wiggins were with  the Golden West Cowboys for a substantial amount of time. King also appeared in the movies in a couple of Charles Starrett westerns during the early 1950s.

Wanting to get more involved in television, King left the Opry after a decade and once again turned his attention to Louisville, KY where he landed his own TV and radio shows. Although Pee Wee remained leader of this popular western swing band well into the 1950s, eventually his style of music diminished with the onslaught of rock ‘n’ roll. At the end of the 1950s, King broke up his band but continued to tour with Redd Stewart. In the 1970s, he devoted himself to business interests, which included a booking agency and music publishing.

Pee Wee King was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame (1970) and the Country Music Hall of Fame (1974). In 1965, Tennessee Waltz became the official state song of Tennessee. Pee Wee King passed away in Louisville, KY after suffering a heart attack.

(L-R) unknown,  unknown, unknown, unknown, Redd Stewart, unknown, unknown, Pee Wee King

Researched, compiled and written by Richard Bell, Roots of Country Music, Apr. 10, 2009