Julius Frank Anthony Kuczynski (February 18, 1914 – March 7, 2000), known professionally as Pee Wee King, was an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

songwriter and recording artist best known for co-writing "

Tennessee Waltz "Tennessee Waltz" is a popular country music song with lyrics by Redd Stewart and music by Pee Wee King written in 1946 and first released in January 1948. The song became a multimillion seller via a 1950 recording – as "The Tennessee Waltz" � ...

". Pee Wee King is credited with bringing the musicians union to the Grand Ole Opry — he was one of the first musicians in Nashville to carry a union card, and to have the members of his band work union. He also served on the board of the

Country Music Hall of Fame The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, is one of the world's largest museums and research centers dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of American vernacular music. Chartered in 1964, the museum has amas ...

Life and career

King was born in

Abrams, Wisconsin Abrams is a town in Oconto County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,960 at the 2020 Census. The census-designated place of Abrams is located in the town. History Abrams was named after W. J. Abrams, Wisconsin legislator and form ...

to a

Polish American Polish Americans ( pl, Polonia amerykańska) are Americans who either have total or partial Polish ancestry, or are citizens of the Republic of Poland. There are an estimated 9.15 million self-identified Polish Americans, representing about 2.83 ...

family, and lived in Abrams during his youth. He learned to play the accordion from his father, who was a professional

polka Polka is a dance and genre of dance music originating in nineteenth-century Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. Though associated with Czech culture, polka is popular throughout Europe and the Americas. History Etymology The term ...

musician. In the 1930s, he toured and made cowboy movies with

Gene Autry Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, musician, rodeo performer, and baseball owner who gained fame largely by singing in a crooning s ...

.Miller, James. ''Flowers in the Dustbin: The Rise of Rock and Roll, 1947–1977''. Simon & Schuster (1999), pp. 44–45. . King joined the

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a weekly American country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment (a divis ...

in 1937, with the help of his father-in-law J.L. Frank. In 1946, while he was the bandleader of the Golden West Cowboys, King, together with the band's vocalist,

Redd Stewart Henry Ellis Stewart (May 27, 1923 – August 2, 2003), better known as Redd Stewart, was an American country music songwriter and recording artist who co-wrote "Tennessee Waltz" with Pee Wee King in 1948. Biography He was born in Ashland City ...

, composed "The Tennessee Waltz", inspired by "The Kentucky Waltz" by bluegrass musician

Bill Monroe William Smith "Bill" Monroe (; September 13, 1911 – September 9, 1996) was an American mandolinist, singer, and songwriter, who created the bluegrass music genre. Because of this, he is often called the " Father of Bluegrass". The genre take ...

. King and Stewart first recorded "The Tennessee Waltz" in 1948. It went on to become a country music standard, due, mainly, to the immense success of

Patti Page Clara Ann Fowler (November 8, 1927 – January 1, 2013), known professionally as Patti Page, was an American singer and actress. Primarily known for pop and country music, she was the top-charting female vocalist and best-selling female ar ...

's version of the song. King wrote or co-wrote more than four hundred songs and recorded more than twenty albums and 157 singles. His other songs included "

Slow Poke "Slow Poke" is a 1951 popular song. Background "Slow Poke" is credited to three writers: Pee Wee King, Redd Stewart, and Chilton Price. Actually Price wrote the song in 1951, as she thought the song described her friend, King, very well. King ...

" and " You Belong to Me", both co-authored with Chilton Price and

. His songs introduced

waltz The waltz ( ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple ( time), performed primarily in closed position. History There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the wa ...

es, polkas, and

cowboy songs Western music is a form of country music composed by and about the people who settled and worked throughout the Western United States and Western Canada. Western music celebrates the lifestyle of the cowboy on the open ranges, Rocky Mountains, a ...

to country music. King became one of the charter members of the

Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame was established in 1970 by the Nashville Songwriters Foundation, Inc. in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. A non-profit organization, its objective is to honor and preserve the songwriting legacy that is u ...

in 1970. King was not permitted to use the drummer and trumpeter he featured in his stage shows when the band played at the

, where both instruments were banned. He ignored that ban only once, appearing at the Ryman in April 1945 following the death of

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

. The Opry had been canceled, but since a number of fans showed up, management decided to have King perform his stage show for them, performing as he did outside the Opry. He used his full band, with drums and trumpet. When confronted about it afterward, King told Opry emcee

George D. Hay George Dewey Hay (November 9, 1895 – May 8, 1968) was an American radio personality, announcer and newspaper reporter. He was the founder of the original ''Grand Ole Opry'' radio program on WSM-AM in Nashville, Tennessee, from which the cou ...

that he had done his stage show, as asked. Bob Wills had defied the Opry ban on drums a year earlier during a 1944 guest appearance. His band also introduced on-stage dancing and

Nudie Cohn Nuta Kotlyarenko ( uk, Нута Котляренко; December 15, 1902 – May 9, 1984), known professionally as Nudie Cohn, was an American tailor who designed decorative rhinestone-covered suits, known popularly as "Nudie Suits", and other e ...

's customized 'rhinestone cowboy' outfits, which later became popular with Nashville and country musicians, including

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

, to the Opry. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1974. Pee Wee King Country Music Hall of Fame Plaque

He joined producers

Randall Franks Randall Franks is an American film and television actor, author, and bluegrass singer and musician who plays fiddle, mandolin, guitar, and mountain dulcimer. He was inducted into the Tri-State Gospel Music Hall of Fame (Georgia, Tennessee and Al ...

and

Alan Autry Carlos Alan Autry Jr. (also known for a time as Carlos Brown; born July 31, 1952), is an American actor, politician, and former National Football League player. During his brief football career, he was known as Carlos Brown. He played the ro ...

for the '' In the Heat of the Night'' cast CD ''Christmas Time's A Comin’'' performing "Jingle Bells" with the cast released on Sonlite and MGM/UA for one of the most popular Christmas releases of 1991 and 1992 with Southern retailers. He died of a heart attack in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

, at age 86.

Discography

Albums

*''Pee Wee King'', RCA Victor, 1954 *''Waltzes'', RCA Victor, 1955 *''Swing West'', RCA Victor, 1956 *''Country Barn Dance'', RCA Camden, 1965 *''Ballroom King'', Detour, 1982 *''Hog Wild Too!'', Zu Zazz, 1990 *''Pee Wee King and His Golden West Cowboys'' (6-CD box set), Bear Family, 1995 *''Pee Wee King's Country Hoedown'' (live radio performances), Bloodshot, 1999

Singles

Notes

References

*Hall, Wade. (1998). "Pee Wee King". In ''The Encyclopedia of Country Music''. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 283–4.

External links

Pee Wee King at the Country Music Hall of Fame

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Pee Wee 1914 births 2000 deaths American country fiddlers American people of Polish descent American country singer-songwriters Country musicians from Wisconsin Country Music Hall of Fame inductees Musicians from Milwaukee Grand Ole Opry members Starday Records artists Apex Records artists RCA Victor artists Top Rank Records artists 20th-century American singers People from Abrams, Wisconsin Singer-songwriters from Wisconsin