Harold Wayne King (February 16, 1901 – July 16, 1985) was an American musician, songwriter, and bandleader with a long association with both

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

and

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. He was referred to as "the Waltz King" because much of his most popular music involved waltzes; "

The Waltz You Saved for Me "The Waltz You Saved for Me" is a popular song written in 1930 by Wayne King and Emil Flindt with lyrics by Gus Kahn. The song soon became associated as the theme song of Wayne King and His Orchestra. Notable artists who have recorded the song ...

" was his standard set-closing song in live performance and on numerous radio broadcasts at the height of his career. King's innovations included converting Carrie Jacobs-Bond's "I Love You Truly" from its original time over to ., p. 19.

Early life

Harold Wayne King was born in

Savanna, Illinois Savanna is a city in Carroll County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,783 at the 2020 census, down from 2,945 at the 2010 census. Savanna is located along the Mississippi River at the mouth of the Plum River. Going from north to so ...

, the son of Harvey and Ida King. His father worked for the railroad and traveled frequently, so when King's mother died in 1908, he and his brothers lived in an orphanage in Davenport, Iowa, for a brief period of time. He returned to Savanna in 1911 to live with his aunt and uncle, where he was the quarterback and captain of the football team at Savanna Township High School, where he graduated in 1920. He briefly played professional football with the Canton Bulldogs. He also began taking saxophone lessons as a teenager. King attended

Valparaiso University Valparaiso University (Valpo) is a private university in Valparaiso, Indiana. It is a Lutheran university with about 3,000 students from over 50 countries on a campus of . Originally named Valparaiso Male and Female College, Valparaiso Universit ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

for two years, but left to begin a career in music.

Career

After playing alto saxophone for the

Paul Whiteman Paul Samuel Whiteman (March 28, 1890 – December 29, 1967) was an American bandleader, composer, orchestral director, and violinist. As the leader of one of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s and early 1930s, W ...

Orchestra, he created "Wayne King and Orchestra" in 1927. The group opened the new Aragon Ballroom in Chicago in 1927, and they continued playing there for much of King's career. He began recording for

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

Victor Records The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer that operated independently from 1901 until 1929, when it was acquired by the Radio Corporation of America and subsequently operated as a subsidi ...

in 1929. However, the orchestra didn't rise to prominence until they were featured on "The Lady Esther Serenade", a national radio program sponsored by Lady Esther cosmetics from 1931 to 1937. The orchestra disbanded during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and King joined the

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

, advancing to the rank of major. The orchestra was reestablished in 1946. In 1948, the half-hour ''Wayne King Show'' was syndicated on radio via

transcription discs Electrical transcriptions are special phonograph recordings made exclusively for radio broadcasting,Browne, Ray B. and Browne, Pat, Eds. (2001). ''The Guide to United States Popular Culture''. The University of Wisconsin Press. . P. 263. which wer ...

. King's orchestra had a television show in

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from 1949 to 1952. The telecast was carried by most Midwest

Television affiliate stations. In early 1958, he appeared as a guest challenger on the TV panel show '' To Tell The Truth''. King was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the Radio category in1960. King's orchestra played its last engagement in March 1983 at the

Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall The Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall is a performing arts venue located at 777 North Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, Florida neighboring the Sarasota Bay. The main theater of the facility contains 1,741 seats. History The initial construction of the 1, ...

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sou ...

Personal life

King died in July 1985 in

Paradise Valley, Arizona Paradise Valley is a town in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and a suburb of Phoenix, the state's largest city. It is Arizona's wealthiest municipality. The town is known for its luxury golf courses, shopping, expensive real estate, and ...

. His wife,

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...

actress Dorothy Jones King, kept his urn with her for the rest of her life following their 53 years of marriage. She died on March 10, 2010, at the age of 98.AltFilmGuide entry
/ref> They had two children, Wayne King II and Penelope King Pape. In 2004, King was honored in his hometown of Savanna, with a sign acknowledging that he was a resident of the town.

Recordings

*" Goodnight, Sweetheart" (1931) *"

Dream a Little Dream of Me "Dream a Little Dream of Me" is a 1931 song with music by Fabian Andre and Wilbur Schwandt and lyrics by Gus Kahn. It was first recorded in February 1931 by Ozzie Nelson and also by Wayne King and His Orchestra, with vocals by Ernie Birchill. ...

" (1931) a #1 hit *" Maria Elena" (1941) a #2 hit *" All Alone" (1946) *"Dancing with Tears in My Eyes" (orchestral, 1952) "Isle of Golden Dreams" (1957) *"Golden Favorites" (1962)

References

External links

Early RCA publicity photo of Wayne King and his band
Enter "Wayne King" in "Find" function of browser; link to photo is near beginning of bio.
Listen
Wayne King, his life and music on Big Band Serenade #199, 49 minutes. Scroll down to show 199; direct download available. *
Wayne King recordings
at the Discography of American Historical Recordings. {{DEFAULTSORT:King, Wayne 1901 births 1985 deaths Big band bandleaders Songwriters from Illinois American bandleaders RCA Victor artists People from Savanna, Illinois Valparaiso University alumni 20th-century American singers 20th-century American male singers American male songwriters