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Topic: So long Golden West Cowboy |
Billy Johnson
From:
Nashville, Tn, USA
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Posted 7 Mar 2000 1:57 pm |
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Just heard on WSM that Pee Wee King passed away today. I'm glad I had the chance to know and work with this man.
God bless you PEE WEE. |
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Smiley Roberts
From:
Hendersonville,Tn. 37075
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Posted 7 Mar 2000 2:38 pm
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Same here,Billy. PeeWee & I were very good friends. Broke bread w/ him at his house.He showed me all of his awards & trophies,which were,all,very well deserved.I shared some of my mother's homemade Polish food w/ him. Had quite a time visiting w/ him. A wonderful man that will,truly,be missed,by all.
©¿©
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‘[This message was edited by Smiley Roberts on 07 March 2000 at 02:40 PM.] |
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Jason Odd
From:
Stawell, Victoria, Australia
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Posted 7 Mar 2000 3:05 pm
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Another great bandleader and veteran of the swing era is gone.
Sorry to hear about his passing guys.
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Janice Brooks
From:
Pleasant Gap Pa
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Posted 7 Mar 2000 3:19 pm
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May i suggest if possable someone do a dedication of River Road Stomp.
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Janice "Busgal" Brooks
ICQ 44729047 |
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Kathryn Sabey
From:
Rock Hill, SC
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Posted 7 Mar 2000 3:38 pm
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| Pee Wee was the greatest! He played at our Windy Hollow Country Music Show at least 3 times a year. What a lovely person and great entertainer! One of the pictures I have of him and me is my all-time favorite. He will be missed. |
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George Rozak
From:
Braidwood, Illinois USA
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Posted 7 Mar 2000 9:41 pm
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Just found this news release on the net. Note the reference to the "electric steel guitar" & the Grand Ole Opry:
Pee Wee King, the diminutive country music hall of famer who scored a giant hit with his "Tennessee Waltz" and revolutionized the Grande Ole Opry, died today of complications from a heart attack. He was 86.
King had been hospitalized in his adopted hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, since suffering a heart attack last week.
He was the unlikeliest of country stars. The son of a Polish-American polka bandleader, he was born Julius Frank Kuczynski in Wisconsin, far from the
fertile country-music breeding grounds of the south and southwest.
He took up the accordion as a youngster and managed to land local radio gigs playing polka, pop and country standards. One performance so wowed Gene Autry that the singing cowboy signed him up for his backing band. It was Autry who dubbed his new five-foot-seven sideman "Pee Wee" (the "King" part
came from Wayne King, a popular bandleader of the day).
In 1934, Autry relocated his band to Louisville for a local radio show. But when he left soon after to launch his Hollywood movie career, King formed his own country-and-western swing combo, the Golden West Cowboys, a group specializing in intricately arranged numbers and a polished, thorougly
choreographed stage show--a first for country music.
King joined Nashville's Grand Ole Opry in 1937, bringing such novelties as electric instruments (the Opry's first electric steel guitar), horns and his trademark accordion to the venue. The band's fancy steps and well-oiled shows also revolutionized the genre.
"I learned a lot about showmanship from him," country-music singer Eddy Arnold, a singer with the Golden West Cowboys in the 1940s, said Tuesday.
The same year his group joined the Opry, King and bandmate Redd Stewart penned a tune inspired by bluegrass god Bill Monroe's "Kentucky Waltz" that would soon become their signature: "Tennessee Waltz." The Golden West Cowboys' rendition of the song hit No. 3 on the country charts, but that was nothing compared to Patti Page's version, which became a No. 1 crossover pop smash.
"Tennessee Waltz" was a mini-industry for King and crew, spawning the inevitable, less-successful sequel tunes ("Tennessee Tears," "Tennesse Polka")
and eventually being recorded more than 300 times and selling more than 40 million records. In 1965, then Tennessee Governor Frank Clement declared it the state song.
King also scored hits with recordings of "Slow Poke" (his biggest seller), "Silver and Gold" and "You Belong to Me." He and his band also had cameos in several Westerns, including a couple Gene Autry films.
He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970 and
the Country Music Hall of Fame four years later.
Funeral services are scheduled for Saturday. |
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Mike Dennis
From:
Stevens Point WI.
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Posted 8 Mar 2000 10:46 am
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| Rest in Peace Pee Wee King... a native of Wisconsin who made it big... |
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Garryharris
From:
Hendersonville, TN USA
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Posted 10 Mar 2000 9:18 pm
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"You Belong to Me" sung by Jo Stafford, a serious pop tune. I've never heard a country version of that song.
One line goes, "See the market place in old Algiers." I did see that very market place that is mentioned in 1952. The country of Algeria was governed by France at that time.
I flew in there with other Air Force personnel in a C-47 from Wiesbaden, Germany.
On the flight line was a P-47 "Jug". |
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Janice Brooks
From:
Pleasant Gap Pa
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Posted 10 Mar 2000 9:57 pm
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Gary I know a few versions of You Belong to Me and the closest to country is Patsy Cline or the Gezzenslaw brothers.
Also there was a great parody version from
Homer and Jethro.
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Janice "Busgal" Brooks
ICQ 44729047 |
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