Julius Frank Anthony Kuczynski (February 18, 1914 – March 7, 2000), known professionally as Pee Wee King, was an American country music songwriter and recording artist best known for co-writing "The Tennessee Waltz".
Pee Wee King was an unlikely candidate for country music stardom. Yet as a songwriter, bandleader,
recording artist, and television entertainer, he broke new ground in country music, and he helped to bring waltzes, polkas, and cowboy songs into mainstream country music during ten productive years at the Grand Ole Opry.
recording artist, and television entertainer, he broke new ground in country music, and he helped to bring waltzes, polkas, and cowboy songs into mainstream country music during ten productive years at the Grand Ole Opry.
Born Frank Julius Anthony Kuczynski into a working-class
Polish-German family, he grew up in the polka-and-waltz culture of Wisconsin.
His musical debut occurred at age fifteen, when he played the accordion in his
father’s polka band. He changed his name to King (after the then popular polka
performer Wayne King) and formed his own high school band, Frankie King &
the King’s Jesters. In 1933 young Frankie King joined the Badger State Barn
Dance and soon had his own radio show on WJRN in Racine.
King’s lucky break came in the spring of 1934, when he
met promoter J. L. Frank. He moved with Frank to Louisville in 1934 to back up
Gene Autry for a time, joined Frankie More’s Log Cabin Boys as accordionist on
WHAS radio, and in 1936 married Joe Frank’s stepdaughter Lydia.
In 1936 King was in Knoxville performing on WNOX. In 1937
he formed the Golden West Cowboys and moved to Nashville to begin a ten-year
run on WSM’s Grand Ole Opry, with the exception of 1940, when he worked
primarily out of Louisville. In 1941–1942 he and his band were featured with
the Camel Caravan, a WSM touring company that presented some 175 shows at
military installations in the United States and Central America. At various
times his band included Eddy Arnold, Redd Stewart, Ernest Tubb, Cowboy Copas,
and Minnie Pearl.
After joining the Grand Ole Opry in June 1937, King helped introduce an array of new instruments and sounds to that program’s stage, including the trumpet, drums, and the electric guitar. In addition, he dressed his band members in spiffy western outfits designed by the Hollywood tailor Nudie. His nattily attired Golden West Cowboys generally produced a smooth and danceable sound during their heyday in the 1940s; in the 1950s they even branched out briefly into mild rockabilly.
After joining the Grand Ole Opry in June 1937, King helped introduce an array of new instruments and sounds to that program’s stage, including the trumpet, drums, and the electric guitar. In addition, he dressed his band members in spiffy western outfits designed by the Hollywood tailor Nudie. His nattily attired Golden West Cowboys generally produced a smooth and danceable sound during their heyday in the 1940s; in the 1950s they even branched out briefly into mild rockabilly.
He wrote or co-wrote more than 400 songs, including some
of the most popular songs in American musical history, notably “Slow Poke” (a
#1 pop hit for fourteen weeks in 1951) with Chilton Price and the hugely
successful “Tennessee Waltz” with Redd Stewart. Patti Page’s 1950 version of
the latter song was #1 on the pop charts and within six months sold almost 5
million copies. It became an official Tennessee state song in 1965.
His own recording career included more than twenty albums and 157 singles, most of them issued during his seventeen-year association with RCA Victor. With the release of his recording of “Slow Poke” in 1951, he became one of the first country musicians to cross over successfully into the pop field.
His own recording career included more than twenty albums and 157 singles, most of them issued during his seventeen-year association with RCA Victor. With the release of his recording of “Slow Poke” in 1951, he became one of the first country musicians to cross over successfully into the pop field.
King became also a pioneer television performer when in
1947 he returned to Louisville to work on WAVE radio and television. In the
fifties and sixties he had regional and national TV shows originating from
Louisville, Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Chicago, including a six-year run of The
Pee Wee King Show on ABC television.
He appeared in four movies: Gold Mine in the Sky with
Gene Autry in 1938; Flame of the West with Johnny Mack Brown in 1945; and
Ridin’ the Outlaw Trail (1951) and The Rough, Tough West (1952) with Charles
Starrett. In 1967 he released his own production, Country-Western Hoedown, an
artistic and financial disaster.
He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of
Fame in 1970 and the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1974.
He joined producers Randall Franks and Alan Autry 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.
5 comments:
For Pee Wee King – “Blue Suede Shoes - Gonna Shake This Shack Tonight” go here:
http://www73.zippyshare.com/v/71699891/file.html
01-Blue Suede Shoes.mp3
02-Dragnet.mp3
03-Oh Monah.mp3
04-Steel Guitar Rag.mp3
05-Rag Mop.mp3
06-Forty Nine Women.mp3
07-Woodchopper's Ball.mp3
08-I Don't Mind.mp3
09-Bull Fiddle Boogie.mp3
10-Catty Town.mp3
11-Chew Tobacco Rag.mp3
12-Congratulations Joe.mp3
13-Ricochet.mp3
14-Blame It All On Nashville.mp3
15-Plantation Boogie.mp3
16-Ten Gallon Boogie.mp3
17-Rootie Tootie.mp3
18-Unbreakable Heart.mp3
19-Tweedle Dee.mp3
20-Mop Rag Boogie.mp3
21-Ballroom Baby.mp3
22-Birmingham Bounce.mp3
23-Hoot Scoot.mp3
24-Oh Mis'rable Love.mp3
25-Railroad Boogie.mp3
26-You Can't Hardly Get Them No More.mp3
27-The Ghost And Honest Joe.mp3
28-Half A Dozen Boogie.mp3
29-Why Don't Y'all Go Home.mp3
30-Flying Home.mp3
A big thank you to “Don’t fence Me In” blog for link.
Hi BB,
Can I get a copy of this, Pee Wee King?
thanks in advance
Hello, Bonjour Boppin'Bob ! Would you be kind enough to reupload this great compilation ?
Many thanks in advance... Your site is really a treasure +++ Take care ! Kind Regards, R.DUPRAT
Bonjour Monsieur Duprat, voici Pee Wee....
https://www.imagenetz.de/icm6u
Regards, Robert Sevier
Bonjour et mille merci cher Boppin'Bob ! Généreuse réactivité ! You made my day !! Très belle journée à vous ! Bien respectueusement Raphaël DUPRAT
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