Pee Wee King
Pee Wee King (born February 18, 1914 as Julius Frank Kuczynski in Abrams , Wisconsin , † March 7, 2000 in Louisville , Kentucky) was an American country singer and songwriter who wrote the title Tennessee Waltz , among other things .
Life
Beginnings
From an early age, King played the fiddle and accordion in the polka group of his father, who immigrated to the United States from Poland. Gene Autry , who had his own radio show in Chicago, heard him play during the day and took him over to his backing band. The nickname "Pee Wee" comes from him. In 1934 they moved to Louisville , Kentucky, where Autry and the band were hired by the WHAS broadcaster. Autry moved to Hollywood a little later. Pee Wee King first worked with the Log Cabin Boys and then put together his own band, the Golden West Cowboys , which played a mixture of western swing and pop music and with instruments such as drums, trumpet and accordion that were atypical for country music of the time or electric guitar experimented.
Career
King proved to be a capable organizer and band leader. In 1937 he and his band got an engagement at the Grand Ole Opry . Talents such as Eddy Arnold or Cowboy Copas were hired as singers , who later became stars themselves. The most important personality was the multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Redd Stewart, with whom King wrote the hit Tennessee Waltz in 1946 . A year later they reached number three on the country charts with this song. Patti Page achieved a world hit with it in 1950. In the years and decades that followed, the title was interpreted by numerous musicians and guaranteed its creators a constant flow of royalties .
A little later King achieved another number three hit with Tennessee Polka , before he was able to conquer the top position for the first time with Slow Poke in 1951 . The record reached number 3 in the pop charts and was listed in the charts for 22 weeks. His chart success lasted until the mid-1950s. After that he was mainly successful as a songwriter. He has had several television shows and has starred in Gene Autry westerns.
In 1970, Pee Wee King, who composed more than 400 songs in his lifetime, was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame . Four years later he received the greatest honor in country music: he was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame . He also held important positions in the influential Country Music Association for several years .
Pee Wee King died of a heart attack on March 7, 2000 at the age of 86.
Discography
Albums
- 1950 Anytime Hits , RCA
Awards
Individual evidence
- ^ Whitburn, Joel: Top Pop Records 1940-1955 . Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research, 1973, p. 31
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | King, Pee Wee |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Kuczynski, Julius Frank (maiden name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American country singer and songwriter |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 18, 1914 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Abrams , Wisconsin |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 7, 2000 |
| Place of death | Louisville , Kentucky |