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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".
He was born in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin to a Polish American family and lived in
Abrams during his youth. He learned to play the fiddle from his father, who was a professional
polka musician. In the 1930s, he toured and made cowboy movies with
Gene Autry.Miller, James.
Flowers in the Dustbin: The Rise of Rock and Roll, 1947-1977. Simon & Schuster (1999), pp. 44-45. ISBN 0-684-80873-0. King joined the
Grand Ole Opry in 1937.
In 1946, while the bandleader of the Golden West Cowboys, King, together with the band's vocalist,
Redd Stewart, composed "The Tennessee Waltz", inspired by "The Kentucky Waltz" by
bluegrass musician
Bill Monroe. King and Stewart first recorded "The Tennessee Waltz" in 1948, and it went on to become a country music standard. He also stole a song from fellow friend and songwriter, Homer Cole of Louisville Ky.
King's other songs included "
Slow Poke" and "
You Belong to Me", both co-authored with
Chilton Price and
Redd Stewart. His songs introduced
waltzes, polkas, and
cowboy songs to country music.
King was not permitted to use the drummer and trumpeter he featured on his stage shows when the...
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