Pee Wee King was a singer, bandleader, accordionist and fiddle player who was a highly successful country artist of the post-war era, specialising in western swing and dance music with his band The Golden West Cowboys. He was famously associated with the hit song “The Tennessee Waltz” which he wrote with his featured singer Redd Stewart, and which was recorded by many otxher artists.. He was of Polish descent, and specialised in polkas and waltzes, introducing them into his country repertoire, and became a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 1937, introducing on-stage dancers and flashy stagewear.

He did not make his first records until 1946, but soon racked up a string of hits. Included here are A & B sides from his releases on the Bullet and RCA-Victor label, and features at least one side of a significant proportion of his 100 or so releases from these years, which represented the primary heyday of his recording career. It features all his ten career chart entries, including the pop & country No. 1 “Slow Poke”, and the Top 10 country hits “Tennessee Waltz”, “Tennessee Polka”, “Bonaparte’s Retreat”, “Silver And Gold”, “Busybody”, “Bimbo” and “Changing Partners”. The recordings range across the spectrum of country music from pure western swing through country-pop ballads and novelty material to polkas, waltzes and old-time country dances, along with the familiar staples of lifestyle-related cowboy music. It’s a thoroughly entertaining showcase for one of the genre’s highly influential performers.

REVIEWS

Featuring 83 recordings on the three CDs which cover the golden years of King's recording career, this is western swing and it is mainly of the toe-tapping type. As with all these Acrobat retrospectives, there is a sizeable booklet with all the relevant session and biographical information needed. A superb collection. - Howard Cockburn (Now Dig This Issue 453)

An attractive sound and a reminder that there is and was a lot more to country music than the cliched characterisation of maudlin ballads, cheating hearts and honky tonk angels, as there are plenty of boogie type, uptempo songs which swing like mad. - Gerry Stonestreet (In Tune Issue 346)