Who’s the most famous: Pee Wee Herman, Pee Wee Reese, or Pee Wee King? Sadly, the comedian and the baseball player are probably both better known than country music’s greatest accordionist, born Julius Frank Kuczynski. Between 1948 and 1954, Pee Wee King & the Golden West Cowboys released ten consecutive top-15 hits. King played the Grand Ole Opry for over a decade; he’s a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame; and in 1946, he and his vocalist Redd Stewart co-wrote “Tennessee Waltz”, which became an American standard and the state song of Tennessee.
Despite these accomplishments, few today are familiar with Pee Wee King. This is partly due to the paucity of available King recordings in recent years. A new double-CD helps rectify that. Like the other discs in the Bloodshot Revival/Soundies series, Country Hoedown contains previously unreleased transcription recordings originally intended solely for radio airplay. The sound quality is immaculate throughout the 51 cuts. Renowned author and country music historian Bill C. Malone penned the insightful liner notes.
The set consists primarily of highly polished Western swing numbers, featuring Stewart’s velvety croon. Like Bob Wills, King was a demanding bandleader who attracted top-notch talent. A handful of instrumentals showcase hotshot soloing on twin fiddles, steel guitar, and, of course, accordion. Also included is “Slowpoke”, a 1950 single that topped both the country and pop charts.
King was greatly influenced by his one-time employer Gene Autry, and the sounds here are generally smooth, not honky-tonk. Novelty tunes, sound effects, polkas, a birthday song, and a Christmas track keep things from getting too monotonous and add a kitschy kick. A truly bizarre vocal on “Tadpole” might even provide a clue as to where the “South Park” animators came up with the voice for Mr. Hankey.
