Hell-Bent for Music

Who'd have ever thought that a kid from a working class Polish family would grow up to become not only a major innovator but also a superstar of country and western music? I can remember my mother playing his Tennessee Waltz over and over again on an actual RECORD PLAYER (anyone still remember those?). What is especially fascinating is how he took the polka and mixed those rhythms with Western music. You wouldn't think it'd work but it did. Of course, back then, I knew nothing of King's background but I did know what I liked and The Tennessee Waltz was a favorite. I still feel nostalgic when I listen to his version. Thank goodness that Wade Hall, the author of this biography ,had the good sense to let King tell the story of his life mostly in his own voice and words (the book is written in first person, although I'm sure the co-author strongly edited it for maximum impact) I was fascinated reading about how King found a way to set himself apart from the competition, a section of the book still worth reading today by aspiring country-western singers. If you like many of the other major figures of the era - from Gene Autry to Roy Acuff and Hank Williams - you won't be disappointed. Anecdotes about them are also in this book. He's been inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Country Music Hall of Fame and is one of the most important contributors to country music. This book ought to be readily available but it isn't all that easy to find. I highly recommend you take a look at it!

Wade Hall has the common sense to let Pee Wee King tell his own story. And it puts the lie to all the scholarly, self-important, opinionated works that have popped up with Country music's popularity. Pee Wee is a Country boy -- from South Milwaukee's Polish district. He appeared on barn dances in the South, like Chicago, Ohio, Indiana, Nebraska. He played hardcore Country, like polkas, big-band sounds, hoedowns. He gave first breaks to Eddy Arnold, Roy Acuff, Minnie Pearl. He doesn't brag, but tells the truth about his own accomplishments.And if all this authenticity stuff compares the "business" of Nashville now to the nostalgic "hillbilly" past, Pee Wee lets us know it was a business then just as it is now -- and they did what they had to do to make money.The more things change ...