I Can't Feel Those Kisses in Your Letters - Pee Wee King, Gillespie, Haven
Mohegas - Pee Wee King, Keefer, Bob
Western swing in its heyday was never as popular east of the Mississippi, where acts played theaters, as in the Southwest, where dance halls reigned supreme. Pee Wee King's Golden West Cowboys were the exception to that ru... more »le. The group was founded before World War II, and King, the diminutive accordionist who cowrote "Tennessee Waltz" with Cowboys fiddler-vocalist Redd Stewart, hit his peak after the war with constant tours, TV work, and hit singles like "Slowpoke." The consummate show band, the Cowboys had a creamy, meticulously rehearsed sound (excepting Bobby Koefer's sly, articulate steel guitar) that contrasted with Bob Wills's raw spontaneity and Spade Cooley's sophisticated intensity. Nonetheless, their wilder RCA recordings could give Wills or Cooley a run for their money. Precious little of that wildness surfaces on this highly subdued collection of 1952 material recorded exclusively for radio broadcast. Spirited departures like "Ramblin' Blues" notwithstanding, the majority of the performances are an incessant string of bland, Lawrence Welk-style bounces and ballads sung by Stewart, who cowrote many of the tunes with King. --Rich Kienzle« less
Western swing in its heyday was never as popular east of the Mississippi, where acts played theaters, as in the Southwest, where dance halls reigned supreme. Pee Wee King's Golden West Cowboys were the exception to that rule. The group was founded before World War II, and King, the diminutive accordionist who cowrote "Tennessee Waltz" with Cowboys fiddler-vocalist Redd Stewart, hit his peak after the war with constant tours, TV work, and hit singles like "Slowpoke." The consummate show band, the Cowboys had a creamy, meticulously rehearsed sound (excepting Bobby Koefer's sly, articulate steel guitar) that contrasted with Bob Wills's raw spontaneity and Spade Cooley's sophisticated intensity. Nonetheless, their wilder RCA recordings could give Wills or Cooley a run for their money. Precious little of that wildness surfaces on this highly subdued collection of 1952 material recorded exclusively for radio broadcast. Spirited departures like "Ramblin' Blues" notwithstanding, the majority of the performances are an incessant string of bland, Lawrence Welk-style bounces and ballads sung by Stewart, who cowrote many of the tunes with King. --Rich Kienzle
CD Reviews
Country Sounds of the Past
Walter Stettner | Vienna Austria | 06/22/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"In our fast living times names like Pee Wee King & Redd Stewart might not sound too familiar to younger folks, but they were real big in the 1940's and 1950's. It is always good to hear the old material again, songs like "Slowpoke", "Oh Monah" and "Silver and Gold". Pee Wee King's music was always a blend of Western Swing, Hillbilly, Polka with a little touch of Jazz and upcoming Rockabilly, the band's players were top notch. Sound quality of these transcriptions is very good, interesting liner notes are included. Another chance to listen to the early sounds of Country Music that influenced the modern day music. The transcriptions were recorded around 1952, the heighdays of Hillbilly Music."
Track Listings (28) - Disc #1