pee wee king / albums

Though little-known today, Pee Wee King was a bandleader who helped modernize country music by adding electric instruments. Even more enduring, perhaps, is the fact that he helped write "Tennessee Waltz." Biggest Hits/Country Barn Dance is a two-fer from RCA's back catalog, and offers a good snapshot of King's popular style of Western swing. Unlike Bob Wills (at least on these recordings), King seems more than happy to take the middle road by combining a smooth vocalist with standard arrangements. On Country Barn Dance, Redd Stewart offers attractive versions of "Backward Turn Backward" and "Changing Partners," while the band -- relying on fiddles, accordion, and piano -- specializes in smooth waltzes. Biggest Hits offers a more varied package, with solid versions of "Slow Poke" and "Tennessee Waltz." There's also a rather odd country take on "Blue Suede Shoes" that at least shows the impact that rock & roll had on country in the mid- '50s. There are a number of truly inspired moments on this collection for Western swing fans, as with the steel guitar solo on "Last Night on the Back Porch (I Loved Her Best of All)." For Western swing and polka fans, Pee Wee King's Greatest Hits/Country Barn Dance is a great 50-minute blast from the past. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr., Rovi