NRR Project: “Tennessee Waltz”
Music by Pee Wee King; lyrics by Redd Stewart
Performed by Patti Page
Recorded November, 1950
3:01
This song has an interesting history.
First, read Ryan Dooley’s excellent essay on this piece at the National Recording Registry.
It was conceived by two country-music practitioners, Pee Wee King and Redd Stewart. On tour with their Golden West Cowboys in 1946, they heard Bill Monroe’s classic, the “Kentucky Waltz,” over the radio. King had written a waltz with no name; King and Stewart scratched out the lyrics that Monroe’s song inspired in the truck they were driving.
The Golden West Cowboys version sold well, and was covered shortly afterwards by Cowboy Copas. In 1950 Erskine Hawkins produced an R & B- flavored rendition. It was this iteration of the tune that caught the attention of reviewer Jerry Wexler, who brought it to manager Jack Rael. Rael, who was developing the career of singer Patti Page, though it would be an excellent idea to set the tune in a lush orchestral arrangement.
And, for the first time ever, a singer was overdubbed. Page had an excellent idea for a harmony vocal, but the money for a backup singer was not forthcoming. So, Page herself recorded both tracks – recording directly onto the acetate recording surface (multiple-track recorders not being utilized yet). The result is a haunting, wistful song that laments the loss of a lover while dancing with the singer’s friend during the song of the title.
The song was wildly popular and spurred a multitude of covers. Page’s career was made, and this became her signature song.
The National Recording Registry Project tracks one writer’s expedition through all the recordings in the National Recording Registry in chronological order. Next time: Leon Metcalf Collection of recordings of the First People of Western Washington State.
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