Friday, August 12, 2011

Tennessee Waltz

Today I'm focusing on the song "Tennessee Waltz" written by Pee Wee King and Redd Stewart in the late 1940's, such a highly covered song that made it's way through the country music communities in the 40's and 50's, and eventually made it's way into the set lists of R&B/Soul performers in the 1960's by the likes of Sam Cooke and Otis Redding.  I thought I'd bring out a few clips of probably one of the most beautiful songs written in our country.  It's a beautiful slice of Americana, from Patsy Cline, to Otis Redding, "Tennessee Waltz" is a beautiful song, and Otis's version brings a tear to my eye on occasion.  First off is the original recording of Pee Wee King's "Tennessee Waltz".  Listen to each recording and see how the song evolved over time.  While it started out as a southern country-fried tear-jerker, Sam Cooke's version (recorded 15 years after it's first release) is definitely more peppy.  Otis Redding's version is my favorite though I like all five versions I posted of this song, which is why I did so.  I enjoy Otis's version the most because he stayed true to the country standard but injected a little more soul into it. 


No comments:

Post a Comment