This came out in 1999 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Pee Wee King really was the last guy who shoulda been a country star.
The man who would become King was born Frank Kuczynski. Yep, he was a Polish kid. From Milwaukee. Who played the accordion. So how did he become a cowboy legend? Well, by writing classics like Tennessee Waltz and You Belong To Me, that’s how. The bad news is you won’t find those on the two-CD set Country Hoedown. The good news is you’ll find 51 (yes, 51) other tunes just like ’em — all previously unreleased and taken from early ’50s radio broadcasts that captured his stylish brand of squeebox boogie, which crossed Bob Wills’ sophisticated country swing with Louis Jordan’s suave jump-blues, plus a dash of Spike Jones’ zaniness for flavour. How King ended up the Country Music Hall Of Fame is anybody’s guess. This album, however, is a sure thing.
