Wayne King
{{short description|American songwriter and bandleader (1901–1985)}}
{{For|the hockey player (born 1951)|Wayne King (ice hockey)}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Wayne King
| image = Wayne King 1931.JPG
| image_size =
| landscape =
| alt =
| caption = King in 1931.
| background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
| birth_name = Harold Wayne King
| alias =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1901|02|16}}
| birth_place = Savanna, Illinois, U.S.
| origin =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1985|07|16|1901|02|16}}
| death_place = Paradise Valley, Arizona, U.S.
| genre = Big band
| occupation = Musician, bandleader
| instrument = Alto saxophone
| years_active = 1927–1983
| label = {{hlist|RCA Victor|Decca}}
| past_member_of = {{hlist|Bob Eberly|Buddy Clark}}
}}
Harold Wayne King (February 16, 1901 – July 16, 1985) was an American musician, songwriter, and bandleader with a long association with both NBC and CBS.{{Cite web|last=Summers|first=Kim|date=|title=Wayne King {{!}} Biography & History|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/wayne-king-mn0000819074|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2021-02-13|website=AllMusic|language=en}}{{Cite news|last=|first=|date=|title=Celebrating Wayne King|work=Savanna Times Journal|url=https://stevensorchestra.tripod.com/id11.html|access-date=}} He was referred to as "the Waltz King" because much of his most popular music involved waltzes; "The Waltz You Saved for Me" was his standard set-closing song in live performance and on numerous radio broadcasts at the height of his career.{{Cite web|last=Grossman|first=Ron|date=25 March 2012|title=The splendor and romance of Chicago's dance-hall days|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/ct-per-flash-ballrooms-0325-20120325-story.html|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2021-02-13|website=Chicago Tribune}}{{Cite web|last=|first=|last2=|last3=|date=17 July 1985|title='Waltz King' Wayne King Dies at 84, Led Big Band|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-07-17-mn-7818-story.html|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2021-02-13|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|date=2019-10-25|title=Wayne King|url=https://walkoffame.com/wayne-king/|access-date=2021-02-13|website=Hollywood Walk of Fame|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=18 July 1985|title=Wayne King|url=http://projects.latimes.com/hollywood/star-walk/wayne-king/|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2021-02-13|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en}} King's innovations included converting Carrie Jacobs-Bond's "I Love You Truly" from its original 2/4 time over to 3/4 time.{{cite book | first = Max | last = Morath | title=I Love You Truly: A Biographical Novel Based on the Life of Carrie Jacobs-Bond
| location=New York
| publisher = iUniverse
| year = 2008
| isbn = 978-0-595-53017-5
}}, p. 19.
Early life
Harold Wayne King was born in Savanna, Illinois, the son of Harvey and Ida King. His father worked for the railroad and traveled frequently, so when King's mother died in 1908, he and his brothers lived in the Annie Whittenmeyer orphanage in Davenport, Iowa, for a brief period of time. He returned to Savanna in 1911 to live with his aunt and uncle, where he was the quarterback and captain of the football team at Savanna Township High School, where he graduated in 1920.{{Cite news|last=|first=|date=13 October 1970|title='Waltz King' Famous Savanna H.S. Alumnus|work=Savanna Times-Journal|url=https://stevensorchestra.tripod.com/id11.html|access-date=}} He briefly played professional football with the Canton Bulldogs. He also began taking saxophone lessons as a teenager. King attended Valparaiso University in Indiana for two years, but left to begin a career in music.
Career
After playing alto saxophone for the Paul Whiteman Orchestra, he created "Wayne King and His Orchestra" in 1927. The group opened the new Aragon Ballroom in Chicago in 1927, and they continued playing there for much of King's career.{{Cite web|last=Popa|first=Christopher|date=July 2004|title=Wayne King 'Melody of Love'|url=http://www.bigbandlibrary.com/wayneking.html|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2021-02-13|website=Big Band Library}} He began recording for RCA/Victor Records in 1929. However, the orchestra didn't rise to prominence until they were featured on "The Lady Esther Serenade", a national radio program sponsored by Lady Esther cosmetics from 1931 to 1937.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fi5wPDBiGfMC&dq=%22Wayne+King%22+%22the+waltz+king%22&pg=PA73 |last=Dunning |first=John |author-link=John Dunning (detective fiction author) |title=On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio |date=1998 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York, NY |isbn=978-0-19-507678-3 |section=Band Remotes |page=73 |edition=Revised |access-date=2019-08-28}}
The orchestra disbanded during World War II, and King joined the army, advancing to the rank of major. The orchestra was reestablished in 1946. In 1948, the half-hour Wayne King Show was syndicated on radio via transcription discs.{{cite news|title=Ziv ad|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1948/1948-05-17-BC.pdf#page=14&search=wayne|access-date=7 December 2014|agency=Broadcasting|date=May 17, 1948}} King's orchestra had a television show in Chicago from 1949 to 1952. The telecast was carried by most Midwest NBC Television affiliate stations.
In early 1958, he appeared as a guest challenger on the TV panel show To Tell The Truth. King was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the Radio category in1960.
King's orchestra played its last engagement in March 1983 at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall in Sarasota, Florida.
Personal life
King died in July 1985 in Paradise Valley, Arizona. His wife, silent film actress Dorothy Jones King, kept his urn with her for the rest of her life following their 53 years of marriage. She died on March 10, 2010, at the age of 98.[http://www.altfg.com/blog/classics/dorothy-janis-dies-silent-movies-591/ AltFilmGuide entry] They had two children, Wayne King II and Penelope King Pape.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=14 March 2010|title=Dorothy King Obituary|url=https://www.legacy.com/amp/obituaries/azcentral/140683477|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2021-02-13|website=Legacy|language=en}}
In 2004, King was honored in his hometown of Savanna, with a sign acknowledging that he was a resident of the town.
Recordings
- "Goodnight, Sweetheart" (1931)
- "Dream a Little Dream of Me" (1931) a #1 hit
- "Maria Elena" (1941) a #2 hit
- "All Alone" (1946)
- "Dancing with Tears in My Eyes" (orchestral, 1952)
- "Isle of Golden Dreams" (1957)
- "Golden Favorites" (1962)
- "Cecilia" (1965)
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://nfo.net/usa/k2.html Early RCA publicity photo of Wayne King and his band] Enter "Wayne King" in "Find" function of browser; link to photo is near beginning of bio.
- [http://www.podcastalley.com/podcast_details.php?pod_id=10057&allEpisodes= Listen] Wayne King, his life and music on Big Band Serenade #199, 49 minutes. Scroll down to show 199; direct download available.
- [https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/106908 Wayne King recordings] at the Discography of American Historical Recordings.
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Category:American big band bandleaders
Category:Songwriters from Illinois
Category:People from Savanna, Illinois
Category:Valparaiso University alumni
Category:20th-century American singers
Category:20th-century American male singers