The other waltz king

I met a saxophone this week.  Not a player of saxophone.  The horn itself.  The sax in question belonged to Wayne King, the "Waltz King."  Johannes Strauss, Jr (1825-1899) was, of course, the original Waltz King (there's a post here somewhere about him), but the later King was the bandleader of a notable and successful "sweet" band.  His style has been compared to that of Lawrence Welk, with a soft, dreamy feel.  He was best known for novelty tunes, sentimental songs, and waltzes.

Wayne King's saxophone.  It's a Beuscher.

Wayne King was a Savanna, IL native, near the Quad Cities, and most likely the reason for the horn's visit to Davenport.  He composed some songs, but mostly in collaboration with other writers.  Some better known tunes by King, et. al., include: Goofus, The Waltz You Saved for Me (his band's appropriate theme song), Beautiful Love, and Josephine.  The Wayne King Orchestra recorded with RCA/Victor starting in 1929.  Several albums were released, all featuring the slow, danceable, King style.

Between 1948 and 1952, King even had his own TV show.  It was sponsored by Standard Oil Company, and broadcast over NBC.  The program featured King and his band, and his female vocalist, Nancy Evans, who sang with his band between 1945 and 1983.  He also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the Radio category.  King died in July of 1985.

I was certainly fortunate to have been in the right place at the right time to have had the opportunity to see this piece of  big band history.