Kentucky

If Tennessee Waltz is the mother of all waltzes, then Kentucky Waltz is the father.  Bill Monroe's Kentucky Waltz was the inspiration for Pee Wee King and Redd Stewart's creation of Tennessee Waltz. According to the book, The Music of Bill Monroe, Kentucky Waltz was first conceived and played by Monroe sometime around 1935 as an instrumental. In 1939, when he arrived in Nashville, he put words to it.  It was the first set of lyrics he had created for a song. He and his band performed it with his guitarist, Clyde Moody, doing the vocals but never recorded it. When the opportunity came to record it in 1945, Moody had left the band so Monroe did the vocals himself. That recording, Columbia 20013, made it as high as number three on the Billboard list of Folk Tune Leaders. In June of 1947, there were four recordings of Kentucky Waltz all competing for sales. In addition to Monroe's, versions by Eddie Dean, Pee Wee King and the Cowboy Copas were all being sold.  That was not unusual in those days, Cool Water, which was number three on that same list had eight different covers for sale. Kentucky Waltz did eventually reach number one on the charts with a 1951 recording by Eddie Arnold (RCA Victor 21-0444).  There are now hundreds, perhaps thousands of covers of the song and not many bluegrass jams close without a round of Kentucky Waltz. The two versions which perhaps best represent the song are offered below - Bill Monroe's first recording and Eddie Arnold's chart-topping version.

There is only one "historical" 19th century waltz celebrating Kentucky.  It is a student piano piece written by John R. Jennings in 1840.  It was part of a suite of three state waltzes honoring Indiana and Ohio in addition to Kentucky.  The piece was dedicated to William Henry Harrison, hero of Tippecanoe, who became the ninth President of the United States in 1841.  Here is a computer generated rendition of Jenning's Kentucky Waltz.

There are two songs titled Old Kentucky Waltz, both newer than Monroe's Kentucky Waltz since they were both released as records in 1949. One was written by "Teepee" Mitchell (birth name Mitchell Lewis Tableporter) and Lew Porter and was recorded by Hal Carey With Bruce Trent And His Western Tunesters on a 78 rpm record, Jewel T-7002. The second Old Kentucky Waltz was written by Vaughn Horton, famous for writing the 1951, Patti Page hit - Mockin'bird Hill, and recorded by Mervin Shiner, a cowboy singing star whose is perhaps best know as the man who first recorded Peter Cottontail. An audio file for the Mitchell/Porter version of Old Kentucky Waltz is not available but the better known tune by Vaughn Horton is available in the Internet Archive and can be heard below.

In 2005, Kentucky's own Sid Griffin recorded a waltz celebrating Kentucky on one of his rare solo albums, As Certain as Sunrise.  The album was recorded in Louisville, Kentucky - some of it in his own living room.  The opening track on that album was a song he wrote - Last Kentucky Waltz. It is a curious blend of Beatles, Byrds and Bluegrass with lyrics that deserve a listen.

The most recent waltz celebrating Kentucky is Blue Kentucky Waltz released on the 2012 recording, No Part of Nothin'. The song was co-written by Alan Tompkins and Gerald Jones. It is sung by Tompkins with Jones playing mandolin.  It sounds like a classic bluegrass waltz and perhaps someday will be.  Tompkins is a native of Western Kentucky and still has a bit of the accent to prove it.  He moved to Texas in 1983 to attend Southern Methodist University. He is one of those men that does it all - works as a licensed attorney and CPA but also found time to found and lead the Bluegrass Heritage Foundation which organizes bluegrass festivals and music camps in north Texas. Lean back and enjoy this one:

The following Kentucky Waltzes were not included:

Several copyrights were noted with no further evidence that the song was published or recorded.

• 1922 - Kentucky Waltz, words by Walter Smith, melody by H.W. Meyerinck
• 1944 - My Old Kentucky Waltz - words and melody by Jerry Fronek
• 1951 - The Beautiful Kentucky Waltz - by Robert Lindsay Hutton
• 1953 - The New Kentucky Waltz - by George Robert Nelson and Robert Stuart Cragin
• 1977 - Old Kentucky Waltz - by Orilla Greenwood and Jane Herman

There is a book of short stories by Gary Barker titled Kentucky Waltz. 

And finally, there is a beer to go with that Iowa Waltz Pizza.  It is called Kentucky Waltz and is a brown ale brewed by Braxton Brewing Company in Covington, Kentucky.  

For those who have made it to the bottom of this page, here is the bonus - lyrics and a simplified score for Bill Monroe's Kentucky Waltz. 

 We were waltzing that night in Kentucky
Beneath the beautiful harvest moon
And I was the boy that was lucky
But it all ended too soon
As I sit here alone in the moonlight
I see your smiling face
And I long once more for your embrace
In that beautiful Kentucky waltz

Note: this score varies from that usually found.  It is meant to be a transcription of the way Bill Monroe originally sang his song in that 1945 recording although it can't capture the bent notes and the swing of the eighth notes.  Bill himself varied the tune with time as is evident is this video duet of Monroe and Emily Lou Harris.

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