Pee Wee King and Redd Stewart were driving to a show when Bill Monroe’s “Kentucky Waltz” came on the radio. They wondered why Tennessee didn’t have a waltz, too.
They got to work. Stewart, a country singer/songwriter, grabbed a matchbox and started writing lyrics on the inside. King, who is credited with bringing the Musicians Union to the Grand Ole Opry, worked out the melody.
Patti Page recorded it as the B-side to “Boogie Woogie Santa Claus.”
https://americansongwriter.com/from-matchbox-to-masterpiece-how-the-tennessee-waltz-danced-into-history/
And the rest is history. It is a lovely song and dance.
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