Henry Ellis Stewart (May 27, 1923 – August 2, 2003), better known as Redd Stewart, was an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

songwriter and recording artist who co-wrote "

Tennessee Waltz "Tennessee Waltz" is a popular country music song with lyrics by Redd Stewart and music by Pee Wee King written in 1946 and first released in January 1948. The song became a multimillion seller via a 1950 recording – as "The Tennessee Waltz" � ...

" with

Pee Wee King Julius Frank Anthony Kuczynski (February 18, 1914 – March 7, 2000), known professionally as Pee Wee King, was an American country music songwriter and recording artist best known for co-writing "Tennessee Waltz". Pee Wee King is credited with ...

in 1948.

Biography

He was born in

Ashland City, Tennessee Ashland City is a town in and the county seat of Cheatham County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 4,767 as of the 2020 census. History Ashland City was created in 1856 as a county seat for the newly established Cheatham County. Th ...

, United States. While still a child, his family moved to

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

. At an early age, he learned to play several musical instruments such as the banjo, piano, fiddle and guitar. He changed his first name to Redd because of his red hair and complexion. His talent was not only as a musician but also as a songwriter, beginning by writing a little jingle for a Louisville car dealer's commercial. In 1937, he joined the Golden West Cowboys band headed by

with lead singer

Eddy Arnold Richard Edward Arnold (May 15, 1918 – May 8, 2008) was an American country music singer who performed for six decades. He was a Nashville sound (country/popular music) innovator of the late 1950s, and scored 147 songs on the ''Billboard'' cou ...

. Stewart served in the South Pacific in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, attaining the rank of sergeant. He wrote " Soldier's Last Letter" while in still in the South Pacific, which became a hit record in 1944 for

Ernest Tubb Ernest Dale Tubb (February 9, 1914 – September 6, 1984), nicknamed the Texas Troubadour, was an American singer and songwriter and one of the pioneers of country music. His biggest career hit song, " Walking the Floor Over You" (1941), ...

. After he returned to the U.S., he again hooked up with King's band, this time as the lead singer after Arnold went solo. Stewart teamed up with King in writing many top 10 country hits starting with "

", proclaimed by Governor Frank Clement in 1965 as the Tennessee state song; and " You Belong To Me". He appeared in several movies with Pee Wee King, including '' Gold Mine in the Sky'' (1938), ''Ridin' the Outlaw Trail'' (1951) and '' The Rough, Tough West'' (1952), the last two starring

Charles Starrett Charles Robert Starrett (March 28, 1903 – March 22, 1986) was an American actor, best known for his starring role in the ''Durango Kid'' westerns. Starrett still holds the record for starring in the longest series of theatrical features: ...

as the Durango Kid. In 1961, Redd and King appeared in the movie, ''Hoedown''. In 1950–51, Stewart signed with King Records as a solo vocalist, though none of his singles were successful. Stewart also wrote songs that would be made famous by other artists. He provided

Jim Reeves James Travis Reeves (August 20, 1923July 31, 1964) was an American country and popular music singer-songwriter. With records charting from the 1950s to the 1980s, he became well known as a practitioner of the Nashville Sound. Known as "Gentleman ...

with "That's a Sad Affair", (Reeves also recorded "You Belong to Me") and

Moon Mullican Aubrey Wilson Mullican (March 29, 1909 – January 1, 1967), known professionally as Moon Mullican and nicknamed "King of the Hillbilly Piano Players", was an American country and western singer, songwriter, and pianist. He was associated with t ...

with "Downstream" and "When Love Dies Where Does it Go" in the mid 1950s. "Tennessee Waltz" went on to be a hit for Patti Page and was also covered by Roy Acuff,

the Louvin Brothers The Louvin Brothers were an American musical duo composed of brothers Ira and Charlie Louvin (''né'' Loudermilk). The brothers are cousins to John D. Loudermilk, a Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member. The brothers wrote and performed ...

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as " rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis ma ...

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

and many others. "You Belong to Me" also went on to become a major standard. The lesser known "Slow Poke", originally recorded by King, was covered by

Hawkshaw Hawkins Harold Franklin "Hawkshaw" Hawkins (December 22, 1921 – March 5, 1963) was an American country music singer popular from the 1950s into the early 1960s. He was known for his rich, smooth vocals and music drawn from blues, boogie and honk ...

. In 1972, he was inducted as a charter member into the

Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame was established in 1970 by the Nashville Songwriters Foundation, Inc. in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. A non-profit organization, its objective is to honor and preserve the songwriting legacy that is ...

. On August 2, 2003, Stewart died at 80 at Baptist Hospital East in Louisville, from complications of injuries due to a fall in the early 1990s.

Legacy

In 2004, "Tennessee Waltz" was awarded BMI's 3,000,000 Airplay Award. (equivalent to 17.1 years of continuous playing), an honor shared with Barry Manilow's "

I Write the Songs "I Write the Songs" is a popular song written by Bruce Johnston in 1975 and released on his album '' Going Public'' in 1977. Barry Manilow's version reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in January 1976 Bronson, Fred (2003). '' ...

", Frank Sinatra's "

My Way "My Way" is a song popularized in 1969 by Frank Sinatra set to the music of the French song "Comme d'habitude" composed by Jacques Revaux with lyrics by Gilles Thibaut and Claude François and first performed in 1967 by Claude François. Its E ...

", Hank Williams's "

Your Cheatin' Heart "Your Cheatin' Heart" is a song written and recorded by country music singer-songwriter Hank Williams in 1952. It is regarded as one of country's most important standards. Williams was inspired to write the song while driving with his fiancé ...

's " Love Me Tender" and Roger Miller's " King of the Road". In 2004, he was inducted into Country Legends Hall of Fame and the Traditional Country Music Hall of Fame; and in 2005, Tennessee Waltz Parkway opened in his birthplace, Ashland City.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Redd 1923 births 2003 deaths American country singer-songwriters King Records artists Starday Records artists RCA Victor artists People from Ashland City, Tennessee 20th-century American singers Singer-songwriters from Tennessee Musicians from Louisville, Kentucky Country musicians from Kentucky Singer-songwriters from Kentucky Country musicians from Tennessee