"Slow Poke" is a 1951 popular

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetiti ...

Background

"Slow Poke" is credited to three writers:

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 wit ...

Redd Stewart Henry Ellis Stewart (May 27, 1923 – August 2, 2003), better known as Redd Stewart, was an American country music songwriter and recording artist who co-wrote " Tennessee Waltz" with Pee Wee King in 1948. Biography He was born in Ashland C ...

, and Chilton Price. Actually Price wrote the song in

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...

, as she thought the song described her friend, King, very well. King recorded the song and Stewart did the vocal. Price gave rights to the other two in exchange for publicity, as she felt she knew nothing about the music distribution business. The song did so well commercially that when Price wrote the song " You Belong to Me" the next year, she felt she could do better by ceding partial credit for authorship to King and Stewart than trying to publicize the song herself, so that song as well was credited to King, Stewart, and Price, though Price was the sole author.

Pee Wee King recording

's recording was issued by

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Ar ...

as catalog number 21-0489 (78rpm) and 48-0489 (45 rpm). It first entered the

Billboard magazine ''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music ...

Best Seller chart on October 21, 1951 and lasted 22 weeks, peaking at #3. It was his only crossover from the

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whil ...

genre to score on the

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

chart. It appeared on the country charts on September 21, 1951 for 31 weeks, peaking at #1 and remaining there for 15 weeks. Outside the US, topped the Australian charts in May 1952.

Other Recorded versions

* As "Slow Poke": ** A

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 honky ...

version was released by

King Records (USA) King Records may refer to: *King Records (Japan), a Japanese record label founded in 1931 *King Records (United States) King Records was an American label founded in 1943 by Syd Nathan in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. The label owned several ...

as catalog number 998, reached #7 on the country charts, having first charted on December 8, 1951. It lasted 4 weeks on the charts. The song also reached #26 on the pop charts. **The Ray Conniff Singers (

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...

) **In 1951, the recording by

Ralph Flanagan Ralph Elias Flenniken (April 7, 1914 – December 30, 1995), known professionally as Ralph Flanagan, was an American big band leader, pianist, composer, and arranger for the orchestras of Hal McIntyre, Sammy Kaye, Blue Barron, Charlie Barnet, ...

and his orchestra with vocals by The Singing Winds was issued by

on 78 rpm as catalog number 21-4373 and 45 rpm as 47-4373. It first appeared on the

Best Seller chart on January 18, 1952, for 2 weeks and peaked at #29. **The next-best-known version was the recording by

Arthur Godfrey Arthur Morton Godfrey (August 31, 1903 – March 16, 1983) was an American radio and television broadcaster and entertainer who was sometimes introduced by his nickname The Old Redhead. At the peak of his success, in the early-to-mid 1950s, Godf ...

, which was released by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

as catalog number 39632. It entered the

Best Seller chart on December 28, 1951 for 11 weeks, peaking at #12. The song was one side of a two-sided hit; the flip side, " Dance Me Loose," also reached #12. **

Tiny Hill Tiny may refer to: Kane Places * Tiny, Ontario, a township in Canada * Tiny, Virginia, an unincorporated community in the US * Tiny Glacier, Wyoming, US Computing * Tiny BASIC, a dialect of the computer programming language BASIC * Tiny Encryp ...

's version was released by

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is ...

as catalog number 5740. It entered the

Best Seller chart on January 4, 1952 at #30, in its only week on the chart. **A version by Roberta Lee was issued by

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American Decca's president. ...

, catalog number 27792, entered the

Best Sellers chart on December 7, 1951 and lasted 4 weeks on the chart, where it peaked at #28. **

Helen O'Connell Helen O'Connell (May 23, 1920 – September 9, 1993) was an American singer, actress, and hostess, described as "the quintessential big band singer of the 1940s". Early life Born in Lima, Ohio, O'Connell grew up in Toledo, Ohio. By the time ...

released her recording on

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

as catalog number 1837. It first appeared on the

Best Seller chart beginning December 7, 1951 and lasted 11 weeks, peaking at #16. **

Jimmie Rodgers James Charles Rodgers (September 8, 1897 – May 26, 1933) was an American singer-songwriter and musician who rose to popularity in the late 1920s. Widely regarded as "the Father of Country Music", he is best known for his distinctive rhythmi ...

for his album ''No One Will Ever Know'' (1962) * In the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

the song was called "Slow Coach." The lyric was changed to fit the British title. Pee Wee King also recorded a version with that title. The major British versions recorded by

Johnny Brandon Johnny Brandon (16 July 1925 – 26 July 2017) was an English singer and songwriter, popular during the 1950s, who recorded for a number of labels. His perennial backing group was known as The Phantoms. His early hits included "Tomorrow" and "Don' ...

and the

Ray Ellington Henry Pitts Brown (17 March 1916 – 27 February 1985), known professionally as Ray Ellington, was an English singer, drummer and bandleader. He is best known for his appearances on ''The Goon Show'' from 1951 to 1960. The Ray Ellington Quartet h ...

Quartet. Other who recorded the song as "Slow Coach": ** Dyd Dean ** Dinah Kaye **The Radio Revellers (

) **

Semprini Alberto Fernando Riccardo Semprini (27 March 1908 – 19 January 1990), known as Alberto Semprini (), or by his stage name Semprini, was an English pianist, composer and conductor, known for his appearances on the BBC, mainly on radio. Ea ...

with Rhythm Acc. Recorded in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

on March 24, 1952 as the first melody of the medley "Dancing to the piano (No. 14) - Part 1. Hit Medley of Foxtrots" along with "

Cry Crying is the dropping of tears (or welling of tears in the eyes) in response to an emotional state, or pain. Emotions that can lead to crying include sadness, anger, and even happiness. The act of crying has been defined as "a complex secreto ...

" and "

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". It was released by

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 2012, ...

on the

His Master's Voice His Master's Voice (HMV) was the name of a major British record label created in 1901 by The Gramophone Co. Ltd. The phrase was coined in the late 1890s from the title of a painting by English artist Francis Barraud, which depicted a Jack Russ ...

label as catalog number B 10263. **Yet another recording made by Pee Wee King used the title "Slow Bloke" (and appropriate lyric changes). This would seem to have been made for the British market ("bloke" being a British word) but since all other British versions (and the previously-mentioned King recording) use the title "Slow Coach" the actual reason for this recording is unclear. It is possible the record may have been intended for the Australian market where bloke is a common appellation. * As "Punk": **

Doris Day Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress, singer, and activist. She began her career as a big band singer in 1939, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, " Sent ...

(1955)

Samples

*This song was sampled for the song "Punk" by British singer Red Face in 2007.

References

{{Authority control 1951 singles 1952 singles Number-one singles in the United States Songs written by Chilton Price Songs written by Pee Wee King Songs written by Redd Stewart Pee Wee King songs Hawkshaw Hawkins songs

Background

Pee Wee King recording

Other Recorded versions

Samples

See also

References