{{short description|American songwriter and bandleader (1901–1985)}} {{For|the hockey player (born 1951)|Wayne King (ice hockey)}}
{{Infobox musical artist | name = Wayne King | image = Wayne King 1931.JPG | image_size = | landscape = <!-- yes, if wide image, otherwise leave blank --> | alt = | caption = King in 1931. | background = non_vocal_instrumentalist | birth_name = Harold Wayne King | alias = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1901|02|16}} | birth_place = [[Savanna, Illinois]], U.S. | origin = | death_date = {{Death date and age|1985|07|16|1901|02|16}} | death_place = [[Paradise Valley, Arizona]], U.S. | genre = [[Big band]] | occupation = Musician, bandleader | instrument = [[Alto saxophone]] | years_active = 1927–1983 | label = {{hlist|[[RCA Victor]]|[[Decca Records|Decca]]}} | past_member_of = {{hlist|[[Bob Eberly]]|[[Buddy Clark]]}} }} '''Harold Wayne King''' (February 16, 1901 – July 16, 1985) was an American musician, songwriter, and bandleader with a long association with both [[NBC]] and [[CBS]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|last=Summers|first=Kim|date=|title=Wayne King {{!}} Biography & History|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/wayne-king-mn0000819074|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2021-02-13|website=AllMusic|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite news|last=|first=|date=|title=Celebrating Wayne King|work=Savanna Times Journal|url=https://stevensorchestra.tripod.com/id11.html|access-date=}}</ref> He was referred to as "the Waltz King" because much of his most popular music involved waltzes; "[[The Waltz You Saved for Me]]" was his standard set-closing song in live performance and on numerous radio broadcasts at the height of his career.<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite web|last=Grossman|first=Ron|date=25 March 2012|title=The splendor and romance of Chicago's dance-hall days|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/ct-per-flash-ballrooms-0325-20120325-story.html|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2021-02-13|website=Chicago Tribune}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=|first=|last2=|last3=|date=17 July 1985|title='Waltz King' Wayne King Dies at 84, Led Big Band|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-07-17-mn-7818-story.html|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2021-02-13|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|date=2019-10-25|title=Wayne King|url=https://walkoffame.com/wayne-king/|access-date=2021-02-13|website=Hollywood Walk of Fame|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=18 July 1985|title=Wayne King|url=http://projects.latimes.com/hollywood/star-walk/wayne-king/|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2021-02-13|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en}}</ref> King's innovations included converting [[Carrie Jacobs-Bond]]'s "I Love You Truly" from its original [[2/4 time|{{music|time|2|4}} time]] over to [[3/4 time|{{music|time|3|4}}]].<ref name="CJBMorath08">{{cite book | first = Max | last = Morath | title=I Love You Truly: A Biographical Novel Based on the Life of Carrie Jacobs-Bond | location=New York | publisher = iUniverse | year = 2008 | isbn = 978-0-595-53017-5 }}, p. 19.</ref>
==Early life== '''Harold Wayne King''' was born in [[Savanna, Illinois]], the son of Harvey and Ida King.<ref name=":4" /> His father worked for the railroad and traveled frequently, so when King's mother died in 1908, he and his brothers lived in the Annie Whittenmeyer orphanage in [[Davenport, Iowa]], for a brief period of time.<ref name=":4" /> He returned to Savanna in 1911 to live with his aunt and uncle, where he was the quarterback and captain of the football team at Savanna Township High School, where he graduated in 1920.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":5">{{Cite news|last=|first=|date=13 October 1970|title='Waltz King' Famous Savanna H.S. Alumnus|work=Savanna Times-Journal|url=https://stevensorchestra.tripod.com/id11.html|access-date=}}</ref> He briefly played professional football with the [[Canton Bulldogs]].<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":1" /> He also began taking saxophone lessons as a teenager.<ref name=":3" /> King attended [[Valparaiso University]] in [[Indiana]] for two years, but left to begin a music career.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":5" />
== Career == After playing alto saxophone for the [[Paul Whiteman]] Orchestra, he created "Wayne King and His Orchestra" in 1927.<ref name=":1" /> The group opened the new [[Aragon Ballroom (Chicago)|Aragon Ballroom]] in Chicago in 1927, and they continued playing there for much of King's career.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":6">{{Cite web|last=Popa|first=Christopher|date=July 2004|title=Wayne King 'Melody of Love'|url=http://www.bigbandlibrary.com/wayneking.html|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2021-02-13|website=Big Band Library}}</ref> He began recording for [[RCA Records|RCA]]/[[Victor Talking Machine Company|Victor Records]] in 1929.<ref name=":3" /> However, the orchestra didn't rise to prominence until they were featured on "The Lady Esther Serenade", a national radio program sponsored by [[Lady Esther|Lady Esther cosmetics]] from 1931 to 1937.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":6" /><ref name="dunning">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fi5wPDBiGfMC&dq=%22Wayne+King%22+%22the+waltz+king%22&pg=PA73 |last=Dunning |first=John |author-link=John Dunning (detective fiction author) |title=On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio |date=1998 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York, NY |isbn=978-0-19-507678-3 |section=Band Remotes |page=73 |edition=Revised |access-date=2019-08-28}}</ref>
The orchestra disbanded during [[World War II]], and King joined the [[United States Army|army]], advancing to the rank of [[major (rank)|major]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> The orchestra was reestablished in 1946. In 1948, the half-hour ''Wayne King Show'' was syndicated on radio via [[Electrical transcriptions|transcription discs]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Ziv ad|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1948/1948-05-17-BC.pdf#page=14&search=wayne|access-date=7 December 2014|agency=Broadcasting|date=May 17, 1948}}</ref> King's orchestra had a television show in [[Chicago]] from 1949 to 1952.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":6" /> The telecast was carried by most Midwest [[NBC]] Television affiliate stations.<ref name=":7" />
In early 1958, he appeared as a guest challenger on the TV panel show ''[[To Tell The Truth]]''. King was awarded a star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] in the Radio category in 1960.<ref name=":1" />
King's orchestra played its last engagement in March 1983 at the [[Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall]] in [[Sarasota, Florida]].<ref name=":6" />
== Personal life ==
King died in July 1985 in [[Paradise Valley, Arizona]].<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /> His wife, [[silent film]] actress [[Dorothy Janis|Dorothy Jones King]], kept his urn with her for the rest of her life following their 53 years of marriage. She died on March 10, 2010, at the age of 98.<ref name=":2" /><ref>[http://www.altfg.com/blog/classics/dorothy-janis-dies-silent-movies-591/ AltFilmGuide entry]</ref> They had two children, Wayne King II and Penelope King Pape.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=14 March 2010|title=Dorothy King Obituary|url=https://www.legacy.com/amp/obituaries/azcentral/140683477|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2021-02-13|website=Legacy|language=en}}</ref>
In 2004, King was honored in his hometown of Savanna, with a sign acknowledging that he was a resident of the town.<ref name=":6" />
==Recordings== *"[[Goodnight, Sweetheart (1931 song)|Goodnight, Sweetheart]]" (1931) *"[[Dream a Little Dream of Me (song)|Dream a Little Dream of Me]]" (1931) a #1 hit *"[[María Elena (song)|Maria Elena]]" (1941) a #2 hit *"[[All Alone (1924 song)|All Alone]]" (1946) *"Dancing with Tears in My Eyes" (orchestral, 1952) *"Isle of Golden Dreams" (1957) *"Golden Favorites" (1962) *"[[Cecilia (Does Your Mother Know You're Out Cecilia) (1926 song)|Cecilia]]" (1965)
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[http://nfo.net/usa/k2.html Early RCA publicity photo of Wayne King and his band] Enter "Wayne King" in "Find" function of browser; link to photo is near beginning of bio. *[http://www.podcastalley.com/podcast_details.php?pod_id=10057&allEpisodes= Listen] Wayne King, his life and music on Big Band Serenade #199, 49 minutes. Scroll down to show 199; direct download available. * [https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/106908 Wayne King recordings] at the [[Discography of American Historical Recordings]]. {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Wayne}} [[Category:1901 births]] [[Category:1985 deaths]] [[Category:American big band bandleaders]] [[Category:Songwriters from Illinois]] [[Category:American bandleaders]] [[Category:RCA Victor artists]] [[Category:People from Savanna, Illinois]] [[Category:Valparaiso University alumni]] [[Category:20th-century American singers]] [[Category:20th-century American male singers]] [[Category:American male songwriters]] [[Category:20th-century American songwriters]]