Kentucky Waltz

Bluegrass waltz written and first recorded by Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys in 1946, one of Monroe’s most commercially successful releases, peaking at number three on the Country & Western charts. The song directly inspired Pee Wee King and Redd Stewart to write “Tennessee Waltz” after they heard it on the radio later that same year, making the two tunes historically linked despite their separate authorship. Eddy Arnold’s 1951 cover of Kentucky Waltz reached number one on the Country & Western Best Seller chart, and a Rosemary Clooney version charted in the same year.