Pee Wee King and his Golden West Cowboys (1936-1959)

(around 1940) - Eddie Arnold joned the Golden West Cowboys. He became the lead singer of the group.  He remained with the Golden West Cowboys until the fall of 1943.

Born in Henderson, TN, he made his first radio appearance in 1936. During his childhood, he lost both his father and the family farm. When he turned 18, he left home to try to make his mark in the music world. Arnold's formative musical years included early struggles to gain recognition until he landed a job as the lead male vocalist for the Pee Wee King band. By 1943, Arnold had become a solo star on the Grand Ole Opry.

(The early 1940's) - Colonel Tom Parker (the Colonel) became Pee Wee King's road manager.  From there he went on to manage Eddy Arnold, Hank Snow and Elvis Presley.  Parker's involvement in the music industry began as a music promoter in the late 1940s, working with such country music stars as Minnie Pearl, Hank Snow, Pee Wee King and Eddy Arnold, as well as film star Tom Mix. During this time he received the honorary title of "Colonel" in 1948 from Jimmie Davis, the governor of Louisiana, in return for work he did on Davis' election campaign.

(1941-1942) - Minnie Pearl - The Golden West Cowboys recorded and toured as Minnie Pearl's backing band.  For nineteen months Pee Wee and the Golden West Cowboys headlined the Camel Caravan, entertaining troops.  For months the Camel Caravan promoted Camel cigarettes and country music to the troops, as it toured from New England to Texas entertaining troops, often three times a day.  The Camel Caravan ended Christmas 1942.

The Golden West Cowboys during the Camel Caravan:
Chuck Wiggins - on bass
Jimmy Widner - on guitar
Curley Rhodes - Cicero the Comedian
Redd Stewart (Fidlin' Red) - on fiddle
Ford Rush's son
Eddy Arnold - featured vocalist

(late 1942) - Ernest Tubb travelled with the Golden West Cowboys, but within a year he had his own band, initially consisting mostly of former members of the Golden West Cowboys.
Nicknamed the "Texas Troubadour",  he 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) marked the rise of the honky-tonk style of music.

(1943-1944) - Pete Pyle, the former vocalist with Bill Monroe became the featured vocalist with the Golden West Cowboys after Eddy Arnold went solo.  

He was a solo performer on the Grand Ole Opry before joining Bill Monroe's band. On his release from the Army, he returned to the Opry, first playing with the Golden West Cowboys and later forming his own group, the Mississippi Valley Boys. He later worked for a time as leader of the house band at Monroe's Brown County Jamboree in Bean Blossom.                                                        

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