Pee Wee Melton

William C. "Pee Wee" Melton (b. Jun. 26, 1928 d. Mar. 24, 2000) was a session guitarist, songwriter, luthier, and producer from Greenville, South Carolina. He performed and produced many Christian gospel and country releases, including many artist and singers such as "Hee Haw" star Vicki Bird, Toy Caldwell of The Marshall Tucker Band, and Zack "Robbie" Turner. Aaron Tippin once said that if there was no Pee Wee there would be no Aaron Tippin. An accomplished songwriter, he wrote hit tunes like "Watermelon Crawl" and "High Teck Redneck". He was a regular musician on the TV series Hee Haw and being a respected Nashville session musician. Melton had come out of the Greenville, S.C., area where he was instrumental in encouraging local singer and future country star Aaron Tippin. Tippin -- known for his long list of hit singles including You've Got To Stand For Something, I Got It Honest, My Blue Angel and There's Nothing Wrong With the Radio -- would say of Melton: "If there was no Pee Wee, there would be no Aaron Tippin." In addition to his musical accomplishments, Melton was also a skilled luthier, and one of his his most well-known guitar designs was Johnny Meek's triple-necked guitar that he played regulatly with Gene Vincent's band.