Jerry Burke

Jerry Burke (July 26, 1911 – February 13, 1965)^[1] was a musician who played the organ and piano for the Lawrence Welk orchestra from 1934 to 1965.^[2]

Biography

Born in Marshalltown, Iowa; he spent most of his youth in South Dakota; first in Aberdeen, where he took up the pipe organ and taught piano. After playing with several other local bands, he joined Lawrence Welk's band in 1934 when the band consisted of only six people and was headquartered in Yankton.

Jerry's career with the band spanned more than thirty years, from the one-nighters throughout the

In his later years, Jerry was absent from the show for nearly a year (1963–1964) due to ill health and would die in 1965 from cancer. Burke's replacement, Bob Ralston, would remain with the show for the remainder of its run.

References

External links

The Lawrence Welk Show: An Organ Medley, 1957 on

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