Lawrence Welk
Lawrence Welk | |
---|---|
Born | Strasburg, North Dakota, U.S. | March 11, 1903
Died | May 17, 1992 Santa Monica, California, U.S. | (aged 89)
Resting place | Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California |
Alma mater | MacPhail Center for Music |
Occupations |
|
Television | The Lawrence Welk Show (1951–1982) |
Spouse |
Fern Veronica Renner
(m. 1931) |
Children | 3 |
Lawrence Welk (March 11, 1903 – May 17, 1992) was an American accordionist, bandleader, and television impresario, who hosted The Lawrence Welk Show from 1951 to 1982. His style came to be known as "champagne music" to his radio, television, and live-performance audiences.[1]
Early life
Welk was born in the German-speaking community of
Welk was a first cousin, once removed, of former Montana governor
The family lived on a homestead that is now a tourist attraction. They spent the cold North Dakota winter of their first year inside an upturned wagon covered in sod. Welk left school during fourth grade to work full-time on the family farm.[3][7]
Welk decided on a career in music and persuaded his father to buy a mail-order accordion for $400 (equivalent to $6,084 in 2023).[8][9] He promised his father that he would work on the farm until he was 21, in repayment for the accordion. Any money he made elsewhere during that time, doing farmwork or performing, would go to his family.[10]
Welk became an iconic figure in the
Early career
On his 21st birthday, having fulfilled his promise to his father, Welk left the family farm to pursue a career in music. During the 1920s, he performed with various bands before forming an orchestra. He led
Although many associate Welk's music with a style quite separate from jazz, he recorded several jazzy sides; in November 1928 for Gennett Records, based in Richmond, Indiana: "Spiked Beer" and "Doin' The New Low Down" and in 1931 in Grafton, Wisconsin for Paramount Records "Smile Darn Ya, Smile".[15]
During the 1930s, Welk led a traveling
Welk's big band performed across the country, but particularly in the Chicago and
Welk collaborated with Western artist
In addition to his activities as a performing artist, Welk edited a course of modern music for the piano accordion which included arrangements by
Recordings
In addition to the above-mentioned "Spiked Beer", Welk's territory band made occasional trips to Richmond, Indiana, and to Grafton, Wisconsin, to record a handful of sessions for the Gennett and Paramount companies. In November 1928 he recorded four sides for Gennett spread over two days (one side was rejected), and in 1931 he recorded eight sides for Paramount (in two sessions) that were issued on the Broadway and Lyric labels. These records are rare and highly valued.
From 1938 to 1940, he recorded frequently in New York and Chicago for Vocalion Records. During this period Welk recorded numerous instrumentals especially for radio stations; these transcription records became a broadcasting staple. Welk signed with Decca Records in 1941, then recorded for Mercury Records and Coral Records for short periods of time before moving to Dot Records in 1959.
In 1967, Welk left Dot Records and joined its former executive
The Lawrence Welk Show
This section needs additional citations for verification. (June 2017) |
In 1951, Welk settled in Los Angeles. The same year, he began producing
During its first year on the air, the Welk hour instituted several regular features. To make Welk's "Champagne Music" tagline visual, the production crew engineered a "bubble machine" that spouted streams of large bubbles across the bandstand. While the bubble machine was originally engineered to produce soap bubbles, complaints from the band members about soapy build-ups on their instruments led to the machine being reworked to produce glycerine bubbles instead. During the show's first year, the bubble machine operated continuously, with the bubbles wafting across the musicians' faces and instruments for the entire hour. Within a year, the bubble machine was retired except for the opening and closing "Champagne Music" selections. Whenever the orchestra played a polka or waltz, Welk himself would dance with the band's female vocalist, the "Champagne Lady". This was a long-standing tradition in the Welk band; the first Champagne Lady was Lois Best (1939 to 1941), followed during the war years by Jayne Walton.
Beginning with the Welk show's freshman year, Welk was careful to program current songs in addition to the traditional big-band standards. The Boyd Bennett rock-and-roll hit "My Boy Flat Top" was featured on two different programs (November 26, 1955 and December 10, 1955, the latter featuring Buddy Merrill on electric guitar). The policy was relaxed over the next year, with new songs still being included but now being treated as novelty arrangements. In the December 8, 1956 broadcast, "Nuttin' for Christmas" became a vehicle for Rocky Rockwell dressed in a child's outfit, and Elvis Presley's "Don't Be Cruel" was sung by the violinist Bob Lido, wearing fake Presley-style sideburns.[citation needed] In another episode, the Lennon Sisters and Norma Zimmer performed the Orlons' No. 2 pop hit "The Wah-Watusi" with the bass singer Larry Hooper wearing a beatnik outfit.
These stood in comparison to the contemporary American Bandstand, which catered to a teenager audience and featured the latest acts. In a 1971 episode, Welk infamously billed the Brewer & Shipley single "One Toke Over the Line" (performed as a duet by Gail Farrell and Dick Dale), which referenced the use of marijuana, as a "modern spiritual";[26] social conservatives of the era saw the song as subversive and it became the first casualty of an attempt by the Federal Communications Commission to get radio stations to ban all pro-drug songs.[27] Later in the 1970s, however, Welk's programs often included current adult contemporary songs performed by his singers, including "Feelings" and "Love Will Keep Us Together" (made famous by Morris Albert and Captain & Tennille, respectively), and current songs were included up through 1982, the final year of production of the show.
Whenever a Dixieland tune was scheduled, Welk harked back to his days with the Hotsy Totsy Boys and enthusiastically led the band. Befitting the target audience, the type of music on The Lawrence Welk Show was conservative, concentrating on popular music standards, show tunes, polkas, and novelty songs, delivered in a smooth, calm, good-humored easy-listening style and "family-oriented" manner. Although described by one critic, Canadian journalist and entertainment editor Frank Rasky, as "the squarest music this side of Euclid",[28] this strategy proved commercially successful, and the show remained on the air for 31 years.
Welk's musicians included accordionist
Welk had a number of instrumental hits, including a cover of the song "
The album Calcutta! also achieved number-one status. The albums Last Date, Yellow Bird, Moon River, Young World and Baby Elephant Walk and Theme from the Brothers Grimm, produced in the early 60s, were in Billboard's top ten; nine more albums produced between 1956 and 1963 were in the top twenty. His albums continued to chart through 1973.[29]
Welk was adamant on providing wholesome entertainment. For example, he fired
Reflecting the controversies about the quality of Welk's music among the cognoscenti, in 1956, musical satirist Stan Freberg, known for his love of jazz, wrote and recorded a biting Welk satire, "Wunnerful! Wunnerful!" Freberg impersonated Welk. Recorded with some of Hollywood's best jazz musicians, arranged by Billy May to sound like authentic Welk, the single mocked Welk's accordion work, his sometimes-stumbling patter between songs and the music of such Welk favorites Rocky Rockwell ("Stony Stonedwell"), Champagne Lady Alice Lon ("Alice Lean") and Larry Hooper ("Larry Looper"). Welk was not amused, and when he met Freberg years later, claimed he never used the "Wunnerful! Wunnerful!" term. Ironically, it became the title of Welk's 1971 autobiography.
Despite its staid reputation, The Lawrence Welk Show nonetheless kept up with the times and never limited itself strictly to music of the big-band era. During the 1960s and 1970s, for instance, the show incorporated material by such contemporary sources as the
During its
For the entire run, musical numbers were divided fairly evenly between prerecorded lip- and finger-sync performances and those recorded live on film or tape. Generally, the big production numbers featuring dancing and singing performances were recorded earlier in the day or the day before, often at famous recording studios in and around nearby Hollywood, while the more intimate numbers were recorded live on tape or film.
After retiring from his show and the road in 1982, Welk continued to air reruns of his shows, which were repackaged first for syndication and, starting in 1986, for public television. He also starred in and produced a pair of Christmas specials in 1984 and 1985.
Business ventures
Welk was a businessman and subsequent to his marriage in 1930, he was the manager of a hotel, restaurant, and music store.[35]
In the late 1950s, he founded Teleklew Inc., which had investments in
In the 1970s, he developed the "Lawrence Welk Plaza", now known as the 100 Wilshire Blvd Building, in Santa Monica, California, the 21-story high rise which was the former GTE building. Next to that building is the "Lawrence Welk Champagne Towers" the 16-story luxury Apartment Complex, along with the 11-story Wilshire Palisades office building.[37]
In the 1980s, the company became The Welk Group and subsequently split into Welk Music Group and Welk Resort Group.
Welk was awarded four U.S. design patents for a musically themed restaurant menu,[38] an accordion-themed tray for serving food at a restaurant,[39] and an accordion-themed ashtray.[40]
Personal life and death
Welk was married for 61 years, until his death in 1992, to Fern Renner (August 26, 1903 – February 13, 2002), with whom he had two daughters and a son. His son, Lawrence Welk Jr., married and divorced fellow Lawrence Welk Show performer
A devout
He died of pneumonia on May 17, 1992, at age 89, at his Santa Monica home, surrounded by his family.[36][35] He was buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.
Honors
In 1961, Welk was inducted as a charter member of the
In 1994, Welk was inducted into the International Polka Music Hall of Fame.[46]
Welk has a star for recording on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located at 6613½ Hollywood Boulevard. He has a second star at 1601 Vine Street for television.
In 2007, Welk became a charter member of the
Legacy
Welk's band continues to appear in a dedicated theater in
The "Live Lawrence Welk Show" makes annual concert tours across the United States and Canada, featuring stars from the television series, including Ralna English, Mary Lou Metzger, Gail Farrell, and Anacani.
In popular culture
The comedy show Saturday Night Live had a recurring sketch during the late 2000s and early 2010s, in which Welk was portrayed by Fred Armisen.[48][49]
Books by Welk
All of Welk's books are coauthored by, or written in conjunction with, Bernice McGeehan and published by Prentice Hall, except where indicated:
- Wunnerful, Wunnerful: The Autobiography of Lawrence Welk, 1971, ISBN 0-13-971515-0
- Ah-One, Ah-Two! Life with My Musical Family, 1974, ISBN 0-13-020990-2
- My America, Your America, 1976, ISBN 0-13-608414-1
- Lawrence Welk's Musical Family Album, 1977, ISBN 0-13-526624-6
- Lawrence Welk's Bunny Rabbit Concert, illustrated by Carol Bryan, Indianapolis: Youth Publications/ISBN 0-89387-501-5(children's book)
- You're Never Too Young, 1981, ISBN 0-13-977181-6
Singles
Year | Single | Chart positions | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
US | CB | US – AC
| ||
1938 | "Colorado Sunset" b/w "There's A Faraway Look In Your Eyes" |
17 | – | – |
"Change Partners" b/w "I Used to Be Color Blind" |
13 | – | – | |
"I Won't Tell A Soul" / | 8 | – | – | |
"Two Sleepy People" | 13 | – | – | |
1939 | "Annabelle" b/w "Then I Wrote A Song About You" |
10 | – | – |
"The Moon Is A Silver Dollar" b/w "I'm A Lucky Devil" |
7 | – | – | |
"Bubbles In The Wine" b/w "On Sweetheart Bay" |
13 | – | – | |
"I'm Happy About The Whole Thing" b/w "In A Moment Of Weakness" |
18 | – | – | |
1941 | "Daddy's Lullaby" / | 21 | – | – |
"Maria Elena" | 22 | – | – | |
"Little Sleepy Head" b/w "Sweet and Low" |
21 | – | – | |
1942 | "Dear Home In Holland" | 21 | – | – |
1944 | "Cleanin' My Rifle (And Dreamin' Of You)" / | 23 | – | – |
"I Wish That I Could Hide Inside This Letter" | 20 | – | – | |
"Don't Sweetheart Me" / | 2 | – | – | |
"Mairzy Doats" | 16 | – | – | |
"Is My Baby Blue Tonight?" b/w "One Little Lie Too Many" |
13 | – | – | |
1945 | "Shame On You"* b/w "At Mail Call Today" Both sides with Red Foley |
13 | – | – |
1953 | " Your Mother and Mine "
|
5 | 3 | – |
1955 | "Bonnie Blue Gal" b/w "Sam, The Old Accordion Man" |
– | 27 | – |
1956 | "Moritat" (Theme From "The Threepenny Opera") b/w "Stompin' at the Savoy" |
17 | – | – |
"The Poor People of Paris" b/w "Nobody Knows But The Lord" |
17 | – | – | |
"On the Street Where You Live" b/w "I Could Have Danced All Night" |
96 | – | – | |
" McGuire Sisters ) /
|
32 | 42 | – | |
"In the Alps" (with The McGuire Sisters )
|
63 | – | – | |
" Lennon Sisters ) /
|
15 | 3 | – | |
"When the Lilacs Bloom Again" | 70 | 18 | – | |
1957 | "Cinco Robles" b/w "Whispering Heart" |
– | 29 | – |
"Liechtensteiner Polka" b/w "You Know Too Much" |
48 | – | – | |
1960 | "Last Date" b/w "Remember Lolita" |
21 | 103 | – |
"Calcutta" b/w "My Grandfather's Clock" |
1 | 1 | – | |
1961 | "Theme From 'My Three Sons'" / | 55 | 28 | – |
"Out Of A Clear Blue Sky" | – | 128 | – | |
"Yellow Bird" b/w "Cruising Down the River" |
71 | – | – | |
"Riders In The Sky" / | 87 | 69 | – | |
"My Love For You" | – | 141 | – | |
"A-One A-Two A-Cha Cha Cha" b/w "You Gave Me Wings" |
117 | 94 | – | |
1962 | "Runaway" b/w "Happy Love" |
56 | 87 | – |
"Baby Elephant Walk" / | 48 | 84 | 10 | |
"Theme From 'The Brothers Grimm'" | – | 130 | – | |
"Zero-Zero" b/w "Night Theme" |
98 | 79 | – | |
1963 | "Scarlett O'Hara" / | 89 | 100 | – |
"Breakwater" | 100 | 101 | – | |
" Blue Velvet " /
|
103 | – | – | |
"Fiesta" | 106 | 111 | – | |
1964 | "Stockholm" b/w "The Girl From Barbados" |
91 | 115 | – |
1965 | "Apples and Bananas" b/w "Theme From 'The Addams Family'" |
75 | 88 | 17 |
1967 | "The Beat Goes On" b/w "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye" |
104 | 94 | – |
1968 | "Green Tambourine" b/w "Watch What Happens" |
– | – | 27 |
1970 | " Southtown, U.S.A." "
b/w "Hello, Dolly! |
– | – | 37 |
* "Shame On You" also made the US Country charts (No. 1) as well as its flip side, "At Mail Call Today" (No. 3)
** "Calcutta" also made the US R&B chart, reaching No. 10
See also
- The Lennon Sisters – mainstay singers for Welk from 1955 to 1968
- Aragon Ballroom (Ocean Park)
References
- ^ "Lawrence Welk is born - Mar 11, 1903". history.com. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
- ^ "Lawrence Welk". Biography.com. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
- ^ a b Shearer, Lloyd (November 15, 1970). "Lawrence Welk: The King of Musical Corn". Parade. pp. 10–13.
- ^ Condon, Maurice (April 29, 1967). "In Strasburg, N.D., They Remember Lawrence Welk, When He Was Leader of the Hotsy Totsy Boys". TV Guide. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
- ^ "Germans from Russia Heritage Collection". Library.ndsu.edu. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
- ^ "Wunnerful, Wunnerful! The Autobiography of Lawrence Welk". North Dakota State University. Archived from the original on February 24, 2015. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
- ^ Weil, Martin (May 19, 1992). "Bandleader Lawrence Welk Dies; TV's 'Champagne Music' Conductor". Washington Post. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
- ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
- ^ "It was a 'Wunnerful' Life". Grand Forks Herald. May 19, 1992. Archived from the original on March 31, 2003. Retrieved February 17, 2015.
- ^ Huey, Steve. "Lawrence Welk biography". All Music Guide. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
- ^ Timothy J. Kloberdanz, "Symbols of German-Russian Ethnic Identity on the Northern Plains." Great Plains Quarterly 8#1 (1988): 3–15 online.
- ^ Melissa Vickery-Bareford, "Welk, Lawrence" American National Biography (1999)
- ^ "Lawrence Welk's Novelty Orchestra". Redhotjazz.com. Archived from the original on December 26, 2008. Retrieved April 6, 2009.
- ^ "MacPhail History". Macphail.org. Archived from the original on April 20, 2009. Retrieved April 6, 2009.
- ^ Rust, Brian (2002). Jazz and Ragtime Records (1897–1942): L–Z, index. Mainspring Press. p. 1812. Accessed July 30, 2016.
- ^ Thomas, Bob (June 6, 1960). "Champagne Style Music Making of Lawrence Welk". Ellensburg Daily Record.
- ^ Scott MacGillivray and Ted Okuda, The Soundies Book, iUniverse, 2007, p. 277-278.
- ^ Billboard, September 15. p. 29.
- ^ "Library of Congress- Music and Phonorecords Catalog 1953", p. 881 - "U. S. School of Music" - John Serry arranger, Lawrence Welk editor on google.com/books
- ^ "Statement of George R. Kemp, President U.S. School of Music" -The United States Congress Senate Committee on Post Office and Civil Service - 1962 p. 739 on Google Books
- ^ "Dot Records Story, Part 3". Bsnpubs.com. November 10, 1999. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
- ^ Billboard. April 20, 1968. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
- ^ "Concord and Bicycle Merge to Form Concord Bicycle Music, Acquires Vanguard and Sugar Hill Records". Billboard. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
- ^ The Billboard - "Speed and Quality on RCA Thesaurus" Ben Selvin 6 October 1956 p. 26 & p. 32 RCA Thesaurus Lawrence Welk on Google Books
- ^ The Billboard - "The Lawrence Welk Story - Welk to Radio via Thesaurus" 6 October 1956 p. 19 RCA Thesaurus Lawrence Welk on Google Books
- ^ ""Toking" with Lawrence Welk". YouTube. August 21, 2007. Archived from the original on November 17, 2021. Retrieved December 9, 2012.
- ^ Fong-Torres, Ben (April 15, 1971). "Radio: One Toke Behind the Line". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 25, 2022 – via BrewerAndShipley.com.
- ^ Minahan, John (1973). The Torment of Buddy Rich: A Biography. iUniverse. p. 74.
- ^ a b "Lawrence Welk Biography & Awards". Billboard. Retrieved December 12, 2012.
- ^ Fred Bronson (2003). "Billboard Book of No. 1 Hits". Billboard. Retrieved April 20, 2013.
- ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
- ^ "Maestro of Bubbly Is Gone: Lawrence Welk Dies at Age 89". Seattle Post-Intelligencer, May 19, 1992. p. A1.
- ^ Obituary, Post-Intelligencer.
- ^ "Lawrence Welk – Biography". Billboard. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
- ^ a b Weil, Martin (May 19, 1992). "Bandleader Lawrence Welk Dies". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
- ^ a b c Gorman, Tom (May 19, 1992). "From the Archives: Lawrence Welk, Popular TV Bandleader, Dies at 89". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
- ^ "100 Wilshire | Los Angeles Conservancy".
- ^ US patent D137469, Lawrence Welk, "Design for a menu card", issued 1944-3-14
- ^ US patent D164658, Lawrence Welk, "Lunch Box", issued 1951-9-25
- ^ US patent D170898, Lawrence Welk, "Ash Tray", issued 1953-11-17
- ISBN 0-553-07466-0.
- ^ Congressional Record. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1968. p. 3726. Retrieved August 30, 2022.
- ^ "Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award". North Dakota Office of the Governor.
- ^ "Member Profile – Horatio Alger Association". Horatioalger.org. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
- American Academy of Achievement.
- ^ "Lawrence Welk". International Polka Association. Archived from the original on October 24, 2016. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
- ^ Leland, John (September 11, 2004). "Old Fans Still Bubble Along to Lawrence Welk". The New York Times. Retrieved December 12, 2012.
- ^ "Lawrence Welk Biography". TV Guide. Archived from the original on January 29, 2022. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
- ^ Good, Dan (December 8, 2013). "'Anchorman' cast battles One Direction on'SNL'". New York Post. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
Further reading
- Coakley, Mary Lewis. Mister Music Maker, Lawrence Welk (1958).
- Govoni, Albert. The Lawrence Welk Story (1961)
- Kloberdanz, Timothy J. "Symbols of German-Russian Ethnic Identity on the Northern Plains." Great Plains Quarterly 8#1 (1988): 3–15 online.
- Miller, John. "From the Great Plains to LA: The Intersecting Paths of Lawrence Welk and Johnny Carson." Virginia Quarterly Review 79.2 (2003): 265.
- Miller, John E. "Lawrence Welk and John Wooden: Midwestern small-town boys who never left home." Journal of American Studies 38.1 (2004): 109–125.
- Schweinher, William K. Lawrence Welk: An American Institution (1980).
- Vickery-Bareford, Melissa. "Welk, Lawrence" American National Biography (1999) https://doi.org/10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.1803327
- Zehnpfennig, Gladys. Lawrence Welk: Champagne Music Man (1968)