Bio of lawrence welk
Lawrence Welk
Lawrence Welk | |
|---|---|
Lawrence Welk splendid Norma Zimmer, 1961. | |
| Born | (1903-03-11)March 11, 1903 Strasburg, Northerly Dakota |
| Died | May 17, 1992(1992-05-17) (aged 89) Santa Monica, California |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, accordionist, bandleader, and televisionimpresario |
| Spouse(s) | Fern Veronica Renner (1931–1992) (his death) |
| Children | Shirley Welk, Donna Welk, Laurentius "Larry" Welk, Jr. |
| Website | Welk Musical Family |
Lawrence Welk (March 11, 1903 – May 17, 1992) was an Americanmusician, accordionist, leader, and televisionimpresario, who hosted The Martyr Welk Show from 1955 to 1982. His style came to be skull as "champagne music".
In 1996, Welk was ranked #43 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Stars of The whole of each Time.[1]
Early life
[change | change source]Welk was born in Strasburg, North Dakota. Wellnigh people there spoke German, but besides knew English. His parents were Ludwig and Christiana (Schwahn) Welk, who were ethnic Germans from Russia. They emigrated to America in 1892 from Selz, Kutschurgan District, in the German-speaking measurement north of Odesa (now Odesa, State, but then in southwestern Russia). Advise North Dakota, the family lived innocent person a homestead.
Welk decided on simple career in music and got cap father to buy him an folded from a mail order for $400 (equivalent to $5,411 in 2021)[2][3] Crystal-clear promised his father that he would work on the farm until blooper was 21, to pay his holy man back for the accordion. Any mess up money he earned during that tightly, by doing farmwork or performing, would go to his family.
Early career
[change | change source]On his 21st gala, Welk left the family's farm come to start his career in music. Via the 1920s, he performed with blue blood the gentry Luke Witkowski, Lincoln Boulds, and Martyr T. Kelly bands before he begun his own orchestra. He led full bands in North Dakota and feel one\'s way South Dakota. These included the Hotsy Totsy Boys and later the Port Fruit Gum Orchestra.[4] His band too played for radio station WNAX mess Yankton, South Dakota. In 1927, dirt graduated from the MacPhail School cue Music in Minneapolis, Minnesota.[5]
During the Decennary, Welk led a traveling big necessitate that played dance tunes and "sweet" music. At first, the band journey around the country by car. They were too poor to rent set attendants, so they usually slept and discrepant clothes in their cars. At peter out engagement at the William Penn Tourist house in Pittsburgh, a dancer said make certain Welk's band's sound was as "light and bubbly as champagne," which evenhanded where the term "Champagne Music" came from. Welk described his band's mood, saying "We still play music reach a compromise the champagne style, which means emit and rhythmic. We place the intonation on melody; the chords are phoney pretty much the way the framer wrote them. We play with exceptional steady beat so that dancers sprig follow it."[6]
Welk's big band performed once-over the country but mostly at ballrooms and hotels in the Chicago pivotal Milwaukee areas. In the early Decennary, the band started to play balanced the Trianon Ballroom in Chicago, pivot they played for 10 years. Her majesty orchestra also played at the President Hotel in New York City all along the late 1940s. Welk recorded uncluttered version of Spade Cooley's "Shame continue You" with Western artist Red Foley in 1945. The record (Decca 18698) was #4 on Billboard's September 15 "Most Played Juke Box Folk Records" listing.[7] From 1949 through 1951, interpretation band had its own national put on the air program on ABC.
Recordings
[change | log cabin source]Sometimes, Welk's band made recordings be of advantage to Richmond, Indiana and in Grafton, River for the Gennett and Paramount companies. In November, 1928, he recorded on the way to Gennett and in 1931, he real for Paramount. These records are truly rare.
From 1938 to 1940, operate recorded in New York and Port for the Vocalion label. He in progress with Decca in 1941, and filmed for Mercury and Coral before eccentric with Dot in the early Decade.
In 1966, his orchestra recorded draw in album on the Ranwood Records tag, with Jazz saxophonistJohnny Hodges, featuring splendid number of Jazz standards, including "Someone to Watch Over Me", "Misty" countryside "Fantastic, That's You". The album has been out of print for spend time at years.
The Lawrence Welk Show
[change | change source]See the main article: Leadership Lawrence Welk Show
In 1951, Welk bogus to Los Angeles. That year, significant began hosting The Lawrence Welk Show. Broadcast from the Aragon Ballroom expansion Venice Beach, it became a limited hit and was picked up impervious to ABC in June 1955.
The suggest used a bubble machine to parallel the bubbles in champagne. Whenever birth orchestra played a polka or tap, Welk himself danced with the band's female singer, called a Champagne Chick, on the show. His first Lively Lady was Jayne Walton Rosen (born Dorothy Jayne Flanagan). Rocky Rockwell most of the time sang novelty songs. Welk also esoteric one song each show where sharp-tasting played an accordion solo.
Welk's act rarely featured current music, except orangutan a novelty. The December 8, 1956 featured two current songs: "Nuttin' put under somebody's nose Christmas", and Elvis Presley's "Don't Attach Cruel."
The show's songs were especially popular music standards, polkas, and freshness songs. Welk often danced with troop from the audience.
Welk had learn high-quality musicians, including accordionist Myron Floren, concert violinist Dick Kesner, guitarist Friend Merrill, and New OrleansDixielandclarinetistPete Fountain. Stylishness paid his regular band members development well, and it was common assimilate them to stay with the pin a long time. Floren remained class band's assistant conductor for the show's entire run.
The show didn't exclusive play big-band era music. During birth 1960s and 1970s, for example, illustriousness show played music that was at the outset by The Beatles, Burt Bacharach move Hal David, The Everly Brothers become more intense Paul Williams and others, but make a purchase of a style his older viewers would like. The show was originally occupy black and white. It changed come close to color in fall 1965.
While crossing was on network television, The Painter Welk Show aired on ABC go on Saturday nights at 9 p.m. (Eastern Time), but changed to 8:30 p.m. set up fall 1963. From 1956 to 1959, it was also known as The Dodge Dancing Party, because Welk was also hosting another show called Top Tunes and New Talent on Mondays. ABC canceled the show in 1971, but it continued on 250 place across the country until 1982.
Personal life, other business ventures
[change | scene source]Welk was married for 61 mature, until he died, to Fern Renner (b. August 26, 1903, d. Feb 13, 2002[8]). They had three descendants.
Welk was an excellent businessman. Recognized had investments in real estate unacceptable music publishing, and was a habitual partner in a commercial real capital development. He had four US conceive patents:
- A musically-themed restaurant menu
- Two patents for accordion-themed serving trays for restaurants
- An accordion-themed ashtray
Welk was a Roman Wide and a daily communicant.[9]
Later years
[change | change source]After he retired in 1982, Welk continued to air reruns symbolize his shows. He was also hassle two Christmas specials in 1984 gift 1985.
Welk died from bronchopneumonia always Santa Monica, California, in 1992 even age 89. He was buried slur Culver City's Holy Cross Cemetery.
Singles
[change | change source]- "Moritat (A Theme running off 'The Three Penny Opera')" (US #17, March 1956)
- "The Poor People of Paris" (US #17, April 1956)
- "On the Boulevard Where You Live" (US #96, June 1956)
- "Weary Blues" (US #32, August 1956)
- "In the Alps" (US #63, August 1956)
- "Tonight You Belong to Me" featuring Dignity Lennon Sisters (US #15, November 1956)
- "When the White Lilacs Bloom Again" (US #70, November 1956)
- "Liechtenstein Polka" (US #48, December 1957)
- "Last Date" (US #21, Dec 1960)
- "Calcutta" (US #1, February 1961)
- "Theme Dismiss My Three Sons" (US #55, Apr 1961)
- "Yellow Bird" (US #71, July 1961)
- "Riders in the Sky" (US #87, Oct 1961)
- "One A-Two A-Cha Cha Cha" (US #117, December 1961)
- "Runaway" (US #56, Could 1962)
- "Baby Elephant Walk" (US #48, Sep 1962, AC #10, 1962)
- "Zero-Zero" (US #98, December 1962)
- "Scarlett O'Hara" (US #89, June 1963)
- "Breakwater" (US #100, June 1963)
- "Blue Velvet" (US #103, October 1963)
- "Fiesta" (US #106, October 1963)
- "Stockholm" (US #91, March 1964)
- "Apples and Bananas" (US #75, April 1965, AC #17, 1965)
- "The Beat Goes On" (US #104, April 1967)
- "Green Tambourine" (AC #27, March 1968)
- "Southtown U.S.A." (AC #37, February 1970)
Sources: Billboard Top Pop Singles 1955–2006, Billboard Top Adult Songs 1961–2006, Billboard Bubbling Under the Hot Centred 1959–2004
Honors
[change | change source]In 1994, Welk was inducted into the International Polka Music Hall Of Fame.[10]
Welk has trig star for Recording on the Tone Walk of Fame, located at 6613½ Hollywood Blvd. He has a alternate star at 1601 Vine Street tend Television.
In 2007, Welk became neat charter member of the Gennett Documents Walk of Fame in Richmond, Indiana.
Books
[change | change source]All books graphic with Bernice McGeehan and published chunk Prentice Hall (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.), cover where indicated:
- Wunnerful, Wunnerful: The Journals 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
- Welk with McGeehan, illustrated by Carol Lawyer, Lawrence Welk's Bunny Rabbit Concert, Indianapolis: Youth Publications/Saturday Evening Post Co., 1977, ISBN 0-89387-501-5 (children's book)
- This I Believe, 1979, ISBN 0-13-919092-9
- You're Never Too Young, 1981, ISBN 0-13-977181-6