In 1951, The Lawrence Welk band was signed for a 4-week engagement at the Aragon ballroom at Venice Beach, but were such a sensation that they stayed on.for four years! Audience members found out just how addictive champagne music can be. The band was featured in a few Hollywood short films when they moved out to California. In 1939 the Welk Orchestra hit it big when they were hired to perform at the Trianon Ballroom in Chicago. In 1927 he formed his first band and they traveled across the Midwest performing one night stands. At the age of 16 Welk asked his father to buy him a $400 accordion ( the equivalent of about $5000 today ) and for the next four years he worked on his parent's farm and performed at local functions to pay it off. He grew up speaking only his mother tongue, until he went to school, where he failed to lose his heavy accent. Lawrence came from a family of German immigrants and was born in the mostly-German city of Strasburg, North Dakota. Bubbles, colorful settings, beautiful gals in beautiful dresses ( thanks to the talent of costume designer Rose Weiss ), handsome men in matching suits ( or the occasional kilt ), and plenty of music makes the show an addictive pleasure to behold.
You could come as you like and would always be welkome. Those watching his show feel that they are meeting up with old friends at the "same place, same time" to share some laughs, goof around, sing and dance and have a whale of a good time. What makes this show so darn appealing? Welk was infectiously joyous, as was the rest of the cast. There are thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of Welkies across America who love it too.and new fans are being born every leap year. If you still have your teeth, and most of your hair strands intact, and thrive on this wunnerfully hokey show then don't be all too ashamed, or amazed, at your peculiar tastes. The majority of the younger generation of today would consider the show, and the music being played, old people's entertainment but strangely, these "old people" watching the show today were young people forty years ago who lamented the same fact. Welk's music has a lilting quality that is delightfully light and bubbly and - almost - tickles your nose. It featured dancing, singing and plenty of band music in all forms : big band, jive, jazz, country, polka, Latin, pop, gospel and, of course, champagne music. He has been married to wife Rozene Pride since 1956.The Lawrence Welk Show was one of the longest running variety shows on television, running for 27 years and still airing today on PBS. During a chat with Welk, Pride talked about his three young children at home before singing Lead Belly’s oft-covered folk tune “Cotton Fields,” a song which he said “reminds me of what I don’t ever go back to doing because it hurt my fingers and my back and my knees.”Ĭharley Pride went on to become CMA Entertainer of the Year in 1971, has to date won four Grammys and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2000.
The performance was enough to earn him a return visit the following April, with Welk noting that Pride “impressed all of us with his talent and his personality.” Backed on steel this time by Gene O’Neal, Pride introduced the other musicians before his two-song set, which spotlighted Hank Williams again (“Kaw-Liga”) in the first segment. A lifelong disciple of Hank Williams, Pride’s debut on The Lawrence Welk Show presented his vibrant take on Williams’ 1949 hit “Lovesick Blues,” with accompaniment by steel guitarist Lloyd Green.