The Lawrence Welk Show

From 1955 to 1982, bandleader Lawrence Welk (1903–1992) and his Champagne Music Makers presented an hour-long program of easy-listening popular music that appealed to traditional audiences who disliked rock and roll (see entry under 1950s—Music in volume 3) and other musical styles of the younger generation. The show was sponsored for many years by Geritol, a tonic medicine for older people, and Sominex, a brand of sleeping pills.

Welk was born in Strasburg, North Dakota, but never lost the accent of his Eastern European parents. He was famous for expressions such as "wunnerful, wunnerful" and for starting his musical selections by waving a baton to the words "ah-one and ah-two." After many years as a struggling bandleader, he got his break in 1951 when KTLA-TV in Santa Monica, California, began to broadcast a show featuring his band. The show went nationwide on ABC-TV four years later. His shows presented a wholesome image of optimism and good cheer offered by performers such as Norma Zimmer (the "Champagne Lady"), Irish tenor Joe Feeney, accordionist Myron Floren (1919–), and the most famous of all, the Lennon Sisters. Each week, Welk thrilled the female members of his studio audience by waltzing with them as his band played romantic standards. He was known for enforcing strict regulations that sometimes made his show seem old-fashioned. In 1959, he fired singer Alice Lon because her dress was too revealing, and he even scolded the Lennon Sisters for wearing one-piece bathing suits during a poolside segment.

In 1971, ABC dropped The Lawrence Welk Show from its lineup, claiming that it did not appeal to the younger audiences it was trying to attract. After an outpouring of support from loyal listeners, Welk decided to syndicate the show himself. It was soon being seen on more than 250 stations from coast to coast. Welk retired in 1982 and last played with his band in 1989, three years before his death.

—Edward Moran

For More Information

Drooker, Arthur, producer and director. Lawrence Welk: A Wunnerful,Wunnerful Life (video). A&E Home Video, 1997.

Sanders, Coyne Steven, and Ginny Weissman. Champagne Music: TheLawrence Welk Show. New York: St. Martins, 1985.

Stars of the Lawrence Welk Show.http://www.welkshow.com/ (accessed March 11, 2002).

A Web of Welk Awaits You.http://lawrence.welk.com/welk.htm (accessed March 11, 2002).

Welk, Lawrence, with Bernice McGeehan. Ah-One, Ah-Two!: Life with MyMusical Family. Boston: G. K. Hall, 1974.