He even convinced ABC to air a spinoff, Top Tunes and New Talent which later became The Plymouth Show (sponsored by Plymouth automobiles), which aired from 1956 to 1959.Īs 1960 came about, changes became evident. It was during this period that Lawrence added dancer/marimba player Jack Imel, jazz clarinet player Pete Fountain, the vocals of the Lennon Sisters, Irish tenor Joe Feeney and honky-tonk piano player Jo Ann Castle to his ever growing Musical Family. Regulars like guitarist Buddy Merrill, vocalist Jimmy Roberts and Larry Hooper along with Champagne Lady Alice Lon became household names as the titled "Dodge Dancing Party" became a hit in the Neilson ratings. With the combined efforts of Welk's agent Sam Lutz and producer Don Fedderson with sponsorship from Dodge automobiles, Lawrence Welk and his Champagne Music Makers made their national debut in July of 1955. Then in 1955, the ABC network came calling. They became a local ratings smash, which made the possibility of going national a matter of not if, but when. While performing at the Aragon, local Los Angeles televison station KTLA began live remote broadcasts of Welk's shows from the ballroom on Saturday nights. In 1951, Lawrence and his band set out for an engagement at the Aragon Ballroom in Santa Monica, California, and liked it there so much that soon enough, they stayed and called the West Coast their home.
Throughout World War II, Lawrence added many young and talented members to his orchestra, such as Jerry Burke on organ, trombonist Barney Liddell, Orie Amodeo on reeds, trumpet players Norman Bailey and Rocky Rockwell, Johnny Klein on drums, vocalist/saxophone player Dick Dale and accordionist Myron Floren who would also be the Maestro's trusted right hand man, serving as both orchestra announcer and conductor. In 1939, Lawrence hired Lois Best as his first full-time "Champagne Lady" and a year later, booked his orchestra for a long term engagement at the Trianon Ballroom in Chicago, Illinois, which lasted nine years. The couple would have two daughters, Shirley and Donna, and a son, Larry Jr.ĭuring the "Dirty Thirties," his band began to take shape, especially on one faithful night in 1938 at the William Penn Hotel in Pittsburgh where the name "Champagne Music" came into being because a patron described Welk's music as being "light and bubbly like champagne." It was around this time in 1931 that he married the love of his life, Fern Renner. In the late 1920s, he lead several big bands in North Dakota and eastern South Dakota which included the Hotsy Totsy Boys and the Honolulu Fruit Gum Orchestra, which regularly performed one-nighters on the road and on the radio courtesy of WNAX in Yankton, South Dakota. However, after a while, he found that being a bandleader was more fun and challenging than just being a member only.
When he turned twenty-one years of age, he left the family farm to pursue a career in the world of show business, first with several bands throughout the Midwest thanks to his magic fingers on the accordion. With accordion in hand, young Lawrence got his start performing at church socials, weddings and local dances around Strasburg. He was the third youngest of eight children to German immigrants Christina and Ludwig Welk.ĭiscovering at a young age it was music was to be his career and not farming, he convinced his father to buy him his first accordion from a mail-order catalog. The musical genius we all know as Lawrence Welk was born Maon a farm near Strasburg, North Dakota.
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