Editing Lawrence Welk

{{Short description|American bandleader and TV impresario (1903–1992)}}
{{About|the person|his TV show|The Lawrence Welk Show}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Lawrence Welk
| image              = Larence Welk 1956.JPG
| caption            = Welk with his accordion, 1956
| birth_date         = {{birth date|1903|03|11}}
| birth_place        = [[Strasburg, North Dakota]], U.S.
| death_date         = {{death date and age|1992|5|17|1903|3|11|mf=y}}
| death_place        = [[Santa Monica, California]], U.S.
| resting_place      = [[Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City]], California
| occupation         = {{hlist|[[Accordion]]ist|bandleader|television [[impresario]]}}
| alma_mater         = [[MacPhail Center for Music]]
| spouse             = {{marriage|Fern Veronica Renner|1931}}
| children           = 3
| television         = ''[[The Lawrence Welk Show]]''
| years_active       = 1924–1982
}}

'''Lawrence Welk''' (March 11, 1903 – May 17, 1992) was an American [[accordion]]ist, bandleader, and television [[impresario]], who hosted ''[[The Lawrence Welk Show]]'' from 1951 to 1982. The program was known for its light and family-friendly style, and the [[easy listening]] music featured became known as "champagne music" to his radio, television, and live-performance audiences.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/lawrence-welk-is-born |title=Lawrence Welk is born - Mar 11, 1903 |publisher=history.com |access-date=July 11, 2017}}</ref>

Welk, a native of [[North Dakota]] who was born to [[Black Sea Germans|German immigrants from Russia]], began his career as a bandleader in the 1920s in the Great Plains. He gradually became more known throughout the country due to recordings and radio performances, and he and his orchestra were based in Chicago in the 1940s, where they had a standing residency at the [[Trianon Ballroom]]. By the start of the next decade, Welk relocated to Los Angeles and began hosting his eponymous television show, first on local television, before going national when the show was picked up by [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] in 1955. The show's popularity held through the following years, and with its focus on inoffensive entertainment, it was embraced by conservative audiences as an antidote to the [[counterculture of the 1960s]]. Welk vigorously sought to uphold this "clean-cut" reputation, and was deeply involved in managing both the on- and off-camera reputations of his show's performers. 

In 1971, ABC cancelled ''The Lawrence Welk Show'' as part of a [[Rural Purge|broader trend away]] from programs aimed at older or more rural audiences. Welk then continued his program in [[broadcast syndication]] until retiring in 1982. In the remaining decade of his life, he managed various business interests and packaged reruns of his show for broadcast on [[PBS]], where it has continued to appear into the 21st century.

==Early life==
Welk was born in the German-speaking community of [[Strasburg, North Dakota]].<ref name = Bio>{{Cite web|url=https://www.biography.com/people/lawrence-welk-9527209|title=Lawrence Welk|website=Biography.com|language=en-us|access-date=July 11, 2017|archive-date=March 22, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180322212925/https://www.biography.com/people/lawrence-welk-9527209|url-status=dead}}</ref> He was sixth of the eight children of Ludwig and Christiana (née Schwahn) Welk, Roman Catholic ethnic [[Germans from Russia|Germans]] who had emigrated in 1892 from [[Odessa]] in the [[Russian Empire]] (later [[Ukraine]]).<ref name="Parade 1970"/><ref name="TV Guide 1967">{{cite magazine|last1=Condon|first1=Maurice|title=In Strasburg, N.D., They Remember Lawrence Welk, When He Was Leader of the Hotsy Totsy Boys|url=http://library.ndsu.edu/grhc/history_culture/lawrence_welk/welktvguide.html|magazine=TV Guide|access-date=February 23, 2015|date=April 29, 1967|archive-date=June 15, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615030249/http://library.ndsu.edu/grhc/history_culture/lawrence_welk/welktvguide.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Welk was a first cousin, once removed, of former Montana governor [[Brian Schweitzer]] (Welk's mother and Schweitzer's paternal grandmother were siblings).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://library.ndsu.edu/grhc/articles/newspapers/news/schweitzer.html|title=Germans from Russia Heritage Collection|publisher=Library.ndsu.edu|access-date=August 18, 2015|archive-date=January 7, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160107185901/http://library.ndsu.edu/grhc/articles/newspapers/news/schweitzer.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Welk's paternal great-great-grandparents, Moritz and Magdalena Welk, emigrated in 1808 from Germanophone [[Alsace-Lorraine]] to [[Ukraine]].<ref name="NDSU Wunnerful">{{cite web|title=Wunnerful, Wunnerful! The Autobiography of Lawrence Welk|url=http://www.lib.ndsu.nodak.edu/grhc/order/lawrence_welk/welk3.html|publisher=North Dakota State University|access-date=February 23, 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150224102306/http://www.lib.ndsu.nodak.edu/grhc/order/lawrence_welk/welk3.html|archive-date=February 24, 2015}}</ref>

The family lived on a [[Ludwig and Christina Welk Homestead|homestead]] that became 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.<ref name="Parade 1970">{{cite web|last1=Shearer|first1=Lloyd|title=Lawrence Welk: The King of Musical Corn|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=4qUtAAAAIBAJ&sjid=w54FAAAAIBAJ&pg=4791%2C3455645|work=Parade|date=November 15, 1970|pages=10–13}}</ref><ref name="Washington Post 1992">{{cite news|last1=Weil|first1=Martin|title=Bandleader Lawrence Welk Dies; TV's 'Champagne Music' Conductor|url=http://library.ndsu.edu/grhc/history_culture/lawrence_welk/bandleader.html|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=February 23, 2015|date=May 19, 1992|archive-date=August 4, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170804173221/https://library.ndsu.edu/grhc/history_culture/lawrence_welk/bandleader.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Welk decided on a career in music and persuaded his father to buy a mail-order [[accordion]] for $400 (equivalent to ${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|400|1920|{{Inflation-year|US}}|r=0}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}}).{{Inflation-fn|US}}<ref>{{cite web|title=It was a 'Wunnerful' Life|work=Grand Forks Herald|date=May 19, 1992|url=http://www.lib.ndsu.nodak.edu/grhc/history_culture/lawrence_welk/wirereports.html|access-date=February 17, 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030331040913/http://www.lib.ndsu.nodak.edu/grhc/history_culture/lawrence_welk/wirereports.html|archive-date=March 31, 2003}}</ref> 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.<ref name=allmusic>{{cite web|last1=Huey|first1=Steve|title=Lawrence Welk biography|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lawrence-welk-mn0000116816/biography|website=All Music Guide|access-date=February 23, 2015}}</ref>

Welk became an iconic figure in the [[Germans from Russia|German-Russian]] community of the northern Great Plains—his success story personified the American dream.<ref>Timothy J. Kloberdanz, "Symbols of German-Russian Ethnic Identity on the Northern Plains." ''Great Plains Quarterly'' 8#1 (1988): 3–15 [https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1519&context=greatplainsquarterly  online].</ref>{{Clarify|reason=Was he an iconic figure to the community in his early life? Or is this chronologically incorrect in this article?|date=December 2024}} Welk did not learn to speak English until he was 21; he never felt comfortable speaking in public.<ref>Melissa Vickery-Bareford, "Welk, Lawrence" American National Biography (1999)</ref> To the day he died, his English had a marked German accent.

==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 [[big band]]s in [[North Dakota]] and eastern [[South Dakota]], including the Hotsy Totsy Boys and the Honolulu Fruit Gum Orchestra.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.redhotjazz.com/welk.html|title=Lawrence Welk's Novelty Orchestra|website=Redhotjazz.com|access-date=April 6, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081226024028/http://www.redhotjazz.com/welk.html|archive-date=December 26, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> His band was also the station band for the popular radio programming [[WNAX (AM)|WNAX]] in [[Yankton, South Dakota]]. The Lawrence Welk Orchestra scored an immediate success and began a daily radio show, which lasted from 1927 to 1936. The radio show led to many well-paying engagements for the band throughout the midwestern states. In 1927, he graduated from the [[MacPhail School of Music]] in [[Minneapolis]], Minnesota.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.macphail.org/history.html|title=MacPhail History|website=Macphail.org|access-date=April 6, 2009|archive-date=April 20, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090420073554/http://www.macphail.org/history.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
[[File:Young lawrence welk.JPG|thumb|180px|Welk in Chicago, 1944]]

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".<ref>[[Brian Rust|Rust, Brian]] (2002). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=_J9HAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA1812 Jazz and Ragtime Records (1897–1942): L–Z, index]''. Mainspring Press. p. 1812. Accessed July 30, 2016.</ref>

During the 1930s, Welk led a traveling [[big band]] specializing in dance tunes and "sweet" music (during this period, bands performing light-melodic music were referred to as "sweet bands" to distinguish them from the more rhythmic and assertive "hot" bands of artists like [[Benny Goodman]] and [[Duke Ellington]]). Initially, the band traveled around the country by car. They were too poor to rent rooms, so they usually slept and changed clothes in their cars. The term ''champagne music'' was derived from an engagement at the [[William Penn Hotel]] in [[Pittsburgh]], after a dancer referred to his band's sound as "light and bubbly as champagne." The hotel also lays claim to the original "bubble machine," a prop left over from a 1920s movie premiere. Welk described his band's sound, saying, "We still play music with the champagne style, which means light and rhythmic. We place the stress on melody; the chords are played pretty much the way the composer wrote them. We play with a steady beat so dancers can follow it."<ref>{{cite news|title=Champagne Style Music Making of Lawrence Welk|publisher=Ellensburg Daily Record|date=June 6, 1960|author=Thomas, Bob}}</ref>

Welk's big band performed across the country, but particularly in the Chicago and [[Milwaukee]] areas. In the early 1940s, the band began a 10-year stint at the [[Trianon Ballrooms|Trianon Ballroom]] in Chicago, regularly drawing crowds of several thousand. His orchestra also performed frequently at the [[Roosevelt Hotel (New York)|Roosevelt Hotel]] in New York City during the late 1940s. In 1944 and 1945, Welk led his orchestra in 10 "[[Soundies]]", three-minute movie musicals considered to be the early pioneers of [[music videos]].<ref>[[Scott MacGillivray]] and [[Ted Okuda]], ''The Soundies Book'', iUniverse, 2007, p. 277-278.</ref>
[[File:Lawrence Welk war bond officials.jpg|thumb|Lawrence Welk with War Bond officials during a {{Circa|1943}} event in Chicago.]]
Welk collaborated with Western artist [[Red Foley]] to record a version of [[Spade Cooley]]'s "Shame on You" in 1945. The record (Decca 18698) was number 4 to Cooley's number 5 on ''Billboard'''s September 15 "Most Played Juke Box Folk Records" listing.<ref>''Billboard'', September 15. p. 29.</ref> From 1949 through 1951, the band had [[radio programming]] on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]], sponsored by [[Miller High Life]], "The Champagne of Bottled Beer."

In addition to his activities as a performing artist, Welk edited a course of modern music for the piano accordion which included arrangements by [[John Serry Sr|John Serry]] for the U. S. School of Music in New York City in 1953,<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=yDkcAQAAMAAJ&q=John+Serry "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]</ref> The school was founded in 1898 and was described years later as the oldest home study music school chartered by the Board of Regents in New York State with a total worldwide enrollment of over one million students.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=U1TWAAAAMAAJ&dq=U.S.+School+of+Music&pg=RA1-PA739 "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]</ref>

==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 Records|Gennett]] and [[Paramount Records|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 [[Randy Wood (record producer)|Randy Wood]] in creating [[Ranwood Records]]. Welk bought back all his masters from Dot and Coral, and Ranwood became the outlet for all of Welk's many artists. They started with a huge reissue of old Dot albums in 1968 to get them started on the right foot.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bsnpubs.com/dot/dotstoryc.html |title=Dot Records Story, Part 3 |publisher=Bsnpubs.com |date=November 10, 1999 |access-date=June 29, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qwoEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA3 |title=Billboard  |date=April 20, 1968 |access-date=June 29, 2013}}</ref> Wood's interest was sold to Welk in 1979. In 2015, [[Welk Music Group]] sold the Vanguard and Sugar Hill labels to [[Concord Bicycle Music]] while retaining ownership of the Ranwood catalog. Welk's estate licensed the Ranwood catalogue to [[Concord Music Group]] for 10 years.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/6517187/concord-music-group-bicycle-music-merge-concord-bicycle-music-vanguard-sugar-hill|title=Concord and Bicycle Merge to Form Concord Bicycle Music, Acquires Vanguard and Sugar Hill Records|magazine=Billboard|access-date=October 27, 2017}}</ref>

==''The Lawrence Welk Show''==
{{Main|The Lawrence Welk Show}}
{{more citations needed section|date=June 2017}}
In 1951, Welk settled in Los Angeles. The same year, he began producing ''[[The Lawrence Welk Show]]'' on [[KTLA]] in Los Angeles, where it was broadcast from the [[Aragon Ballroom (Venice Beach)|Aragon Ballroom]] in [[Venice Beach, California|Venice Beach]]. The show became a local hit and was picked up by [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] in June 1955. By 1956, Welk also signed with [[Ben Selvin]] at [[RCA Thesaurus]] for broadcasts of his "New Lawrence Welk Show" on leading national radio networks.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=SkUEAAAAMBAJ&dq=RCA+Thesaurus+Lawrence+Welk&pg=PA26 The Billboard - "Speed and Quality on RCA Thesaurus"] [[Ben Selvin]] October 6, 1956, p. 26 & p. 32 RCA Thesaurus Lawrence Welk on Google Books</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=SkUEAAAAMBAJ&dq=RCA+Thesaurus+Lawrence+Welk&pg=PA19 The Billboard - "The Lawrence Welk Story - Welk to Radio via Thesaurus" 6 October 1956 p. 19 RCA Thesaurus Lawrence Welk on Google Books]</ref>

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.
[[File:Lawrence welk norma zimmer 1961.JPG|thumb|Welk with [[Norma Zimmer]] in 1961.]]
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|date=June 2017}} In another episode, [[the Lennon Sisters]] and [[Norma Zimmer]] performed the [[The Orlons|Orlons]]' No. 2 pop hit "[[The Wah-Watusi]]" with the [[Bass (voice type)|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 (singer)|Dick Dale]]), which referenced the use of marijuana, as a "modern spiritual";<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ye3ecDYxOkg| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211117/Ye3ecDYxOkg| archive-date=November 17, 2021 | url-status=live|title="Toking" with Lawrence Welk|publisher=YouTube|date=August 21, 2007|access-date=December 9, 2012}}{{cbignore}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite magazine | url=http://www.brewerandshipley.com/misc/RScensorship.htm | title=Radio: One Toke Behind the Line | first=Ben | last=Fong-Torres | author-link=Ben Fong-Torres | date=April 15, 1971 | magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] | via=BrewerAndShipley.com | access-date=December 25, 2022}}</ref> Later in the 1970s, however, Welk's programs often included current adult contemporary songs performed by his singers, including "[[Feelings (Morris Albert song)|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 jazz|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 tune]]s, [[polka]]s, and [[novelty song]]s, delivered in a smooth, calm, good-humored [[easy listening|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, Ohio|Euclid]]",<ref>{{cite book|last=Minahan|first=John|title=The Torment of Buddy Rich: A Biography|year=1973|publisher=iUniverse|page=74}}</ref> this strategy proved commercially successful, and the show remained on the air for 31 years.

Welk's musicians included accordionist [[Myron Floren]], the concert violinist [[Dick Kesner]], the guitarist Buddy Merrill, and the [[New Orleans]] [[Dixieland]] clarinetist [[Pete Fountain]]. Though Welk was occasionally rumored to be tight with a dollar, he paid his regular band members top scale. Long tenure was common among the regulars. For example, Floren was the band's assistant conductor throughout the show's run. He was noted for spotlighting individual members of his band.

Welk had a number of instrumental hits, including a cover of the song "[[Choucoune (song)|Yellow Bird]]". His highest-charting record was "[[Calcutta (song)|Calcutta]]", written by [[Heino Gaze]], which achieved hit status in 1961.<ref name=Billboard.com>{{cite magazine|title=Lawrence Welk Biography & Awards|url={{BillboardURLbyName|artist=lawrence welk|bio=true}}|magazine=Billboard|access-date=December 12, 2012}}</ref> Welk himself was indifferent to the tune, but his musical director, [[George Cates]], said that if Welk did not wish to record the song, he (Cates) would. Welk replied, "Well, if it's good enough for you, George, I guess it's good enough for me."{{Quote without source|date=June 2007}} Although the rock-and-roll explosion in the mid-1950s had driven most older artists off the charts, "Calcutta" reached number 1 on the U.S. pop charts between February 13 and 26, 1961; it was recorded in only one take.<ref name=Calcutta>{{cite magazine|title=Billboard Book of No. 1 Hits|url=http://www.sycamore1961.org/Calcutta.htm|author=Fred Bronson|magazine=Billboard|year=2003|access-date=April 20, 2013}}</ref> The tune knocked [[The Shirelles|The Shirelles']] "[[Will You Love Me Tomorrow]]" out of the number 1 position, and it kept the Miracles' "[[Shop Around]]" from becoming the group's first number-1 hit, holding their recording at number 2. It sold more than one million copies and was awarded a [[music recording sales certification|gold disc]].<ref name="The Book of Golden Discs">{{cite book|first=Joseph|last=Murrells|year=1978|title=The Book of Golden Discs|edition=2nd|publisher=Barrie and Jenkins|location=London, UK|page=[https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/141 141]|isbn=0-214-20512-6|url=https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/141}}</ref>

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.<ref name="Billboard.com"/>

Welk was adamant on providing wholesome entertainment. For example, he fired [[Alice Lon]], at the time the show's "Champagne Lady," because he believed she was showing too much leg.<ref name="maestro">"Maestro of Bubbly Is Gone: Lawrence Welk Dies at Age 89". Seattle ''Post-Intelligencer'', May 19, 1992. p. A1.</ref> Welk told the audience that he would not tolerate such "[[pin-up girl|cheesecake]]" performances on his show. A torrent of [[fan mail]] indicated that viewers opposed Lon's firing. Welk relented and offered Lon her job back, but Lon refused. He then had a series of short-term "Champagne Ladies" before [[Norma Zimmer]] became Lon's permanent replacement. He was highly involved with his stars' personal lives, often to the point of arbitrating their marital disputes.<ref>Obituary, ''Post-Intelligencer''.</ref>  His musical conservatism caused occasional controversies as well. Despite the authentic New Orleans Dixieland clarinet that made him a popular cast member, [[Pete Fountain]] left the orchestra in a dispute with Welk over adding a jazz solo to a Christmas song.

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 [[The Beatles|Beatles]], [[Burt Bacharach]] and [[Hal David]], [[Neil Sedaka]], the [[Everly Brothers]] and [[Paul Williams (songwriter)|Paul Williams]] (as well as, in the most notorious example, [[Brewer & Shipley]]), all [[musical arrangement|arranged]] in a format that was easily digestible to older viewers. Originally produced in [[Black and white television|black and white]], in 1957 the show began being recorded on [[videotape]], and it switched to [[television|color]] for the fall 1965 season.<ref>{{Cite web |title=A Fair-Welk Toast to One of the Longest Running Shows on KCPT |url=https://www.kansascitypbs.org/highlights/fair-welk-toast-longest-running-shows-kcpt/ |access-date=2025-02-13 |website=Kansas City PBS |language=en}}</ref>

During its [[Network television|network]] run, ''The Lawrence Welk Show'' aired on ABC on Saturday nights at 9 p.m. ([[North American Eastern Time Zone|Eastern Time]]), moving up a half-hour to 8:30&nbsp;p.m. in the fall of 1963. In fact, Welk headlined two weekly prime-time shows on ABC for three years. From 1956 to 1958, he hosted ''Top Tunes and New Talent'', which aired on Monday nights. The series moved to Wednesdays in the fall of 1958 and was renamed ''The Plymouth Show'', which ended in May 1959. During that time, the Saturday show was also known as ''The Dodge Dancing Party''. During this period, the networks were in the process of eliminating programming that was seen as having either too old an audience, did not appeal to urban residents, or both (the so-called [[Rural Purge]]). As ''The Lawrence Welk Show'' fit into this category, ABC ended its run in 1971. Welk thanked ABC and the sponsors at the end of the last network show. ''The Lawrence Welk Show'' continued on as a first-run [[broadcast syndication|syndicated]] program shown on 250 stations across the country until the final original show was produced in 1982, when Welk decided to retire. While many longtime TV shows suffered a serious ratings drop during the [[counterculture of the 1960s|counterculture movement of the late 1960s]], ''The Lawrence Welk Show'' survived largely intact and even had increased viewership during this time, albeit consisting of mostly older viewers.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/306705/lawrence-welk/biography|title=Lawrence Welk – Biography |magazine=Billboard|language=en|access-date=July 11, 2017}}</ref>

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.[[File:Welk1960.jpg|thumb|Welk at the groundbreaking of the new [[Union Bank N.A.|Union Bank]] in [[Santa Monica, California]], 1960]]
==Business ventures==
Welk was a businessman and subsequent to his marriage in 1930, he was the manager of a hotel, restaurant, and music store.<ref name="obit-WP" />

In the late 1950s, he founded Teleklew Inc., which had investments in [[Music publisher (popular music)|music publishing]], recordings, and real estate.<ref name="obit-LAT" />

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.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.laconservancy.org/locations/100-wilshire | title=100 Wilshire &#124; Los Angeles Conservancy }}</ref>

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,<ref>{{US patent reference | number = D137469 | y = 1944 | m = 3 | d = 14 | inventor = Lawrence Welk | title = Design for a menu card}}</ref> an accordion-themed tray for serving food at a restaurant,<ref>{{US patent reference | number = D164658 | y = 1951 | m = 9 | d = 25 | inventor = Lawrence Welk | title = Lunch Box}}</ref> and an accordion-themed ashtray.<ref>{{US patent reference | number = D170898 | y = 1953 | m = 11 | d = 17 | inventor = Lawrence Welk | title = Ash Tray}}</ref>

==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 [[Tanya Falan Welk|Tanya Falan]]. Welk was survived by 10 grandchildren and a great-grandchild.<ref name="obit-LAT"/> His grandson Lawrence Welk III is a helicopter pilot who worked with [[Zoey Tur]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Goldstein |first=Gary |date=August 6, 2021 |title=Review: Documentary reveals Zoey Tur as a news pioneer — and toxic male — before her transition |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2021-08-06/whirlybird-review-zoey-tur-trans-toxic-male-news-chopper-pioneer |access-date=July 1, 2024 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref>

A devout [[Roman Catholic]], Welk was a daily [[communicant]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Welk|first=Lawrence|title=Wunnerful, Wunnerful!: The Autobiography of Lawrence Welk|year=1973|publisher=Bantam Books|isbn=0-553-07466-0}}</ref> He was a noted member of [[Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks|The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks]].<ref name="Centennial Anniversary of Elkdom">{{cite book |title=Congressional Record | year=1968 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iD0keoZvrp0C&dq=%22order+of+elks%22&pg=PA3727 |access-date=August 30, 2022 |pages=3726| publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office }}</ref>

He died of [[pneumonia]] on May 17, 1992, at age 89, at his Santa Monica home, surrounded by his family.<ref name="obit-LAT">{{cite news |last1=Gorman |first1=Tom |title=From the Archives: Lawrence Welk, Popular TV Bandleader, Dies at 89 |url=https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-lawrence-welk-19920519-20160516-snap-story.html |access-date=December 25, 2022 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=May 19, 1992}}</ref><ref name="obit-WP">{{cite news |last1=Weil |first1=Martin |title=Bandleader Lawrence Welk Dies |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1992/05/19/bandleader-lawrence-welk-dies/3dc92db6-334e-4530-9b91-9a36fd8f686e/ |access-date=December 25, 2022 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=May 19, 1992}}</ref> He was buried in [[Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City|Holy Cross Cemetery]] in [[Culver City, California]].

==Honors==
In 1961, Welk was inducted as a charter member of the [[Rough Rider Award]] from his native [[North Dakota]].<ref name="Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award">{{cite web|title=Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award|url=http://governor.nd.gov/theodore-roosevelt-rough-rider-award|publisher=North Dakota Office of the Governor}}</ref> In 1967, he received the [[Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans#Horatio Alger Award|Horatio Alger Award]] from the [[Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.horatioalger.org/members/member-detail/?id=003j000000f213KAAQ|title=Member Profile – Horatio Alger Association|website=Horatioalger.org|access-date=October 27, 2017}}</ref> He later served as the [[Grand Marshal]] for the [[Rose Bowl (stadium)|Rose Bowl]]'s [[Tournament of Roses]] parade in 1972. Welk received the Golden Plate Award of the [[Academy of Achievement|American Academy of Achievement]] in 1980.<ref>{{cite web|title= Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement |website=www.achievement.org|publisher=[[American Academy of Achievement]]|url= https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/}}</ref>

In 1994, Welk was inducted into the International Polka Music Hall of Fame.<ref>{{cite web|title=Lawrence Welk|url=http://www.ipapolkas.com/blog/otw-portfolio/lawrence-welk-deceased-category-inducted-1994/|publisher=International Polka Association|access-date=December 6, 2014|archive-date=October 24, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161024152040/http://www.ipapolkas.com/blog/otw-portfolio/lawrence-welk-deceased-category-inducted-1994/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

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 [[Gennett]] Records Walk of Fame in [[Richmond, Indiana]].[[File:Lawrence Welk's grave.JPG|thumb|right|Welk's grave at [[Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City]], California]]
==Legacy==
Welk's band continues to appear in a dedicated theater in [[Branson, Missouri]]. In addition, the television show has been repackaged for broadcast on [[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]] stations, with updates from show performers appearing as wraparounds where the original shows had commercial breaks. The repackaged shows are broadcast at roughly the same Saturday night time slot as the original ABC shows, and special longer rebroadcasts are often shown during individual stations' fund-raising periods. These repackaged shows are produced by the [[Oklahoma Educational Television Authority]].<ref name=oldfans>{{cite news |last=Leland |first=John |title=Old Fans Still Bubble Along to Lawrence Welk |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/11/national/11welk.html |work=The New York Times |date=September 11, 2004 |access-date=December 12, 2012}}</ref>

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]].

==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/[[Saturday Evening Post]] Co., 1977, {{ISBN|0-89387-501-5}} (children's book)
* ''You're Never Too Young'', 1981, {{ISBN|0-13-977181-6}}
* ''Champagne Times: Lawrence Welk and His American Century,'' by Lance Byron Richey, 31 May 2025, ISBN 978-1-946163-76-9 Fargo: North Dakota State University Press. Three-volume limited edition, signed, numbered.

==Singles==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Year
! style="width:400px;" rowspan="2"| Single
! colspan="3"|Chart positions
|- style="font-size:smaller;"
! style="width:40px;"| [[Billboard Hot 100|US]]
! style="width:40px;"| [[Cashbox (magazine)|CB]]
! style="width:40px;"| [[Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks|US – AC]]
|-
| rowspan="4"| 1938
| style="text-align:left;"| "Colorado Sunset"<br /><small>b/w "There's A Faraway Look In Your Eyes"</small>
| 17
| –
| –
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| "[[Change Partners]]"<br /><small>b/w "[[I Used to Be Color Blind]]"</small>
| 13
| –
| –
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| "I Won't Tell A Soul" /
| 8
| –
| –
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| "[[Two Sleepy People]]"
| 13
| –
| –
|-
| rowspan="4"| 1939
| style="text-align:left;"| "Annabelle"<br /><small>b/w "Then I Wrote A Song About You"</small>
| 10
| –
| –
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| "The Moon Is A Silver Dollar"<br /><small>b/w "I'm A Lucky Devil"</small>
| 7
| –
| –
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| "Bubbles In The Wine"<br /><small>b/w "On Sweetheart Bay"</small>
| 13
| –
| –
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| "I'm Happy About The Whole Thing"<br /><small>b/w "In A Moment Of Weakness"</small>
| 18
| –
| –
|-
| rowspan="3"| 1941
| style="text-align:left;"| "Daddy's Lullaby" /
| 21
| –
| –
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| "[[María Elena (song)|Maria Elena]]" 
| 22
| –
| –
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| "Little Sleepy Head"<br /><small>b/w "Sweet and Low"</small>
| 21
| –
| –
|-
| 1942
| style="text-align:left;"| "Dear Home In Holland"
| 21
| –
| –
|-
| rowspan="5"| 1944
| style="text-align:left;"| "Cleanin' My Rifle (And Dreamin' Of You)" /
| 23
| –
| –
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| "I Wish That I Could Hide Inside This Letter"
| 20
| –
| –
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| "Don't Sweetheart Me" /
| 2
| –
| –
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| "[[Mairzy Doats]]"
| 16
| –
| –
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| "Is My Baby Blue Tonight?"<br /><small>b/w "One Little Lie Too Many"</small>
| 13
| –
| –
|-
| 1945
| style="text-align:left;"| "[[Shame on You (Cooley song)|Shame On You]]"*<br /><small>b/w "[[At Mail Call Today]]"<br />Both sides with [[Red Foley]]</small>
| 13
| –
| –
|-
| 1953
| style="text-align:left;"| "[[Oh Happy Day (1952 song)|Oh Happy Day]]"<br /><small>b/w "[[Your Mother and Mine]]"</small>
| 5
| 3
| –
|-
| 1955
| style="text-align:left;"| "Bonnie Blue Gal"<br /><small>b/w "Sam, The Old Accordion Man"</small>
| –
| 27
| –
|-
| rowspan="7"| 1956
| style="text-align:left;"| "[[Mack the Knife|Moritat]]"<small> (Theme From "[[The Threepenny Opera]]")</small><br /><small>b/w "[[Stompin' at the Savoy]]"</small>
| 17
| –
| –
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| "[[The Poor People of Paris]]"<br /><small>b/w "Nobody Knows But The Lord" </small>
| 17
| –
| –
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| "[[On the Street Where You Live]]"<br /><small>b/w "[[I Could Have Danced All Night]]"</small>
| 96
| –
| –
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| "[[Weary Blues]]"<small> (with The [[McGuire Sisters]])</small> /
| 32
| 42
| –
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| "In the Alps"<small> (with The [[McGuire Sisters]])</small>
| 63
| –
| –
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| "[[Tonight You Belong to Me]]"<small> (with The [[Lennon Sisters]])</small> /
| 15
| 3
| –
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| "When the Lilacs Bloom Again"
| 70
| 18
| –
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1957
| style="text-align:left;"| "Cinco Robles"<br /><small>b/w "Whispering Heart"</small>
| –
| 29
| –
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| "[[Liechtensteiner Polka]]"<br /><small>b/w "You Know Too Much"</small>
| 48
| –
| –
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1960
| style="text-align:left;"| "[[Last Date (song)|Last Date]]"<br /><small>b/w "Remember Lolita"</small>
| 21
| 103
| –
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| "[[Calcutta (song)|Calcutta]]"<br /><small>b/w "My Grandfather's Clock"</small>
| 1
| 1
| –
|-
| rowspan="6"| 1961
| style="text-align:left;"| "Theme From 'My Three Sons'" / 
| 55
| 28
| –
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| "Out Of A Clear Blue Sky"
| –
| 128
| –
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| "[[Choucoune (song)|Yellow Bird]]"<br /><small>b/w "[[Cruising Down the River]]"</small>
| 71
| –
| –
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| "[[(Ghost) Riders in the Sky: A Cowboy Legend|Riders In The Sky]]" /
| 87
| 69
| –
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| "My Love For You" 
| –
| 141
| –
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| "A-One A-Two A-Cha Cha Cha"<br /><small>b/w "You Gave Me Wings"</small>
| 117
| 94
| –
|-
| rowspan="4"| 1962
| style="text-align:left;"| "[[Runaway (Del Shannon song)|Runaway]]"<br /><small>b/w "Happy Love"</small>
| 56
| 87
| –
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| "[[Baby Elephant Walk]]" /
| 48
| 84
| 10
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| "Theme From 'The Brothers Grimm'" 
| –
| 130
| –
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| "Zero-Zero"<br /><small>b/w "Night Theme"</small>
| 98
| 79
| –
|-
| rowspan="4"| 1963
| style="text-align:left;"| "[[Scarlett O'Hara (instrumental)|Scarlett O'Hara]]" /
| 89
| 100
| –
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| "Breakwater" 
| 100
| 101
| –
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| "[[Blue Velvet (Tony Bennett song)|Blue Velvet]]" /
| 103
| –
| –
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| "Fiesta" 
| 106
| 111
| –
|-
| 1964
| style="text-align:left;"| "[[Stockholm (instrumental)|Stockholm]]"<br /><small>b/w "The Girl From Barbados"</small>
| 91
| 115
| –
|-
| 1965
| style="text-align:left;"| "[[Apples and Bananas (instrumental)|Apples and Bananas]]"<br /><small>b/w "Theme From 'The Addams Family'"</small>
| 75
| 88
| 17
|-
| 1967
| style="text-align:left;"| "[[The Beat Goes On (Sonny & Cher song)|The Beat Goes On]]"<br /><small>b/w "[[Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye]]"</small>
| 104
| 94
| –
|-
| 1968
| style="text-align:left;"| "[[Green Tambourine]]"<br /><small>b/w "[[The Umbrellas of Cherbourg#Music|Watch What Happens]]"</small>
| –
| –
| 27
|-
| 1970
| style="text-align:left;"| "[[Southtown, U.S.A.]]"<br /><small>b/w "[[Hello, Dolly! (song)|Hello, Dolly!]]"</small>
| –
| –
| 37
|}
<nowiki>*</nowiki> "Shame On You" also made the US Country charts (No. 1) as well as its flip side, "At Mail Call Today" (No. 3)<br />** "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, Santa Monica, California)|Aragon Ballroom (Ocean Park)]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==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 [https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1519&context=greatplainsquarterly  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 online]
* Zehnpfennig, Gladys. ''Lawrence Welk: Champagne Music Man'' (1968)

==External links==
{{commons category}}
*[http://www.welkshow.net Stars of the Lawrence Welk Show]
*{{iMDb name|919785}}
*[https://library.ndsu.edu/db/welk/ North Dakota State Univ. database of Lawrence Welk Music Arrangements]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080319015944/http://www.redhotjazz.com/welk.html Lawrence Welk's recordings in the 1920s and 1930s, along with other info]
*[http://www.welkmusicalfamily.com/ Welk Musical Family website]
*[http://welkmusicalfamily.blogspot.com Welk Musical Family blog]

{{Lawrence Welk}}
{{Portalbar|Biography|Pennsylvania|Los Angeles|California|Music|Television|Christianity}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Welk, Lawrence}}
[[Category:Lawrence Welk| ]]
[[Category:1903 births]]
[[Category:1992 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American accordionists]]
[[Category:20th-century American businesspeople]]
[[Category:20th-century American male musicians]]
[[Category:American jazz bandleaders]]
[[Category:American people of German-Russian descent]]
[[Category:American big band bandleaders]]
[[Category:American easy listening musicians]]
[[Category:American impresarios]]
[[Category:Burials at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City]]
[[Category:Catholics from California]]
[[Category:Catholics from North Dakota]]
[[Category:Coral Records artists]]
[[Category:Deaths from bronchopneumonia]]
[[Category:Deaths from pneumonia in California]]
[[Category:Dot Records artists]]
[[Category:Gennett Records artists]]
[[Category:Mercury Records artists]]
[[Category:Musicians from Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Musicians from North Dakota]]
[[Category:People from Emmons County, North Dakota]]
[[Category:Polka musicians]]
[[Category:Sweet band musicians]]
[[Category:Television personalities from Los Angeles]]