Wunnerful, Wunnerful: The Champagne Music Thread.

[AtomicEraTom]

Calling all fans of Mr. Lawrence Welk!

I was discussing in the 'What Are You Listening To' thread that I am a Lawrence Welk fan. The show may be hokey, but it's good, clean family fun. To top it off, it kept real music in homes much longer than most radio stations did. I still watch the Welk show every Saturday on PBS. Anybody else do the same?

The music is just wonderful, Welk and the entire orchestra have so much talent and it's fun just to watch them play. The dancing is always spectacular, as well, even though Bobby sorta rubs me the wrong way, I cannot deny the guy was worth his weight in talent!

I'll wrap this up with one of my favorite's, 'Bubbles in the Wine'

[video=youtube;Jaosn-LkOjw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jaosn-LkOjw[/video]

 

[scotrace]

Lawrence Welk? OK, NOW you're over the top.

 

[rue]

^ That is just wrong Scott :rofl:

 

[rue]

I had no idea that the show was still on TV until you mentioned it Tom. I used to love it when I was a kid though. Maybe I'll tune in this Saturday

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Stan Freberg -- Wunnerful, Wunnerful

[video=youtube;X0TSDcPW2Kk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0TSDcPW2Kk[/video]

Note: 0:26 is not the Aragon Ballroom. It's the Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD

 

[Cousin Hepcat]

The show makes me miss my grandparents.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

I didn't know, either, but I was channel surfing one day and it was on! Now, it's a Saturday ritual.

I had no idea that the show was still on TV until you mentioned it Tom. I used to love it when I was a kid though. Maybe I'll tune in this Saturday

My grandparents love the Welk show, too. Another thing that made me realize that I was old. I'm driving down the road in my wagon, I have 'Calcutta' cranked on the tape deck lol

The show makes me miss my grandparents.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

I also seem to recall that the show was sponsored by Geritol

 

[AtomicEraTom]

It was, and Dodge before that.

I also seem to recall that the show was sponsored by Geritol

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Yep it reminds me of my Grandmother. I wasn't made to watch it...but back in those days we only had one TV (no remote!)..and we all watched the same thing. Thank gawd that everyone liked "the Rifleman"too. For me...Welk's gang was a little too structured...maybe too nicey nicey...always posing...leaning toward a sorta naivete. Sometimes it could even be comical. Case in point....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8tdmaEhMHE

 

[AtomicEraTom]

I've seen this clip before. It just leaves you wondering, what the heck was Welk thinking? He obviously had no idea what was going on, here.

Yep it reminds me of my Grandmother. I wasn't made to watch it...but back in those days we only had one TV (no remote!)..and we all watched the same thing. Thank gawd that everyone liked "the Rifleman"too. For me...Welk's gang was a little too structured...maybe too nicey nicey...always posing...leaning toward a sorta naivete. Sometimes it could even be comical. Case in point....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8tdmaEhMHE

 

[dhermann1]

I have mixed feelings about Welk. On the one hand, his musicians were technically impeccable. They were capable of playing a big swing tune with drive and energy that the best big bands of the 40's would envy. On the other hand, some of the interpretations of other pop songs are just toooo mushy and precious. And most of the singers were just too conservative and bland.
I didn't watch the show back in the day, but my best friend's mom and grandmother (who lived to be 99, God bless her), just LOOOOVED Lawrence Welk. Welk and Red Skelton were always the highlights of their viewing week.

 

[Chas]

This is truly frighteningly shlocky syrupy stuff - so syrupy in fact, you'll get diabetes from watching it. I'm certain of it. My mum & dad were of the WW2/Depression generation and they loathed Welk and would audibly snort or utter an epithet if they saw him while flipping the channel.

The only man more annoying to me is Dick Clark. He is to RnR what Welk is to swing. The Deacon of Dreck.

 

[Flipped Lid]

I also seem to recall that the show was sponsored by Geritol

And Sominex. "Take Sominex tonight and sleep. Safe and restful sleep . . . sleep . . . sleep."

 

[LizzieMaine]

Welk didn't swing, because he didn't lead a swing band. His tradition was far more that of the European musette orchestra than anything jazz-oriented, so criticising him for lacking a jazz sensibility is like criticising oranges for not being grapefruit. We always watched his show -- my mother was a big fan, and had plenty of his records -- and while there were certainly many better dance bands than his during the Era, I give him plenty of credit for staying with it far longer than most of his competitors.

 

[Rathdown]

The only man more annoying to me is Dick Clark. He is to RnR what Welk is to swing. The Deacon of Dreck.

Harsh words, and a true minority opinion. The Lawrence Welk Show and Dick Clark's American Band Stand were both on the air for more than 30 years, so obviously ABC TV had successfully tapped in to mainstream American musical tastes.

Welk, as has already been pointed out, wasn't a swing band and Clark moved with the times and tastes of his audience-- his first network broadcast featured Elvis Presley live-- and stayed with the kid's (and their music) until the last show taped in 1989.

It's interesting that no swing bands made the transition to television, and no other disc jockey was able to front a successful teen music show.

 

[Cousin Hepcat]

This is truly frighteningly shlocky syrupy stuff - so syrupy in fact, you'll get diabetes from watching it. I'm certain of it. My mum & dad were of the WW2/Depression generation and they loathed Welk and would audibly snort or utter an epithet if they saw him while flipping the channel.

The only man more annoying to me is Dick Clark. He is to RnR what Welk is to swing. The Deacon of Dreck.

You or I might not dig his style, but Lawrence Welk made FAR more people in this world Truly Happy for an hour every week, than most people could aspire to in one lifetime... and THAT is what I would call "TRULY Bad-A**".

- CH

 

[hatophile]

I've seen this clip before. It just leaves you wondering, what the heck was Welk thinking? He obviously had no idea what was going on, here.

Radical, dude!

 

[ChiTownScion]

Mainly, my grandparents were fans, and I'd watch while visiting. I remember the Lennon Sisters and Myron Floran. And this lady named JoAnne Castle, who'd really pound the keys on an upright piano. I also remember some guy named Aladdin who'd recite the most mawkish and annoying poetry. My granddad used to mock Welk all the time during the show ("Da boys are soundink good tonight..") but they never missed tuning in.

 

[Matt Crunk]

Sorry, but you lost me at Lawrence Welk. I was much more of the Hee-Haw set, and more importantly, so were my parents, and grandparents. And since Hee Haw always came on opposite Lawrence Welk in our area, well, guess who won out? In later years I tried to watch reruns of Welk, but just couldn't get into it. I love big band (swing that is) and even love a good polka now and then, but Welk was just way too stodgy for my taste.