Jump to content

Lawrence Welk Appreciation Thread


swardle

Recommended Posts

  • Members

welk.jpg

 

Now here was a talented musician and bandleader who stood for everything that is decent and moral. While he was brilliant in the art of persuasion (talking all of them hussies out of living in their evil, decadant, and wretched ways), he was truly the master of taking all styles of music and extracting the evil out of it and making it a Godly and wholesome extravaganza for the whole family to enjoy.

 

There needs to be more musicians like him.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

My parents were HUGE fans of Welk and my father was a friend of Welk's principal clarinetist - Peanuts Hucko. In 1969 (when I was 9), my parents, my younger brother and I went on a family vacation to Los Angeles and while there, attended a taping of one of Welk's shows. A few months later when that episode aired, I almost {censored} when I saw my brother and I sitting on the front row making faces at my mom and dad while they danced during one of the audience dance numbers.

 

A few years after that, Peanuts gave my father one of his fake books - over 1000 pages of photocopied sheet music from around the world. Highly illegal but a treasure to any self-respecting lounge musician. I still have that book in storage somewhere.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Originally posted by Doug Gifford

I suspect that I have been influenced by Jo Ann Castle the honky-tonk piano player. Not much I can do about it at this point, I suppose.
:rolleyes:

And everyone was always so happy and smiling.

theGANG.jpg

 

Wunnerful, wunnerful.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I get sucked into watching a rerun every once in a while, simply because of the jaw-droppng virtuosoity of the musicians.... playing bland arrangements like madmen, and perpetually smiling when any one else would be sweating bullets. It's totally surreal.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

Originally posted by TowJam

A few years after that, Peanuts gave my father a one of his fake books - over 1000 pages of photocopied sheet music from around the world. Highly illegal but a treasure to any self-respecting lounge musician.

 

 

Very cool. And y'know what pisses me off about that statement? The fact that if that were done today, it probably would be legally pursued by the RIAA.

It's sheet music, for gods sakes! Great, wonderful music to be played, sung, and generally performed out loud!

And, from what I can tell, it was given- very generously- as a gift! Granted, Mr. Peanut probably didn't 'own' or 'create' any of the arrangements, but where else would you be able to find those tunes now outside of the infamous Real Books (and not the new '6th Edition' Hal Leonard knockoff)?

/rant

 

Anyways, yes, cheese taste good. Especially in such a pure form as Mr. Welk presented. He didn't make cheap Kraft Singles. His was a rich, aged brie or jarlsburg, best accompanied by a fine wine.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Originally posted by mate_stubb

Lawrence was an @$$hole. I and my guitar player got kicked off an elevator by his two goon bodyguards one time because they wouldn't let anyone ride it with him.


:mad::evil:

 

Say it ain't so!

 

I just think of what he did for Larry Hoople, the bass singer. Larry got cancer of the larynx and wound up with a hole in his throat. But he learned to sing again by belching the notes up from his stomach and he was really pretty good at it. And still just smiling smiling. Gets me kinda misty-eyed even thinking about it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

But he learned to sing again by belching the notes up from his stomach and he was really pretty good at it.

 

 

And what was the name of his band?

 

THE ARISTOCRATS!

 

(if you haven't seen the movie, this will mean absolutely nothing to you.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Originally posted by The Real MC

I used to watch that with my grandparents. Wunnerful, wunnerful, wunnerful
:D

Ditto. I completely associate it with visiting my grandparents' house. Two other shows we'd watch were Don Messer's Jubilee and The Tommy Hunter Show. They sure don't make musical variety shows like they used to.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I haven't watched the tube in over two months now and I'm going to leave it off for good. My grandfather was a dedicated Welk fan and he used to be a drummer in a pop little orchestra back in the 20s and 30s. For me though Welk makes all the music played just a little too white and snappy. I'd rather watch Desi Arnaz doing Cuban Pete. Anyway, Welk always had some cute chicks on the show even with the super square fashions and hair.

 

Steve

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...