Welk's repertoire cast was vast, with folks like Henry Mancini to Cole Porter stopping by for guest appearances. Bubbles floated through the air as champagne cork sound effects popped off before Welk introduced the theme of the episode. From the Midwest to the west coastĪside from Welk's overwhelming Midwestern affectations, The Lawrence Welk Show was most well known for its champagne aesthetic. Either way, he made sure that his viewers always felt invited to his sedate party. Welk made sure that music never stopped playing on the show so you could watch with baited breath or just have it on in the background. In between breaks of big band music Welk played accordion and took polka out of the Midwest and brought it to the masses.
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Welk's German ancestry also played into an unusual aspect of the series - the polka of it all. After all, The Lawrence Welk Show practically invented easy listening. Welk held onto his thick accent throughout his life, making him the easy butt of jokes on the show, all of which he took in stride. Soap operas and sitcoms played to audiences who were primed on radio dramas, while Welk brought the big band radio experience to television.īorn in North Dakota to German immigrant parents, Welk stopped going to school after fourth grade and didn't learn to speak English until he was 21 years old. In the early days of television, programs were influenced by radio programs and vaudeville. There weren't wall to wall shows the way there are today, so shows needed to appeal to as many people as possible. In the 1950s, television was just making its way into homes across the country. Television in the '50s was a party and everyone was invited The series ran on ABC for more than a decade, and even after it was removed from the network Welk kept the show going into the early '80s with the power of syndication, all without changing his style or taste - at all - to fit the sounds and fashions of the era. He wanted to create an evening out at a big band club, complete with relaxing conversation and music perfect for people who only knew a few dance steps. The format of his variety show never really changed. Welk's persistence on the airwaves is fascinating. Kids during the groovy era may have rolled their eyes at the cute songs and naïve sensibilities of The Lawrence Welk Show, but as anachronistic as it was the series made older viewers feel like someone was speaking to them. There were musical skits, polka, ballroom dancing and bubbles.
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From 1951-1982 Welk basically hosted a 1940s style radio show but for television. No one worked harder to keep his audience happy than Lawrence Welk.
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In fact, to older people watching the changes in society in the '50s and '60s, an evening with Lawrence Welk was probably a soothing escape from the coarse and noisy world outside. Watching Lawrence Welk was like visiting a parallel universe where rock 'n roll had never been invented, and there was no problem so great that it couldn't be solved by a sister act clad in matching outfits act doing a salute to something or other. Lawrence Welk was a bandleader and host who delivered incredibly square entertainment, what he called "Champagne music," throughout the Groovy Era. You could depend on the Lawrence Welk Show for 31 years - like it or not.