Lawrence Welk

Lawrence Welk (* March 11, 1903 in Strasburg, North Dakota; † 17 May 1992, Santa Monica ) was an American big band leader, who was known in the U.S. through his TV show.

Life

Welk was born the son of a farmer with ethnic German ( Alsatian ) roots in North Dakota. At home, German was spoken; English he first learned at age 21, when he left the farm to play in dance bands. According to his own statement he has escaped the ability for life to take the English language completely fluent in his mouth; He has, for example, once invited a real singer, "at the microscope" to sing. His strong German accent he never lost. Shortly after his departure from the farm he had his own band playing in the area of ​​North and South Dakota. Besides, he took music lessons at the McPhail School of Music in Minneapolis. They played " Sweet Music " and dance music ( in the early 1920s also occasionally more Dixieland jazz -oriented music); Of 1925 also first radio broadcasts of their performances. The term " Champagne Music" was after a gig in Pittsburgh to his band stick ( in his later shows by soap bubbles visualized ).

In the 1940s she played regularly with great success at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago, and regularly at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City. The band also had his own radio show and produced often " Soundies ", a kind of music video precursor before Welk - after a successful tour on the West Coast in 1945 - with his band in Los Angeles settled, where he in 1951 from the Aragon Ballroom Venice Beach the " Lawrence Welk " show on KTLA - produced radio. 1956 to 1971 he had his own show on television at ABC. But his show ran on many stations to 1982 on. He had his greatest success in 1961 with the instrumental version of the German hit " Calcutta is situated on the Ganges ", written by Hans Bradtke and Heino Gaze, who brought it under the title " Calcutta " even up to No. 1 on the pop charts. With the album Calcutta he also rose to the top of the hit parade. Overall, had Lawrence Welk 1956-1973 42 albums on the charts, including 10 in the Top 10, and several hit singles.

Since he was a good businessman ( publishers, real estate), Welk was by Bob Hope as wealthiest entertainers in Hollywood.