‘A-one, an-a-two,’ the ‘wunnerful, wunnerful’ world of Lawrence Welk and his Champagne Music.

August 27, 2011 | Author: Jeffrey Lant | Posted in Dr. Jeffrey Lant’s Article Archive

Lawrence Welk

By Dr. Jeffrey Lant
Author’s program note. It’s a Saturday night in 1955, and you’re looking for entertainment. You want it bright, cheerful, positive, and free; the kind of program that taxes you intellectually not at all… but makes you smile with feel-good music delivered by feel-good people. You spin the dial and find a guy called “Lawrence Welk” and his Champagne Music. You give a listen… you like what you hear and thence forward every Saturday night is dedicated to the ultimate feel-good- guy Lawrence Welk, so expert at creating just the soothing ambiance you need.
This is the man and his music we’re celebrating today. Go now to any search engine and find his signature tune “Bubbles in the Wine”. Lay back, enjoy, and leave the cares of the real world far, far away… Born March 11, 1903 in Strasburg, North Dakota…
Lawrence Welk is arguably the most celebrated individual ever from the rolling hills and punishing climates of North Dakota. And he hated every single aspect of the state that remembers him so fondly now.
He hated Strasburg, a German-speaking community in the middle of nowhere.
He hated his father Ludwig… he hated his mother Christina… emigrants who started life in Odessa, Ukraine, then a part of imperial Russia… arriving in America in 1892…
He hated the sod house in which he grew up.
He hated farming, its backbreaking, never-ending chores and obligations.
He hated the bleakness of it all… and so he bided his time, daydreaming about a place over the rainbow that was anywhere other than where he was. A place where there were happy people, people with a song in their heart and some insistent, cheerful melody on the brain. He knew such a place existed… and he was sure he would find it.
His ticket out was a mail-order accordion. It sold for $400, a fortune in those days. He borrowed it from his unrelentingly pragmatic father, who essentially indentured him to the farm he hated until his 21st birthday or until this headstrong son paid off this astronomical sum. Part of the deal was that Lawrence take on extra paying work on other farms, too, every penny to go to his father. He did, with vengeance in his heart…
Punctilious in his obligation, young Welk on the occasion of his 21st birthday left everything he knew and hated, turning his back resolutely on his detested past. He and his accordion never looked back; they couldn’t. They had burned every bridge and outraged every familial tie. Failure was not an option…
There was hardship ahead…. lots of scheming and hopeful connivances… even days of despair as he strove to find his way…. But every moment that was less than perfect became the fuel to create this always happy, always perfect place of his imagining.
Welk in those early days of the 1920s was a blur of activity. He performed with bands lead by Luke Witkowski, Lincoln Boulds, George T. Kelly… and led the big bands of the dancing Dakotas, the Hotsy Totsy Boys… and the Honolulu Fruit Gum Orchestra. Then he did what he’d always been destined to do… he created his own band and started to craft the lighter-than-air sound that made him rich and famous worldwide. It was a style scoffed at by learned folks, discriminating folks, folks of hubris, condescension and arrogance… but a style embraced by the millions who knew a good thing when they heard it.
A ball of energy, always immaculately turned out, his dancing pumps oiled and shined, baton at the ready… and the celebrated smile about to be delivered with mega- watt brilliance, this was the Lawrence Welk of WNAX Radio, Yankton, South Dakota… and beyond… Always an optimist in hot pursuit of perfection and the better life he took time to study at the MacPhail School of Music in Minneapolis, Minnesota, from which he graduated in 1927.
This was the height of America’s gift to the world, the Jazz Age when a gyrating generation showed their disapproving parents how a body in motion could move in hepped up ways, contorted, nimble, thrilling to watch, soaring to dance. You probably never knew, or even imagined, that the Lawrence Welk of your memory in November, 1928 cut a popular ragtime record with his Novelty Orchestra, for Indiana-based Gennett Records. It was called “Spiked Beer” and it moooooooooved!
But jazz was not his metier; dance tunes and “sweet” music was… and he became a recognized master of an undemanding, smoothie sound that attracted real people, too often burdened by their difficult realities, especially during the Great Depression Welk and his trademark sound helped an often desperate, despairing nation get through… whistling and dancing, forced to move on, move out, move up… optimists all, down perhaps for a minute, but wisecracking as we got back on feet set in motion by the facile tunes of young Mr. Welk.
He kept Amerca dancing in the dark days America needed to dance more than ever… let’s hope that his parents (now a distant memory for Lawrence) came to recognize the swan they had brought forth amongst the chickens… maybe even on one-never-to- be-forgotten night dancing at the Farmstead to his lolly-pop confections, and smiling… If so, it was the only time champagne in any form entered what is now called the Ludwig and Christina Welk Farmplace, an attraction you can visit when next in Strasburg.
The Lawrence Welk Show.
In 1951, after cutting several records (including Spade Cooley’s popular “Shame on You” in 1945) and appearing in many motion pictures, where his increasingly inimitable sound became the perfect background for what were then called “Soundies”, Welk moved to Los Angeles, the most superficial metropolis on earth, where they welcomed him with open arms and where he launched The Lawrence Welk Show on KTLA radio, where it was broadcast live from the Aragon Ballroom at Venice Beach. What a piquant image that is… the smoothly oiled muscular bodies on the beach…. the even smoother sound of Lawrence Welk emanating from on high like so much star dust.
The show was a great hit… and was the proximate cause the ABC network picked up Welk for national distribution in June, 1955. It was here the family of Walt and Victoria Lauing, my maternal grandparents, enter the scene. It is because of them and their obsession with Lawrence Welk and his sound that I wrote this article at all, for they and millions like them were the reason he succeeded.
Walt and Vic, young and attractive, were South Dakota people, who probably heard Welk in his early days. By the time I was 10 or so (1957) they had imbibed a lifetime of champagne music. Minutes before the program began, every child present was hushed and bribed to stay that way… and all was ready for the imperial entrance of Walt and his lady, recliners at the ready. No sound but the bubbles in the wine was even allowed or tolerated for the next 60 minutes. The congregation was ready… the Maestro could commence.
I laughed, of course, and derided, as youngsters of smart-aleck tendencies will do but amongst the cascading effervescence there was love, veneration and gratitude. He was their sound…
That was why my grandmother wrote away for tickets to the program when she and Walt flew to California to see my mother, their daughter, and family . You see she meant to dance with Welk on air. Every week she saw a myriad of other blue-haired ladies stand in line for the chance of whirling in her favorite’s arms on nationwide television. My grandmother wanted that, too…
And so one Saturday night we witnessed her televised struggle to get to the head of the queue, only to discover that the other ladies were as determined as she was… and despite our cheers, she failed.
She didn’t blame her idol, of course; it wasn’t his fault he was so popular and desired. But we all felt it keenly. It was probably the only time he ever let a fan down, until in 1982, when as the nation’s oldest television host, he at last retired, age 79. His legacy and bouncing music live on in the Lawrence Welk Museum, Escondido, California. I’m sure the spirits of Walt and Vic visit… for he made them so very happy for so very long.
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About The Author
Republished with author’s permission by Howard Martell <a http://HomeProfitCoach.com  Check out 7 Figure Success Formula ->  http://www.HomeProfitCoach.com/?rd=ij6goAXm

An appreciation of the life of former U.S. First Lady Betty Ford,dead at 93, a woman we respected,

Smart Tips For Your Personal And Business SuccessToday..........An appreciation of the life of former U.S. First Lady Betty Ford,dead at 93, a woman we respected,admired, and loved.

By Dr. Jeffrey Lant Think for a minute of all the First Ladies we have had since the time of Franklin Roosevelt. Each found a way of serving the nation in her often difficult and always demanding position.Each First Lady invents her job, for it is  a station mentioned no where in the Constitution but with high expectations,  underthe constant gaze of her often nit-picking countrymen... who expect a model wife to the president, mother to their children,and a great lady for a great nation. Difficult though these tasks must be, we expect absolutely nothing less.Eleanor Roosevelt, much more than wife and mother.The modern First Ladyship started with Eleanor Roosevelt in1933. Born and bred a lady, she was never anything else, but she, like her relative Theodore Roosevelt, came to know how to use the"bully pulpit" of the White House to superb effect. She was there not to serve tea, but instead to advocate for a host of social issues. Men who preferred wives pouring tea were appalled... but, yearby year, Mrs. Roosevelt grew in stature as a policy maven... creating a towering model for her successors.Bess Truman was uncomfortable with Washington and her mother made things even more difficult by often reminding Harry that he wasn't good enough for Bess, for all  that he was Leader

of the Free World. She couldn't wait to return to Independence... and the nation saw her leave without regret.Mamie Eisenhower ran the White House like an army post,her white-glove inspections ensuring fastidious order and efficiency. Her relations with Ike were problematic; after all, he had wanted to divorce her and marry Kay Summersby probably the love of his life. Not a good model for future First Couples.Jackie Kennedy brought a style elegant, alluring, a princess of Camelot.Unfortunately she well knew of her husband's humiliating infidelities; she was often wary, suspicious and frosty She'd be First Lady, but on her terms. One looked invain to Mrs. Kennedy for the kind of joy and the ability to connect which America wanted and deserved.Lady Bird Johnson, who became First Lady, at a period of intense mourning and soul-searching for America was someone liked. But like other presidents beforehim, husband LBJ found marital fidelity, even in the White House, onerous; he had the perfect political wife, but the nation wondered if he really loved her. He bellowed"Move over, this your president" when sowing wild oats; she sowed millions of wild flowers, which cheered her and the rest of us.Mrs. Pat Nixon "got" her job in the White House. Even before becoming First Lady, she was a

frequent guest in the Executive Mansion. She had sage advice for herself, self-talk of value to any First Lady: this may be the only time in their lives the guest may visit the White House; remember that and greet him accordingly.Mrs. Nixon lived up to her part of the bargain, but she always seemed unhappy.She clenched back her tears rather than show weakness. America would have understood and loved this to little loved woman had she been more open and honest...... like her unexpected

successor Mrs. Gerald Ford, universally known as Betty Elizabeth Ann Bloomer was born in Chicago April 18, 1918. She entered the world along with her nation. In 1918 the United States was the only major combatant to emerge from World War I unscathed. America was now the ascendant power, and Chicago, with its access to the great granaries on earth, its sophisticated transportation network, and all the beef America and all the world could eat, was its second city,an empire on Lake Michigan. When she was 2, her well-off family moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan. She was something of ham and the theater ran in her veins. She loved an audience even then. At  8 she began taking dance lessons, finding a lifelong passion.  At the Bennington School of Dance, at Bennington College she studied with such titans of Terpsichore as Martha Graham, Hanya Holm, and Doris Humphrey. She moved to New York in 1939 to dance with Graham's troupe and always retained close,affectionate relations with Graham, recommending her (successfully) forthe Medal of Freedom, bestowed by her husband the president. While in New York, she supported herself with modeling assignments. She

was definitely a "looker" and she knew the art of moving so the world looked at her. It was to prove a very useful skill, when millions wanted to see her up close and personal.The Bloomer's were a tight knit family and they missed their Betty. They persuaded her to return to Grand Rapids where she went to work in a department store where sheworked with the advertising department, modeled and put on fashion shows. A year later, in 1942, she married the man who was definitely not of  her dreams,William C. Warren. In 1947 they divorced. It turned out Betty had bigger fish to fry.It came in the person of Gerald Ford, a college football star and well-known lawyer.It proved to be a match made in heaven.One thing America liked about the Fords was that  they genuinely liked each other --and showed it. This was  real difference from the arrangements, head breaks andbitterness of too many presidents and their ladies. You could try to fake it and, maybefor a while, you could fool some of the country... but not for long. Body language doesn't lie.They married on October 15, 1948 and started (it's not overstated) their lifelong honeymoon, based on true affection and empathy. It made the Fords look oldfashioned, but America cheered and always wished them well.Ford got himself elected to Congress. Betty proved a virtually ideal political wife.For one thing she was not just wife, but partner. It was the secret of their success.In 1965 he was elected Minority Leader in the U.S. House of Representatives; he wanted to be GOP Speaker of the House, his highest aspiration. But then came Watergate and all its attendance troubles...After Vice President Agnew resigned in disgrace... President Nixon and the nation both needed a man of integrity as Vice President. And so destiny knocked on Gerald Ford's door and transformed one of the most decent men in politics into the vehicle to help the troubled nation weather the storm. The Fords had ended America's nightmare and began a regime of decency, honesty, and sincerely, and we all breathed a sigh of relief.Betty Ford, Midwest born, knew her mind and spoke it... about abortion, marriage,drugs... and, in due course, her own addictive demons. The nation applauded her openness and candor. She had the problems millions  of her countrymen shared...and, as she openly got help, she helped them.Now Betty Ford is dead, at 93. She excelled at the great game of life... and helped others, now down and out, get up, try again and excel, too. We saw ourselves in her,good and bad... her passing diminishes us...  but she is with her Jerry now which is where she always wanted to be.

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About the Author
Howard Martell is the President of HOMEPROFITCOACH.COM and has worked online for well over 12 yrs part time while holding down a full time career of  over 18 and half years active duty US Navy. For the past year, with World Profit online, he has helped people create residual income using automation.
FOR MORE INFORMATION FEEL FREE TO COMMENT ON HIS BLOG or call him at 757-962-2482 serious inquires only!!!
Visit my site for the following free goodies: Since 1994, Sandi and co-founders Dr. Jeffrey Lant and George Kosch have built Worldprofit into the company known as the
Home Business Experts.  Republished with author’s permission by Howard Martell MCEC http://HomeProfitCoach.com