Still ‘Wunnerful’ After All These Years

Fifty years ago, Lawrence Welk and his orchestra made their first local TV appearance live on KTLA from the Aragon Ballroom in Santa Monica, later going national for one of the longest runs in television history--despite a 1957 Look magazine cover proclaiming “Nobody Loves Him Except the Public.” Today PBS reruns “The Lawrence Welk Show” in 200 markets, and the current orchestra lineup’s bubbly, uncomplicated cheerfulness still delights audiences in Branson, Mo. We spoke with the maestro’s son, Larry Welk of Malibu, recording executive and guardian of the Welk legacy, about the LWO sound.

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How did your father get started?

My dad agreed to stay on the family farm in North Dakota if his dad would buy him a $400 accordion, which was a lot of money in those years. He left on his 21st birthday [in 1924] and went into vaudeville and had different bands, including the Hotsy-Totsy Boys and the Hawaiian Fruit Gum Orchestra.

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How did he light on “Champagne Music”?

A radio broadcast in Pittsburgh described his music as “bubbly, like champagne.” My dad liked it. After that it became the Champagne Music of Lawrence Welk, and the girl singer became the Champagne Lady. The bubble machine was added for television.

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What was it like to grow up with the orchestra?

We went on national television when I was 15 years old. I would set up the bandstand, get sandwiches and drinks for the guys in the band. I also ran pools on all the sporting events. So I had a very big job.

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What’s the hallmark of the LWO sound?

Dad’s style was staccato; it was that style that came to be known as champagne. He’d play a polka on the accordion in just about every show and he’d dance with the Champagne Lady. The band would do a waltz, big band numbers. There’d be two to three songs of Champagne Music: “Bubbles in the Wine” or “Champagne Time,” at the beginning, a good-night song at the end.

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Polka was a joke for decades, but it still endures. Why?

People who love polka don’t just sit and listen to polka records. Dancing is the fun part.

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Accordion: instrument of the gods or public menace?

Neither! Many bands today will feature a little accordion. We did a promotion three or four years ago [with] a contest, “Search for The Hottest Accordion Player in America,” somewhat tongue in cheek. We got huge coverage.

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Why does the orchestra still draw audiences?

A lot of our audience grew up watching the “Welk Show” on Saturday night (maybe not by choice) because that’s what grandma wanted to watch. Those children are 50 today and they want to share it with their kids. My grandkids and my son Jeffrey, who is 5, love it. They don’t know that this is not hip.