This is it....the last day of 2006, and what a year it was!
I spent Christmas Day with my mother, father and younger sister which went very well....I got socks, new pairs of pants and a book about podcasting, something I'm gonna look more into and learn and a shiny new Stiletto, from the good folks of Sirius Satellite Radio!
Once I get the bugs worked out, and then some....I'm really gonna have some fun!
On Saturday, we did get Welk on local public television....it's "America's Wonderland" hosted by Dick Dale. Kinda strange airing a non-holiday Welk show at this time but still, a very good show through and through.
I also spent the holidays sending out Christmas cards to members of the Musical Family, hopefully they got them and liked them, and that in a nutshell turned out to be a fine holiday season so far.
Just remember, only 364 shopping days left until Christmas 2007!
Also, happy Boxing Day to our British and Canadian friends and those living in the Commonwealth realms!
....and here's Bob Lido with some really attractive reindeer.....
Sandi Griffiths with daughter Jenni with some holiday cheer....
...and here's a snowman come to life, thanks to Gail Farrell and Mary Lou Metzger
....and here's the Maestro with all of his musical family
wishing you and your loved ones a very Merry Christmas!
It's was the first time in three years that viewers at the time, got to see some of their favorite Welk stars, such as Joe Feeney who sang "O Holy Night" and Gail Farrell, Ron Anderson and Micheal Redman with "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" which is always nice to listen to this time of year.
There were plenty of other numbers to get you into that Christmas spirit, such as Jo Ann Castle's "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town", Ken Delo and Kathie Sullivan's duet of "White Christmas" and "Blue Christmas" featuring Ava Barber, who at the time was performing with her band Sweet Apple, the Otwell Twins, Jim Turner and the Aldridge Sisters. 
Here's Guy & Ralna together again with the song, "Let There Be Peace On Earth" which is always a timely classic.
Anacani dazzled the audience with "Feliz Navidad" and Dick Dale teamed up with Sandi Griffiths for the every cute, "It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas" and there was the "Carol of the Bells" with Bobby Burgess and Eliane Niverson (Balden) doing the dancing and the cast providing the choral arrangements.
Put all that in there, along with some carols such as "Silent Night" and "Oh Come All Ye Faithful" and you got yourself a great holiday television event for the whole family!
The Maestro himself tells the viewers that a number of music makers are absent from the program; Mickey McMahan, who plays trumpet, was in Brazil at the time, Jack Imel was aboard a cruise ship entertaining the folks and Myron Floren was at New Braunfels, Texas performing at Wurstfest.
That's all for this week, stay safe and happy Christmas shoppin' folks!
Growing up in Bloomington, Minnesota; Tom served in the Army during the Vietnam conflict, stationed in Panama. While there, he became a born-again Christian and having been torn between a career in music and religion, he followed the same path of another performer, Pat Boone and combined both.
It's been a very wise decision, from Welk and beyond, Tom has entertained millions with his exceptional singing voice and boysih good looks....pefroming both secular and religious concerts and appearing on stage with his acting skills, with such plays as Oklahoma!
And you can still see him work his charm, just check out his official webpage and check for his latest concert dates!
And yes girls, he's still single....as the Maestro used to say.
Looks like alot more nice folks are taking notice of this blog these days.....
Born in Marshalltown, Iowa on July 26, 1911...he grew up in Aberdeen, South Dakota where he spent his early days learning the piano and the organ. Jerry was only 23 years old when he was hired by Lawrence Welk to play in his orchestra, which by then was doing one-nighters all over the Midwest and based out of radio station WNAX in Yankton, South Dakota.
By the time the music makers made their ABC network debut in 1955, Jerry at 44 years of age was already the "grandpappy" of the music makers. He was a master at the Hammond organ and the Novachord, and released several solo albums of his work. In 1959, he became the first member of the twenty-five year club, which in later years would include Barney Liddell, Orie Amodeo, Myron Floren and Dick Dale.
He passed away from cancer on Feburary 13, 1965...having spent 31 years in the orchestra, but what a bubbly and sparkly ride it was!
Still, even though her on-camera time was limited, Mary Lou is lookin' fine....hello nurse.
Ken, in addition to all those talents, is also a terrfic magician, hypnotist and author....remember "The Frozen Horror?"
He's also an icon down in Australia, appearing on TV down under with Jonathon Daly as the team of 'Delo and Daly". He also had the good luck of meeting tap dancer Arthur Duncan there whom many years later in 1969, Arthur recommened to the Maestro about Ken being on his show.
It was a very solid move, he became a member of the musical family and the fans, especially the ladies in the audience, loved it!
His children, Kimberly and Kevin, have been on the show as well and have many of the musical talents inherited from their famous dad.
You can find more about Ken and then some at his official webpage.
Happy Birthday Ken.....AH-HA!
To get your Mondays going well, and a good start to a new week....let Bob Smale work his magic fingers at the piano.
Just don't forget to get some stamps! Also, be sure they are the right ones....LOL
Originally aired on January 25, 1975; Sandi Griffiths and her family hosted the wraparounds. She talked mainly about her kids and her husband Brent's carpet business, I wonder what's the name of the company? It's time for me to put a new carpet in my house.
Anyway, back to the show; there were plenty of colorful numbers such as Norma Zimmer's "My Sweet Little Alice Blue Gown" and Tom Netherton's "Blue Velvet". Clay Hart did a terrfic job with his acoustic rendition of "Little Green Apples" and Tanya Falan dazzled the studio audience with "Mountain Greenery".
The orchestra instrumentals were terrfic, such as "Deep Purple" and "That Old Black Magic" which was always one of my favorite pieces. As always, one can't get enough of the group numbers...like when the girls got together for "Scarlet Ribbons" with Sandi on lead vocals, Larry Hooper leading Gail, Sandi and Mary Lou for "When the Red, Red Robin comes Bob, Bob, Bobbin' Along" and an exciting "Blue Skies" with Bob Havens on trombone with the girls providing vocals.
Anacani sang "The Moon Was Yellow" and while she sung it well....I always thought the moon was more grayish in color. And of course, Arthur Duncan dancing to "Golden Slippers" in which he actually wore golden slippers!
It was a colorful show filled with a tapestry of clothes made possible by costume guru Rose Weiss, and the songs in the show accented the colors perfectly!
That's all for this week, next week....my PBS station will go into pledge mode while some may get "Hooray for Hollywood", hope you have a chance to polish off the rest of that Thansgiving Turkey and keep a song in your heart.
Our fearless trumpet guru hails from Fort Benning, GA but as a kid, lived in Los Angeles. Although he tried to audition for the Welk orchestra when he was just 15 and got turned down due to his age, it didn't deter him from pursuing a career in music, in fact he was motivated more than ever.
After high school; he was drafted by the Army where he got to play for the NORAD Commanders band and THAT's where he got a second chance to audition for the Maestro, thanks in part to being a guest star. Impressed; Lawrence gave him a job in the band upon completing his military service, that was in 1968 and of course the rest was history.
Today, Johnny and his wife Laura lives in Oregon and continues to perform his artistry with the trumpet, and thanks to his official webpage....teaches aspiring musicians to play the trumpet online!
Happy Birthday Johnny! May your birthday be "A String of Pearls!"
I hope everyone is having a wunnerful Thanksgiving, although the football was left to be desired so far....the food and the family were great! I can still feel taste that turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing and pumpkin pie....they are still rumbling in my stomach.
Welk fans everywhere! For this Christmas season, you can own this lovely holiday CD by the Aldridge Sisters with the Billy Andrusco Trio, it's "The Gift" which will make a great gift for your loved ones!
I told you the time would come....and it's today!
This show had Clay Hart & Sally Flynn host the wraparounds, along with Sadie the Wonderdog...and they take us on a tour of our diverse country on this week of Thanksgiving. There were plenty of diverse numbers in the show, such as Myron Floren's "Lady of Spain" as well as Cissy & Bobby dancing to the Hungarian Csardas. Also, we had Sandi & Sally singing one of my favorite tunes, "Chason De Amor"
Buddy Merrill, with help from the orchestra, demonstrated his guitar skills with "April in Portugal" and later assisted Clay with the "Walting Matilda", both were nice and pleasant sounding. Bud also paired up with his guitar pickin' partner in crime Neil Levang with Estrellia, which was backed up nicely with Bob Lido at the maracas, Bob Ralston at the harpischord and Cissy & Bobby's fine dancing. Neil also went to town later in the show with violinist Harry Hyams with "My Yiddish Mama"
And for a taste of ol' Italy...there's Tanya leading the gang at a Roman cafe with "That's Amore" and proving she more than just Italian, she also played a German barmaid a few numbers later with Dick Dale singing "Du, Du Liegst Mir Im Herzen"...whatever that means, plus there was a real fun number with Cissy & Bobby, Jack Imel and Mary Lou Metzger with "Loch Lomond".
Do they take the high road or the low road? Any way is fine by me!
That's this week's show in a nutshell....next week, we go globe-trotting again with "This Colorful World".
Have a happy Thanksgiving everyone....and to all U of Michigan fans out there, there's always next year!
The Game To End All College Football Games is today, and here in the state of Ohio....this one is a doozy.
The native of Worcester, Massachusetts; Norm's first long term engagement with a big band was with the Freddy Martin Orchestra where music fans everywhere got to hear him in action. Later he moved out to Southern California where in 1952, he joined the Welk band and that is where "Iron Lips" really made a name for himself.
Some of his most popular numbers on the show include "Sugar Blues" and "Hot Lips". One of his proteges include fellow music maker Johnny Zell.
The father of two daughters; one of them, Janice, made several guest appearances on the show where she displayed her talents as a singer. He was also good friends with the Lennon Sisters and their family, and until he left in 1973, was truly a professional and reliable music maker for all.
He passed on July 11, 1984 aged 71; thankfully, we all have reruns of the show where his memory lives to this day.
