Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Have you ever met a real live girl?

Dick Dale has, here in this musical number with Gail Farrell from 1971 singing about being with a real live girl.

 

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Monday, June 27, 2011

Frank Scott Plays Harpsichord

As plenty of us Welk fans know, Frank Scott was a multi-talented keyboardist and arranger for the Lawrence Welk Orchestra from 1956 to 1969.


The native son of Fargo, North Dakota was a natural playing the piano, harpsichord and the Vox.

Perhaps the greatest example of his work came from his 1962 Dot Records album Frank Scott Plays Harpsichord


Each and every of the tracks is a instrumental gem, like Boogie Woogie, Yankee Doodle Rag and Woodchopper's Ball just to name a few. You can find the album at a vintage record shop near you or search on ebay or any fine reputable online auction site.

In the meantime, here's two of the tracks from the album you can have a sample with.


CARMEN'S BOOGIE



KITTEN ON THE KEYS


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Friday, June 24, 2011

Things go better with Skokiaan

From 1968, here's the boys in the band with their rendition of the instrumental piece known to music lovers everywhere as just one word.

Skokiaan.


Your featured musicians are Frank Scott at the Vox, Neil Levang on guitar, Richard Maloof on bass guitar, Bob Davis and Dave Edwards on clarinet, Johnny Klein on drums and Jack Imel at the marimba.

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Monday, June 20, 2011

Champagne Satellite Survey - April 19, 1969

I was thinking of doing something different to put on my blog, to keep it fresh.

One day, and idea came to me when I listened to repeats of Casey Kasem's AT40 countdown show and I thought, I wonder what episode of the Lawrence Welk Show aired during the week of the featured countdown?

So tonight, I decided to choose a particular episode of a Welk show and also show who was on Billboard magazine's Top 40 list that same week.

It's kinda a neat trip down musical nostalgia, maybe it might bring back memories for you guys!

So my grand experiment begins with a random episode, April Showers which first aired April 19, 1969 on the ABC network


And here's the Top 40 most popular records on that same Saturday, beginning at #40 and counting down to #1....

40. ARBORS - The Letter
39. PEPPERMINT RAINBOW - Will You Be Staying After Sunday
38. BETTYE SWANN - Don't Touch Me
37. THE BEE GEES - First of May
36. SIR DOUGLAS QUINTET - Mendocino
35. ELVIS PRESLEY - Memories
34. TYRONE DAVIS - Is That Something You Got
33. FRANK SINATRA - My Way
32. THE BEACH BOYS - I Can Hear Music
31. CLARENCE CARTER - Snatching It Back
30. JAMES BROWN - I Don't Want Nobody To Give Me Nothing
29. THREE DOG NIGHT - Try A Little Tenderness
28. 1910 FRUITGUM COMPANY - Indian Giver
27. BUBBLE PUPPY - Hot Smoke & Sasafrass
26. NEIL DIAMOND - Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show
25. DIANA ROSS & THE SUPREMES & THE TEMPATIONS - I'll Try Something New
24. BOOKER T & THE MGs - Time is Tight
23. DAVID RUFFIN - My Whole World Ended (The Moment You Left Me)
22. DIONNE WARWICK - This Girl's In Love With You
21. JOE SIMON - The Chokin' Kind
20. SIMON & GARFUNKEL - The Boxer
19. CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL - Proud Mary
18. PAUL REVERE & THE RAIDERS - Mr. Sun, Mr. Moon
17. THE VENTURES - Hawaii 5-0
16. CLASSICS IV - Traces
15. GARY PUCKETT & THE UNION GAP - Don't Give In To Him
14. CRAZY ELEPHANT - Gimmie Gimmie Good Lovin'
13. WATTS 103RD STREET RHYTHM BAND - Do Your Thing
12. TOMMY JAMES & THE SHONDELLS - Sweet Cherry Wine
11. THE TEMPTATIONS - Runaway Child Running Wild
10. STEPPENWOLF - Rock Me
9. ZOMBIES - Time of the Season
8. EDWIN STARR - 25 Miles
7. THE COWSILLS - Hair
6. GLEN CAMPBELL - Galveston
5. TOMMY ROE - Dizzy
4. JERRY BUTLER - Only The Strong Survive
3. ISLEY BROTHERS - It's Your Thing
2. BLOOD SWEAT AND TEARS - You've Made Me So Very Happy
1. THE 5TH DIMENSION - Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In

 
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Sunday, June 19, 2011

What to wear when going on vacation

You have to dress accordingly, which depends on the place you're visiting....

For a trip to Niagara Falls, stay dry like Guy in a raincoat.

 
If you're heading down Acapulco way, dress like you're going to dance the Cha Cha....


But if you're going to the beach, and you want to avoid sunburn at all costs, this will do.


And finally, what goes better with the islands of Hawaii than those bold and colorful Hawaiian Shirts.


They're having a great time, wish you were here!
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Friday, June 17, 2011

The Lennon Sisters help out Joplin

You may have heard about last month's devastating tornadoes that struck Joplin, Missouri.

The Lennon Sisters, just one of the many stars of nearby Branson will be taking part in a live benefit concert and telethon titled the Branson Cares Benefit.


It will air nationwide on the RFD Network on Sunday, June 26th from 7-10pm Central Time.

For more information on the stars taking part, and how you can help, visit OZARKS FIRST: BRANSON CARES BENEFIT
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Sunday, June 12, 2011

It's all happening at the County Fair

This week's show, if you were able to get it, was the Carnival episode from 1981.

Let's see what is going on over at the midway....


"Sitting down on the job again? That will be TWO custard pies to the face!"


And the competitors take the customary bow of respect before tonight's match.....

  
"Ouch! That really hurts Gail!"


"And now let's groove on down the Soul Train Line to see what's jivin...."
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Saturday, June 11, 2011

Today, UAW Local 12....Tomorrow, Broadway!

A commercial that runs two minutes and 43 seconds?

That's unheard of in today's television! But back in the late 1950s, it was the norm as seen from this Plymouth commerical featuring some of your favorite Welk Stars from the Silver Champagne Era.

And just to keep score, they are Dick Dale, Alice Lon, Larry Hooper, Big Tiny Little, Bob Lido and Rocky Rockwell.


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Wednesday, June 08, 2011

Lawrence Welk Souvenir Program from 1966

If you went to a live Welk concert around 1966 to 1967, chances are you might have purchased this program as well.


It was also around this time the Welk show began broadcasting in glorious color!

Just click below to view the program in it's entirety. Get to know your favorite Music Makers and then some!


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Sunday, June 05, 2011

Yes folks, Lawrence Welk is still the one for Portland

Diving into the treasure chest that is You Tube, I found this gem from 1980. It's a Lawrence Welk Show promo from KATU in Portland, Oregon.



You'll notice in the middle of the clip that Gail Farrell is singing in a number with the Aldridge Sisters and the Otwell Twins....

I hope PBS airs that episode when the new season begins in September!

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Saturday, June 04, 2011

No Welk this week in Toledo

Both the Northwest Ohio PBS stations were in mini-pledge mode....


Luckily, the would-be scheduled show is Occupations from 1969 which I already have on tape.....

It's a reminder about the uncertainly of the future of public broadcasting, so hopefully you'll do your part with your support, I know I have.
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Wednesday, June 01, 2011

Lawrence Welk's 50th Anniversary Album

This nice collecters item, which can be found on ebay, was first published in 1974 to celebrate Lawrence Welk's 50 years in show business.


Who would have thought that back in 1924, a North Dakota farmboy whose parents were German immigrants, had little formal education and spoke little English would one day become one of America's most popular and successful musical personalites?

You can follow his whole story in pictures here, just click below and find out why the American Dream is possible!


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