Champagne Book Of The Month Club: Wunnerful, Wunnerful! The Autobiography of Lawrence Welk

Like Oprah, we at Welk Musical Family will have our own Book of the Month Club and what better way to get this started than with the Maestro's own autobiography!

First published in 1971, it marked the collaboration of the Maestro with Bernice McGeehan.

Basically, Lawrence talks about his life up to that point....his beginnings as a child of German immigrants growing up in North Dakota, his early days as a musician performing with George T. Kelly's band, forming his own band (The Hotsy Totsy Boys, Honolulu Fruit Gum Orchestra), his courtship and marriage to Fern and the growth of his own family as well as his Musical Family.

The book also is a perfect reflection of the American Dream, and how he got rich and famous while always staying true to his roots, never losing faith in people and his religion. He also set the record straight on some of the more controversial moments from the show, such as the departures of Alice Lon and the Lennon Sisters.

When the book was first published 39 years ago, it was a perfect storm of circumstances....ABC just canceled his show and it was making the transition to syndication, which made plenty of press. Also, that was the year the Musical Family played Madison Square Garden in New York to a standing room only sellout crowd.

All that resulted in being a New York Times bestseller, with many more books by Welk-McGeehan to follow.

But this one is special, if you find in your local library or vintage bookstore, pick up a copy and read....you won't be disappointed.

Champagne Book Of The Month Club: Wunnerful, Wunnerful! The Autobiography of Lawrence Welk

Same Song - Separate Voices

It's book report time here at Welk Musical Family and today I will give my synopsis on the Lennon Sisters autobiography Same Song - Separate Voices

 
First published in 1985 by Roundtable Publishing, with an updated version coming a decade later, Same Song - Separate Voices is unique because it was a quartet-authored autobiography. 

Dee Dee, Peggy, Kathy and Janet in their words chronicle their lives growing up in Southern California, their singing careers, life with Lawrence Welk and afterwords. They also give a detailed whos who from the Lennon Family tree.

 
All the stories the girls tell are very touching, sentimental, funny and sad all at the same time. We get to know about Nana, the sisters grandma as well as their dad William Lennon who himself was a terrific Irish tenor. I liked their tales from the road such as when Dad Lennon made sure the girls had a real meal instead of drive-in fast food grub when it came to dinner, plus the stories of how each of the girls met their husbands.

Also worth reading is the account of their father's tragic death, murdered by a deranged fan, and how the girls and the whole family coped with this unfathomable tragedy.

That and also their showbiz career post-Welk, which they sang with Andy Williams and later at the Champagne Theater in Branson, in which the latter can be found in the updated 1995 version.

If you can get your hands on a copy, you'll enjoy this book, and get to know America's Singing Sweethearts in a whole new light!

Same Song - Separate Voices