March Madness, Champagne Style

Here is what's going on in the NCAA Men's College Basketball Tournament from a Lawrence Welk Champagne Music Makers perspective....

Yesterday was a great day for both Sandi Griffiths, Mary Lou Metzger and Kathie Sullivan because their respective schools, BYU, Temple and Wisconsin all won.

And today, Tennessee plays Michigan. You can bet your bottom dollar that Jim Turner will be pulling for his beloved Vols to move on to the next round!

Best of luck to all the Musical Family alma maters, and who knows? Perhaps a National Championship is in the cards!

March Madness, Champagne Style

Champagne March Madness

Attention fans, you all having fun with this year's NCAA tournament?

Especially when it comes to filling out those tourney brackets at the office?

We at Welk Musical Family have taken it one step further....

It's time for a little bracketology, but instead of college basketball teams like Duke, Kentucky or Ohio State.....we're using members of Lawrence Welk's Musical Family.

Call it the Lawrence Welk Invitational.

Just click on the picture, right click to save, print and fill out the bracket to determine the National Champion of Champagne Music!

The selection process to determine the Field of 64 is a tough and scientific process here, if you feel that your favorite has been left out, take it up with the Selection Committee....but please, be respectful.

If you want to download as a PDF file, just click here. You must have Adobe Reader.

Have fun!

Champagne March Madness

Salute to Jerome Kern '75

As I write, looks like the NCAA tournament's Champagne Region is taking a beating.

Kathie Sullivan's Wisconsin Badgers lost to Cornell, which leaves just Jim Turner's Tennessee Vols going to the Sweet Sixteen.

So let's take our mind off the basketball and onto this week's Welk classic, a Salute to Jerome Kern from 1975!

Highlights from this week's episode include.....

Tom Netherton audtioning to be on The Dating Game

Barney Liddell taking no prisoners with his trombone action.....

.....only to realize that Bob Havens is taking it one step further.

SALUTE TO JEROME KERN - January 11, 1975

1. WHO? - Mary Lou (Metzger), Gail (Farrell), Sandi, Anacani, Arthur, Jimmy (Roberts), Tom, Ken and Joe
2. I WON'T DANCE - danced by Bobby Burgess and Cissy King
3. YOU COULDN'T BE CUTER - orchestra with Larry Hooper at the piano 
4. OL' MAN RIVER - orchestra featuring Bob Havens on trombone, Russ Klein on saxophone and Henry Cuesta on clarinet
5. MAKE BELIEVE - Guy Hovis and Ralna English

6. THEY DIDN'T BELIEVE ME - Tom Netherton with Bob Smale at the piano
7. I'VE TOLD EVERY STAR - orchestra
8. A FINE ROMANCE - Tanya Falan
9. THE WAY YOU LOOK TONIGHT - danced by Bobby & Cissy
10. CAN'T HELP SINGING - Sandi Griffiths on lead vocals with Gail, Mary Lou, Anacani and Ralna

11. LONG AGO AND FAR AWAY - orchestra
12. PURE LOVE - Clay Hart
13. MY BILL - Ralna English
14. SMOKE GETS IN YOUR EYES - orchestra conducted by George Cates
15. THE LAST TIME I SAW PARIS - Ken Delo

16. THIS SONG IS YOU - Joe Feeney
17. YESTERDAYS - Bob Ralston at the Thomas organ
18. LOOK FOR THE SILVER LINING - Ava Barber
19. GRANADA - Anacani
20. ALL THE THINGS YOU ARE - the orchestra
21. PICK YOURSELF UP - danced by Arthur Duncan with vocals by Mary Lou, Jimmy, Cissy, Bobby, Clay, Sandi, Ken and Gail

Did you know that Lawrence Welk's estate holds all the publishing rights and royalties to Jerome Kern's work? I guess the Maestro really liked Mr. Kern's music so much that he pulled a Victor Kiam.

Also, Mary Lou mentions at the start of the show that on the day they taped the show, it was her birthday so I'm guessing that tape day was November 13, 1974 and aired about two months later on January 11th of 1975.

So until next week, keep a song in your heart and if you get knocked down, pick yourself up, dust yourself off and start all over again! 

Salute to Jerome Kern '75

More Madness

I'm still watching some of the tournament....the action already in a day and a half has been hot and heavy!

Moving on the second round....Cissy King's New Mexico Lobos, followed by Sandi Griffiths' BYU Cougars, Jim Turner's Tennessee Vols and one team I forgot to mention from yesterday's post.

That would be the University of Wisconsin Badgers, where Kathie Sullivan went to school.

They won today, beating Wofford.

Sadly, Mary Lou Metzger's Temple Owls and Elaine Balden's Sam Houston State Bearkats lost their opening round.

But overall....Welkland is doing pretty good in March Madness! 

More Madness

Spring is here!

The sounds of birds chirping....

....flowers start to bloom

.....the occasional rain shower

....but that eventually leads to sunshine and the year's first gorgeous weather!

And today begins the NCAA college basketball tournament....

Just to keep score, five of the Musical Family's alma maters are in the big dance.

Cissy King's University of New Mexico plays Montana in the East Regional

...and BYU, where Sandi Griffiths went to school, as I write, are playing Florida over in the West Region.

You have Mary Lou Metzger's Temple University playing Cornell tomorrow

 
Plus there's the University of Tennessee, where Jim Turner's old school is playing San Diego State

....and finally Sam Houston State where Elaine Balden will be cheering for her Bearkats to beat Baylor

So let your smile be your umbrella and start dancing!

Spring is here!