# Is anyone else traumatized by Lawrence Welk??



## QuickSilver (Sep 12, 2015)

I can remember being forced to watch his shows every Saturday night..... with Sunday school looming in the morning... It brings back horrible memories...  anyone else???

Hubby wants to watch his reruns..... I cannot bear it...   lol!!


----------



## Shalimar (Sep 12, 2015)

Oh no, not The Welk! Aaagghhhhhh. Older member's of my family loved him, he still makes me twitch.


----------



## QuickSilver (Sep 12, 2015)

Just told hubby to turn him the hell off!!! ..


----------



## fureverywhere (Sep 12, 2015)

Oh no quite the opposite. My favorite grandfather...I can still recall his entire living room. We would sit and watch Lawrence Welk together. Even when he grew too feeble and moved to our house we would still watch reruns together. What was funny was my grandfather was way before political correctness. There was Joe Feeny "Oh those Irish guys can sing", then there was the colored fella who danced good and the Lennon Sisters, oh they made him light up. Like Carol Burnett, a fond memory of being a kid.


----------



## applecruncher (Sep 12, 2015)

My father loved Lawrence Welk, and the Lennon Sisters.
My aunt (who I spent lots of time with) was more into Sing Along with Mitch (Miller) with Leslie Uggams. (However, Leslie made her singing debut on Lawrence Welk.)


----------



## AZ Jim (Sep 12, 2015)

He had good clean entertainment for the whole family.  I liked his shows and even went out to Lawrence Welks village in Escondido.  He was a little squeaky clean and corny but then so am I.  We still watch his reruns occasionally.  Come on over QS and watch with us!!  I'm pouring at the bar.


----------



## Shalimar (Sep 12, 2015)

Please online friends, if I ever become as gaggingly wholesome as The Welk, kill me!!! Lol.


----------



## Lara (Sep 12, 2015)

My husband and I took his mother to Lawrence Welk's Village restaurant because she was a big fan of his for eons. We were waiting for our meal and he walked in and came right over to our table, held my firstborn in his arms, and beamed with delight as he stared at her. Then he chatted at length with my mother-in-law and she was beside herself with excitement. He was a very gentle, sweet, kind, man. He was wonderful for his generation….a more gentle time for sure.


----------



## Linda (Sep 12, 2015)

My husband was traumatized by his show.  His parents loved it and watched it every week.  I don't know why he didn't go outdoors and ride his bike at that time.  My family didn't get TV till I was 13 and I don't recall ever seeing it anywhere till I was an adult.  I'm not fond of it either.  I sometimes see the end of it on PBS as I wait for "Keeping Up Appearances" to come on.


----------



## Underock1 (Sep 12, 2015)

My wife and I watched regularly. We enjoyed going to German dances all of our life. I _like _accordions! Yeah. He laid the accent on pretty thick, and the show is pretty dated now, but those were simpler times. Corny as it was, it was still more entertaining than 95% of whats usually on my TV these days. I'm here this minute because there's nothing worth watching on it right now.


----------



## Linda (Sep 12, 2015)

Underock1 said:


> My wife and I watched regularly. We enjoyed going to German dances all of our life. I _like _accordions! Yeah. He laid the accent on pretty thick, and the show is pretty dated now, but those were simpler times. Corny as it was, it was still more entertaining than 95% of whats usually on my TV these days. I'm here this minute because there's nothing worth watching on it right now.


Underock1, I like you guys better than TV.


----------



## tnthomas (Sep 12, 2015)

How can yuh be tramatized by boooring?     Oh well, my granma loved watching LW et. al.


----------



## QuickSilver (Sep 12, 2015)

tnthomas said:


> How can yuh be tramatized by boooring?     Oh well, my granma loved watching LW et. al.



I was a preteen...  I was into the Beatles...Beach Boys and Herman's Hermits...  I was held hostage on Saturday night by the Champagne Lady... Gimme a break...


----------



## Cookie (Sep 12, 2015)

No Welk for us either, it was too sickening, gag me with a spoon. Poor QS, sounds like pure torture.


----------



## Falcon (Sep 12, 2015)

Re:  LW     @ least it was REAL music rather that today's  *NOISE* .

They actually played notes, and only ONE guitar in the whole band.

True, a lot of cornball stuff but a lot of very good MUSIC.

Today, if you don't play a guitar, fugetaboutit.


----------



## QuickSilver (Sep 12, 2015)




----------



## Underock1 (Sep 12, 2015)

Linda said:


> Underock1, I like you guys better than TV.



Well thank you for that, Linda. Have a chocolate! :chocolate:


----------



## tnthomas (Sep 12, 2015)

QuickSilver said:


> I was a preteen...  I was into the Beatles...Beach Boys and Herman's Hermits...  I was held hostage on Saturday night by the Champagne Lady... Gimme a break...



Same here, but there was no way to watch "teen" stuff  on Saturday nights back then.    Sunday night the Ed Sullivan show was the only hope of seeing contemporary entertainment.

Weekday afternoons there was teen shows like Lloyd Thaxton, Shindig and Hullabaloo.


  9th Street West was a locally filmed program that I lparticularly iked to watch.

 [h=1][/h]


----------



## Underock1 (Sep 12, 2015)

Falcon said:


> Re:  LW     @ least it was REAL music rather that today's  *NOISE* .
> 
> They actually played notes, and only ONE guitar in the whole band.
> 
> ...



,,,and the guitar has to be electrified and *AMPLIFIED!!.*  I prefer the human touch.


----------



## Falcon (Sep 12, 2015)

Underock1 said:


> ,,,and the guitar has to be electrified and *AMPLIFIED!!.*  I prefer the human touch.



*RIGHT ON!   Somebody finally got the message.   nthego:*


----------



## Linda (Sep 12, 2015)

Thanks for the chocolates Underrock1.  Not to get off topic, but I did enjoy The Ed Sullivan Show.  It was a fav of mine.


----------



## Lon (Sep 12, 2015)

Oh My  A One Anna Two No More. I could never stand that show.


----------



## fureverywhere (Sep 12, 2015)

Ooooh and who can forget the bubbles???


----------



## Jackie22 (Sep 12, 2015)

I couldn't stand it either.......Saturday night in Texas TV land was wrestling....hard to say which was worse...lol


----------



## applecruncher (Sep 12, 2015)

tnthomas said:


> Weekday afternoons there was teen shows like Lloyd Thaxton, Shindig and Hullabaloo.



I believe Shindig and Hullabaloo were weeknight shows, my friend. Weekday afternoons were American Bandstand, Lloyd Thaxton, and later Where the Action Is! 

My stepdad was strictly a Gunsmoke and Have Gun, Will Travel guy on Saturday nights. By that time I was usually "out" or doing my check-out girl thing at the supermarket.


----------



## jujube (Sep 12, 2015)

...now let-sa hear from-uh Myruuuun Flawhrnnnn.  Take it, Myruuuun....


----------



## fureverywhere (Sep 12, 2015)

...now let-sa hear from-uh Myruuuun Flawhrnnnn.  Take it, Myruuuun.... 

But Joe Feeny was da bomb...


----------



## Underock1 (Sep 12, 2015)

fureverywhere said:


> ...now let-sa hear from-uh Myruuuun Flawhrnnnn.  Take it, Myruuuun....
> 
> But Joe Feeny was da bomb...



Very good written impression, Furry. :laugh:


----------



## Rocky (Sep 13, 2015)

Shalimar said:


> Please online friends, if I ever become as gaggingly wholesome as The Welk, kill me!!! Lol.



_Me, too !!!  
andaone, andatwo, andathree ...  I shudder even remembering!_


----------



## QuickSilver (Sep 13, 2015)

It was depressing for a teen to have to sit through.... every single Saturday night...    Until that is,  I got old enough to date... then I was outa there..


----------



## NancyNGA (Sep 13, 2015)

My mother didn't like the show either, my father was always at work.  But there wasn't anything better on, was there?    I can't remember.   Only 3 channels.  It would be interesting to see the schedules back then.  Anybody got an old TV Guide?  Ha!


----------



## Cookie (Sep 13, 2015)

There was so little to choose from much less for teens in those days, the LW show was for older folks, a kind of pseudo McMusic.  More fun to hang out in my room that watch it.


----------



## Shalimar (Sep 13, 2015)

Cookie, it was more fun to watch paint dry than watch The Welk. Lol.


----------



## Meanderer (Sep 13, 2015)

It's too easy to make fun of a show that is still on TV since 1955.  He was a good guy, with a talented band and a talented bunch of performers.  I still enjoy watching him on PBS.


----------



## Cookie (Sep 13, 2015)

I think its an age thing, it seemed to appeal to our parents and grandparents generation. But why on earth would teen kids be interested? And now, since we've grown up, we have our own music to be nostalgic about. I know there are people my age who never liked rock and roll and the Beatles as teens, and went for the LW style and still do, but personally I can't relate. My mother used to prefer Perry Como and shows like Dinah Shore.  Musical taste is very subjective -- and there's something for everyone out there.


----------



## AZ Jim (Sep 13, 2015)

Welk was saccharine but he had a great band and played real music, not like the crap they now call music.


----------



## Shalimar (Sep 13, 2015)

Cookie, I too think it's an age thing, perhaps a culture thing also? The flower children generation simply had/have different musical/cultural tastes than those who were/are perhaps more conservative in their outlook.


----------



## Shalimar (Sep 13, 2015)

Hmm. One person's crap is another's music. I think good and bad music transcends both time and genre.


----------



## Cookie (Sep 13, 2015)

I agree, Shali, there is music some people love I just can't listen to, even though it might qualify as 'good' music.  Were all individually tuned in to certain tones and octaves which make us feel good and repelled by others.   

On the other hand, maybe the LW show was specially crafted and suitable for older generations who needed to be soothed and chilled out from their post war PTSD and 50s/60s cold war paranoid mindrames. We young kids had no such needs, and wanted more energetic, fun and interesting stuff. Same goes for today's music, old folks don't like, the young people do, it's just different people relating to different things and having different needs.  But you gotta wonder why and how a young teen of that 1955 era would enjoy the LW music, unless that was all they had and it was 1955 and they lived on some hillside and had never heard rock and roll.


----------



## Underock1 (Sep 13, 2015)

You know, it _is _an age thing. It seems to me that it's connected with the whole deal about teenagers coming of age and separating themselves from the older generation. I've noticed whenever the topic of music comes up, its never limited to I like this kind of music. It always seems necessary to say how much you hate another generation's music. 
For myself, electrification was the end of music. I like a melody, and lyrics sung in a normal human voice at a pace that you can understand. I know I'm just a sentimental slob, but I prefer "I will always call you sweetheart, that will always be your name" to something like "Lets do it, do it, do it, Yeah. do, do, do, do it, etc, etc." Screamed over an amplifier. Thankfully,
I can turn my hearing aids off now and enjoy my imaginary world.


----------



## Falcon (Sep 13, 2015)

I know what you mean UR.


----------



## AZ Jim (Sep 13, 2015)

I like music that makes me smile or relax and enjoy not music that offends my ears and soul.


----------



## applecruncher (Sep 13, 2015)

Cookie said:


> I think its an age thing, it seemed to appeal to our parents and grandparents generation. But why on earth would teen kids be interested? And now, since we've grown up, we have our own music to be nostalgic about. I know there are people my age who never liked rock and roll and the Beatles as teens, and went for the LW style and still do, but personally I can't relate. My mother used to prefer Perry Como and shows like Dinah Shore. Musical taste is very subjective -- and there's something for everyone out there.



Yeah. Different strokes. :wink:


----------



## Kitties (Sep 13, 2015)

Luckily my mother never like Lawrence Welk. So I didn't have to suffer that. Reruns of it used to be popular at one nursing home I worked at. Couldn't stand to see it even then.


----------



## QuickSilver (Sep 13, 2015)

Meanderer said:


> It's too easy to make fun of a show that is still on TV since 1955.  He was a good guy, with a talented band and a talented bunch of performers.  I still enjoy watching him on PBS.  My avatar aside, he has never put me to sleep.nthego:



I happen to know Kathy Lennon personally..  She is best friends with one of my friends... Trust me when I tell you... Welk was not that nice a guy.  He was a little dictator and paid peanuts..  He fired the Lennons without warning or so much as a goodbye.


----------



## Shalimar (Sep 13, 2015)

Hmm. I always thought he was creepy, apparently he was.


----------



## Bullie76 (Sep 13, 2015)

No tv show has ever traumatized me. My mother watched the same old reruns up until a week before she died. I didn't care for it, but watched a  little with her just to make her happy. I admit, I slipped out a lot to go watch something else in another room.


----------



## mitchezz (Sep 13, 2015)

I don't know if LW was shown in Australia but we did watch Mitch Miller......follow the bouncing ball lol


----------



## fureverywhere (Sep 13, 2015)

Oh I remember Mitch! I agree though with other posters that Champagne Music isn't anything awful. Now Johnny Mathis was traumatizing. The dentist when I was a kid had a loop of his greatest hits. " Chances Are" still gives me flashbacks of the dentist drill. But really I'd rather hear that nice innocent music. I have to do some of my daily work in a receiving area with it's own boom box. I've learned to tune out most of it...but just from scattered lyrics...he has a Glock...he wants to make all the money...he's feeling really down...and he knows he's going to die soon...so he wants to make all the money...aye, I'll take Abba over THAT.

Now I was just thinking after I posted that. The problem comes with my age now. They'll be playing "It's Only Rock and Roll" or "Tell Me Something Good", worse " Disco Lady". I mean these were tunes that some radio stations banned back in the day. And there's Chaka Kahn practically dripping over the PA system. And I find myself listening to the young man with the gun and thinking like a Mom..." Okay first thing is get rid of the firearm, no really just junk it, find the deepest nearby water source and lose that piece, now you can get out of there and make all the money, but you need to get you an education, being a rapper is still going to get you killed, get a trade and get out of the neighborhood, I believe in you..."


----------



## Linda (Sep 14, 2015)

QuickSilver said:


> I happen to know Kathy Lennon personally..  She is best friends with one of my friends... Trust me when I tell you... Welk was not that nice a guy.  He was a little dictator and paid peanuts..  He fired the Lennons without warning or so much as a goodbye.


I had heard that before QuickSilver.  I think I read it in something someone who worked on the show wrote.


----------



## oldman (Sep 14, 2015)

We watched LW as a family. My Mom and Dad put up with "Dick Clark's Saturday Night Beechnut Show" and my Sister and I put up with the Lawrence Welk Show, just for more years. I liked the accordion player, Myron Floren. I tried playing that squeeze box a few times, but could never get my fingers to cooperate with my mind.


----------



## Cookie (Sep 14, 2015)

Read on Wiki that he fired one of his singers because he thought her skirt was too short, but the fans protested and he had to hire her back. The show is described as soft, sweet and 'staid' and appealing to older folks of that era. The music was described as soft and lulling, different from the harder edged Glenn Miller big band sound. However, he was successful and the show ran on from 1955 until around 1982.


----------



## applecruncher (Sep 14, 2015)

I’d forgotten that William Lennon (father of the Lennon Sisters) was murdered by some crazed delusional stalker in 1969. Lennon was only 53, and the guy (who had a fantasy romantic relationship with Peggy Lennon) shot Lennon in a parking lot, and later shot himself.

This was overshadowed because the news was focusing on the Sharon Tate/LaBianca murders by the Manson clan which had taken place the previous week.


----------

