Have a question? Email us at Please include your name and town. Accordion-playing bandleader Welk hosted his show for 27 years, from 1955 to 1982, first on ABC and later in syndication, and then finding a third life in reruns on PBS. There are, of course, a lot of those people.
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People say 'We watched you and we loved Lawrence Welk.' " You don't realize there is a big, wide world out there. In a 2004 profile article in the "Daily Sun" newspaper in The Villages, Fla., Diane said: "I'm happy to say that so many people remember us. They were replaced in 1977 by the Aldridge Sisters (a duo this time), but according to the fan site, they were only able to get on after the Semonskis had departed, leaving a sister-act-shaped hole in the cast. The other five retired to quiet, normal lives after leaving the show in 1977, two years after their debut.įormer stars of Welk's long-running musical variety show frequently hold concerts around the U.S., and though the Semonskis have never gotten back together to perform, two of the other sisters, Michelle and Audrey, have attended them and posed for photos with fans - of whom there are still quite a few.Īs for why they left the show, that's never been made official, either.
#Lawrence welk cast on first show series
The series aired locally in Los Angeles for four years, from 1951 to 1955, then nationally for another 16 years on ABC from 1955 to 1971, followed by 11 years in first-run syndication. She left to pursue a musical career of her own, and though she never attained the same national fame she had on "The Lawrence Welk Show," at last report she was still working and performing in Florida. The Lawrence Welk Show is an American televised musical variety show hosted by big band leader Lawrence Welk. Eldest sister Diane left early, and it's only her future career that we know anything about. The retro group generated a couple of albums of pretty good stuff, including new songs like “ Killer Dana,” and is still actively performing.Lawrence Welk's popular family act The Semonski Sisters actually started out with six. And when oldies music made its comeback in recent years, some of the original members joined with some new guys and restarted the Chantays.
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In any case, it would end up as a classic that would be covered by many other bands through the years.Īs for the Chantays, the group never again had a song that approached the popularity of that one, but they did keep performing and recording for a few years before going their separate ways.
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Carman and Spickard’s “Pipeline” was an unforgettable piece that - according to legend - had originally been recorded in the back room of a surf shop. What they did have going for them, though, was one of the all-time great songs in pop music. Bob Spickard, Brian Carman, Bob Marshall, Bob Welch, and Warren Waters ranged in age from 13 to 17 when the group was first formed, and even though they’d been around a while by the time they appeared on Welk’s show, chances are that they were plenty nervous. (Video below.) The group had been formed a couple of years earlier by five high school buddies in Santa Ana, and had risen to popularity on the Southern California beach music scene. Welk, in what was surely one of the strangest pairings of all time. It was in 1963 when the Chantays - a California surf music group that had crafted a megahit with “Pipeline” - showed up one night with Mr. But how many of us remember when a popular rock and roll group made its appearance on the Lawrence Welk Show?
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And even though Sullivan is remembered for insisting that Presley tone down his act a little, he became well known for showcasing a lot of stars, including the Beatles. Producers of the shows recognized the burgeoning popularity of the new music and quickly realized the boost in ratings that could come their way, so it soon became a regular thing.Įven if you’re not old enough to actually remember some of those appearances, chances are good that you’ve seen video excerpts of Elvis Presley singing to a hound dog on Steve Allen’s variety show, or later appearing on Ed Sullivan. Netherton debuted on The Lawrence Welk Show on its 19th season in a Christmas special episode on 22 December 1973. Netherton appeared on the show for nearly a decade. Netherton subsequently became a regular member of Welk's musical family show, The Lawrence Welk Show.
#Lawrence welk cast on first show tv
Most of us are familiar with what was a pretty common occurrence during the early days of rock and roll - guest appearances by rising musical stars on TV shows. Welk invited him to perform in a live audition at the St.