139-616: Lawrence Welk (March 11, 1903 – May 17, 1992) was an American accordionist , bandleader, and television impresario , who hosted The Lawrence Welk Show from 1951 to 1982. His style came to be known as "champagne music" to his radio, television, and live-performance audiences. Welk was born in the German-speaking community of Strasburg, North Dakota . He was sixth of the eight children of Ludwig and Christiana (née Schwahn) Welk, Roman Catholic ethnic Germans who emigrated in 1892 from Odessa , Russian Empire (now Ukraine ). Welk
278-679: A concertina also featured the ability to easily tune the reeds from the outside with a simple tool. The Austrian musician Adolf Müller described a great variety of instruments in his 1854 book Schule für Accordion . At the time, Vienna and London had a close musical relationship, with musicians often performing in both cities in the same year, so it is possible that Wheatstone was aware of this type of instrument and may have used them to put his key-arrangement ideas into practice. Jeune's flutina resembles Wheatstone's concertina in internal construction and tone colour , but it appears to complement Demian's accordion functionally. The flutina
417-403: A PA system or keyboard amplifier to produce sound. Some digital accordions have a small internal speaker and amplifier, so they can be used without a PA system or keyboard amplifier, at least for practicing and small venues like coffeehouses . One benefit of electronic accordions is that they can be practiced with headphones, making them inaudible to other people nearby. On a digital accordion,
556-428: A broadcasting staple. Welk signed with Decca Records in 1941, then recorded for Mercury Records and Coral Records for short periods of time before moving to Dot Records in 1959. In 1967, Welk left Dot Records and joined its former executive Randy Wood in creating Ranwood Records . Welk bought back all his masters from Dot and Coral, and Ranwood became the outlet for all of Welk's many artists. They started with
695-429: A child's accordion to 19 inches (48 cm) for an adult-sized instrument. After size, the price and weight of an accordion is largely dependent on the number of reed ranks on either side, either on a cassotto or not, and to a lesser degree on the number of combinations available through register switches. The next, but important, factor is the quality of the reeds, the highest grade called "a mano" (meaning "hand-made"),
834-502: A city as high numbers of immigrants, mainly German , made their way to Wisconsin during the 1840s and 1850s. Scholars classify German immigration to the United States in three major waves, and Wisconsin received a significant number of immigrants from all three. The first wave from 1845 to 1855 consisted mainly of people from Southwestern Germany , the second wave from 1865 to 1873 concerned primarily Northwestern Germany , while
973-457: A deep-pitched tuba. Different systems exist for the right-hand keyboard of an accordion, which is normally used for playing the melody (while it can also play chords). Some use a button layout arranged in one way or another, while others use a piano -style keyboard. Each system has different claimed benefits by those who prefer it. They are also used to define one accordion or another as a different "type": Different systems are also in use for
1112-423: A dispute with Welk over adding a jazz solo to a Christmas song. Reflecting the controversies about the quality of Welk's music among the cognoscenti, in 1956, musical satirist Stan Freberg , known for his love of jazz, wrote and recorded a biting Welk satire, "Wunnerful! Wunnerful!" Freberg impersonated Welk. Recorded with some of Hollywood's best jazz musicians, arranged by Billy May to sound like authentic Welk,
1251-413: A family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows -driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed in a frame). The essential characteristic of the accordion is to combine in one instrument a melody section, also called the diskant , usually on the right-hand keyboard, with an accompaniment or Basso continuo functionality on the left-hand. The musician normally plays
1390-598: A favorite of folk musicians and has been integrated into traditional music styles all over the world: see the list of music styles that incorporate the accordion . Early jazz accordionists include Charles Melrose, who recorded Wailing Blues/Barrel House Stomp (1930, Voc. 1503) with the Cellar Boys; Buster Moten, who played second piano and accordion in the Bennie Moten orchestra; and Jack Cornell, who did recordings with Irving Mills. Later jazz accordionists from
1529-705: A handful of sessions for the Gennett and Paramount companies. In November 1928 he recorded four sides for Gennett spread over two days (one side was rejected), and in 1931 he recorded eight sides for Paramount (in two sessions) that were issued on the Broadway and Lyric labels. These records are rare and highly valued. From 1938 to 1940, he recorded frequently in New York and Chicago for Vocalion Records . During this period Welk recorded numerous instrumentals especially for radio stations; these transcription records became
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#17328014342801668-657: A huge reissue of old Dot albums in 1968 to get them started on the right foot. Wood's interest was sold to Welk in 1979. In 2015, Welk Music Group sold the Vanguard and Sugar Hill labels to Concord Bicycle Music while retaining ownership of the Ranwood catalog. Welk's estate licensed the Ranwood catalogue to Concord Music Group for 10 years. In 1951, Welk settled in Los Angeles. The same year, he began producing The Lawrence Welk Show on KTLA in Los Angeles, where it
1807-464: A large Serbian population, who have developed Serbian restaurants, a Serbian K–8 School , and Serbian churches, along with an American Serb Hall. The American Serb Hall in Milwaukee is known for its Friday fish fries and popular events. Many U.S. presidents have visited Milwaukee's Serb Hall in the past. The Bosnian population is growing in Milwaukee as well due to late-20th-century immigration after
1946-588: A lasting influence on the American school system. Kindergarten was created as a pre-school for children, and sports programs of all levels, as well as music and art, were incorporated as elements of the regular school curriculum. These ideas were first introduced by radical-democratic German groups, such as the Turner Societies, known today as the American Turners . Specifically in Milwaukee,
2085-487: A more pure sound out of low-end instruments, such as the ones improved by Yutaka Usui, a Japanese craftsman. The manufacture of an accordion is only a partly automated process. In a sense, all accordions are handmade, since there is always some hand assembly of the small parts required. The general process involves making the individual parts, assembling the subsections, assembling the entire instrument, and final decorating and packaging. Notable centres of production are
2224-411: A number of common components. The bellows is the most recognizable part of the instrument, and the primary means of articulation . The production of sound in an accordion is in direct proportion to the motion of the bellows by the player. In a sense, the role of the bellows can be compared to the role of moving a violin 's bow on bowed strings. For a more direct analogy, the bellows can be compared to
2363-561: A number of conflicting claims made concerning it. One theory says it comes from the Anishinaabemowin/Ojibwe word mino-akking , meaning "good land", or words in closely related languages that mean the same. These included Menominee and Potawatomi. Another theory is that it stems from the Meskwaki or Algonquian languages, whose term for "gathering place" is mahn-a-waukee . The city of Milwaukee itself claims that
2502-817: A role in all the major European wars on the American continent. During the French and Indian War , a group of "Ojibwas and Pottawattamies from the far [Lake] Michigan" (i.e., the area from Milwaukee to Green Bay) joined the French-Canadian Daniel Liénard de Beaujeu at the Battle of the Monongahela . In the American Revolutionary War , the Native Americans around Milwaukee were some of the few groups to ally with
2641-407: A series of short-term "Champagne Ladies" before Norma Zimmer became Lon's permanent replacement. He was highly involved with his stars' personal lives, often to the point of arbitrating their marital disputes. His musical conservatism caused occasional controversies as well. Despite the authentic New Orleans Dixieland clarinet that made him a popular cast member, Pete Fountain left the orchestra in
2780-586: A single octave on the right-hand keyboard, to the most common 120-bass accordion and through to large and heavy 160-bass free-bass converter models. The accordion is an aerophone . The keyboard mechanisms of the instrument either enable the air flow, or disable it: The term accordion covers a wide range of instruments, with varying components. All instruments have reed ranks of some format, apart from reedless digital accordions . Not all have switches to change registers or ranks, as some have only one treble register and one bass register. The most typical accordion
2919-442: A variety of occupations: grocers, blacksmiths, tavernkeepers, coopers, butchers, broommakers, shoemakers, draymen, laborers, and farmers. Three distinct Polish communities evolved in Milwaukee, with the majority settling in the area south of Greenfield Avenue. Milwaukee County's Polish population of 30,000 in 1890 rose to 100,000 by 1915. Poles historically have had a strong national cultural and social identity, often maintained through
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#17328014342803058-417: A version of Spade Cooley 's "Shame on You" in 1945. The record (Decca 18698) was number 4 to Cooley's number 5 on Billboard' s September 15 "Most Played Juke Box Folk Records" listing. From 1949 through 1951, the band had radio programming on ABC , sponsored by Miller High Life , "The Champagne of Bottled Beer." In addition to his activities as a performing artist, Welk edited a course of modern music for
3197-538: Is harmonika , from the Greek harmonikos , meaning "harmonic, musical". Today, native versions of the name accordion are more common. These names refer to the type of accordion patented by Cyrill Demian , which concerned "automatically coupled chords on the bass side". The accordion's basic form is believed to have been invented in Berlin , in 1822, by Christian Friedrich Ludwig Buschmann , although one instrument
3336-734: Is a one-sided bisonoric melody-only instrument whose keys are operated with the right hand while the bellows is operated with the left. When the two instruments are combined, the result is quite similar to diatonic button accordions still manufactured today. Further innovations followed and continue to the present. Various buttonboard and keyboard systems have been developed, as well as voicings (the combination of multiple tones at different octaves), with mechanisms to switch between different voices during performance, and different methods of internal construction to improve tone, stability and durability. Modern accordions may incorporate electronics such as condenser microphones and tone and volume controls, so that
3475-597: Is along the Menomonee River (east of Hawley Road) and Fairview Avenue/Golfview Parkway (west of Hawley Road), with the east–west numbering line defined along 1st Street (north of Oklahoma Avenue) and Chase/Howell Avenue (south of Oklahoma Avenue). This numbering system is also used to the north by Mequon in Ozaukee County , and by some Waukesha County communities. Milwaukee is crossed by Interstate 43 and Interstate 94 , which come together downtown at
3614-473: Is an ethnically and culturally diverse city. However, it continues to be one of the most racially segregated cities, largely as a result of early-20th-century redlining . Its history was heavily influenced by German immigrants in the 19th century, and it continues to be a center for German-American culture, specifically becoming well known for its brewing industry . In recent years, Milwaukee has undergone several development projects. Major additions to
3753-573: Is categorized as a "Gamma minus" city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network , with a regional GDP of over $ 102 billion in 2020. Since 1968, Milwaukee has been home to Summerfest , a large music festival. Milwaukee is home to the Fortune 500 companies of Northwestern Mutual , Fiserv , WEC Energy Group , Rockwell Automation , and Harley-Davidson . It is also home to several colleges, including Marquette University ,
3892-413: Is effected through the bellows. Bellows effects include: The accordion's body consists of two boxes, commonly made of wood, joined by the bellows. These boxes house reed chambers for the right- and left-hand keyboards. Each side has grilles in order to facilitate the transmission of air in and out of the instrument, and to allow the sound to project. The grille at the right-hand side is usually larger and
4031-485: Is not standardized, and may vary significantly from model to model. Accordions vary not only in their dimensions and weight, but also in number of buttons or keys present in the right- and left-hand keyboards. For example, piano accordions may have as few as 8 bass buttons (two rows of four), or up to 140 (seven rows of twenty) or beyond. Accordions also vary by their available registers and by their specific tuning and voicing. Despite these differences, all accordions share
4170-637: Is offered for children in grades K–5 . Although the German presence in Milwaukee after the Civil War remained strong and their largest wave of immigrants had yet to land, other groups also made their way to the city. Foremost among these were Polish immigrants. The Poles had many reasons for leaving their homeland, mainly poverty and political oppression. Because Milwaukee offered the Polish immigrants an abundance of low-paying entry-level jobs, it became one of
4309-407: Is often shaped for decorative purposes. The right-hand keyboard is normally used for playing the melody and the left-hand one for playing the accompaniment; however, skilled players can reverse these roles and play melodies with the left hand. The size and weight of an accordion varies depending on its type, layout and playing range, which can be as small as to have only one or two rows of basses and
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4448-538: Is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County . With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census , Milwaukee is the 31st-most populous city in the United States and the fifth-most populous city in the Midwest . It is the central city of the Milwaukee metropolitan area , the 40th-most populous metro area in the U.S. with 1.57 million residents. Milwaukee
4587-457: Is the main instrument in the traditional Mwomboko dance . Today the instrument is sometimes heard in contemporary pop styles, such as rock and pop-rock, and occasionally even in serious classical music concerts, as well as advertisements. The accordion's popularity spread rapidly: it has mostly been associated with the common people, and was propagated by Europeans who emigrated around the world. The accordion in both button and piano forms became
4726-420: Is the piano accordion, which is used for many musical genres. Another type of accordion is the button accordion, which is used in musical traditions including Cajun, Conjunto and Tejano music , Swiss and Slovenian-Austro-German Alpine music, and Argentinian tango music. The Helikon-style accordion has multiple flared horns projecting out of the left side to strengthen the bass tone. The word " Helikon " refers to
4865-629: Is their right-hand sides. Piano accordions use a piano-style musical keyboard ; button accordions use a buttonboard. Button accordions are furthermore differentiated by their usage of a chromatic or diatonic buttonboard for the right-hand side. Accordions may be either bisonoric, producing different pitches depending on the direction of bellows movement, or unisonoric, producing the same pitch in both directions. Piano accordions are unisonoric. Chromatic button accordions also tend to be unisonoric, while diatonic button accordions tend to be bisonoric, though notable exceptions exist. Accordion size
5004-467: The Catholic Church . A view of Milwaukee's South Side skyline is replete with the steeples of the many churches these immigrants built that are still vital centers of the community. St. Stanislaus Catholic Church and the surrounding neighborhood was the center of Polish life in Milwaukee. As the Polish community surrounding St. Stanislaus continued to grow, Mitchell Street became known as
5143-457: The East Side , and more recently Walker's Point and Bay View , along with attracting new businesses to its downtown area. These efforts have substantially slowed the population decline and have stabilized many parts of Milwaukee. Milwaukee's European history is evident today. Largely through its efforts to preserve its history, Milwaukee was named one of the "Dozen Distinctive Destinations" by
5282-872: The MacPhail School of Music in Minneapolis , Minnesota. Although many associate Welk's music with a style quite separate from jazz , he recorded several jazzy sides; in November 1928 for Gennett Records , based in Richmond, Indiana : "Spiked Beer" and "Doin' The New Low Down" and in 1931 in Grafton, Wisconsin for Paramount Records "Smile Darn Ya, Smile". During the 1930s, Welk led a traveling big band specializing in dance tunes and "sweet" music (during this period, bands performing light-melodic music were referred to as "sweet bands" to distinguish them from
5421-652: The Marquette Interchange . The Interstate 894 bypass (which as of May 2015 also contains Interstate 41 ) runs through portions of the city's southwest side, and Interstate 794 comes out of the Marquette interchange eastbound, bends south along the lakefront and crosses the harbor over the Hoan Bridge , then ends near the Bay View neighborhood and becomes the "Lake Parkway" ( WIS-794 ). One of
5560-639: The Medical College of Wisconsin , Milwaukee School of Engineering , and University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee . The city is represented in two of the four major professional sports leagues —the Bucks of the NBA and the Brewers of MLB . The etymological origin of the name Milwaukee is disputed. Wisconsin academic Virgil J. Vogel has said, "the name [...] Milwaukee is not difficult to explain, yet there are
5699-561: The Milwaukee . Smaller rivers, such as the Root River and Lincoln Creek, also flow through the city. Milwaukee's terrain is sculpted by the glacier path and includes steep bluffs along Lake Michigan that begin about a mile (1.6 km) north of downtown. In addition, 30 miles (48 km) southwest of Milwaukee is the Kettle Moraine and lake country that provides an industrial landscape combined with inland lakes. According to
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5838-652: The National Trust for Historic Preservation in 2006. Historic Milwaukee walking tours provide a guided tour of Milwaukee's historic districts, including topics on Milwaukee's architectural heritage, its glass skywalk system, and the Milwaukee Riverwalk . Milwaukee lies along the shores and bluffs of Lake Michigan at the confluence of three rivers: the Menomonee , the Kinnickinnic , and
5977-542: The Oklahoma Educational Television Authority . The "Live Lawrence Welk Show" makes annual concert tours across the United States and Canada, featuring stars from the television series, including Ralna English , Mary Lou Metzger , Gail Farrell , and Anacani . All of Welk's books are coauthored by, or written in conjunction with, Bernice McGeehan and published by Prentice Hall , except where indicated: * "Shame On You" also made
6116-583: The Orlons ' No. 2 pop hit " The Wah-Watusi " with the bass singer Larry Hooper wearing a beatnik outfit. These stood in comparison to the contemporary American Bandstand , which catered to a teenager audience and featured the latest acts. In a 1971 episode, Welk infamously billed the Brewer & Shipley single " One Toke Over the Line " (performed as a duet by Gail Farrell and Dick Dale ), which referenced
6255-487: The Stradella bass system , limiting the left hand to preset chord buttons, is a barrier to some jazz chord conventions. Jazz accordionists expand the range of chord possibilities by using more than one chord button simultaneously, or by using combinations of a chord button and a bass note other than the typical root of the chord. An example of the former technique is used to play a minor seventh chord . To play an Am chord,
6394-690: The United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 96.80 square miles (250.71 km ), of which, 96.12 square miles (248.95 km ) is land and 0.68 square miles (1.76 km ) is water. The city is overwhelmingly (99.89% of its area) in Milwaukee County , but there are two tiny unpopulated portions that extend into neighboring counties. North–south streets are numbered, and east–west streets are named. However, north–south streets east of 1st Street are named, like east–west streets. The north–south numbering line
6533-452: The melody on buttons or keys on the right-hand side (referred to as the keyboard or sometimes the manual ), and the accompaniment on bass or pre-set chord buttons on the left-hand side. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist . The accordion belongs to the free-reed aerophone family. Other instruments in this family include the concertina , harmonica , and bandoneon . The concertina and bandoneon do not have
6672-537: The " Forty-Eighters ", immigrated to the U.S. to avoid imprisonment and persecution by German authorities. One of the most famous "liberal revolutionaries" of 1848 was Carl Schurz . He later explained in 1854 why he came to Milwaukee, "It is true, similar things [cultural events and societies] were done in other cities where the Forty-eighters [ sic ] had congregated. But so far as I know, nowhere did their influence so quickly impress itself upon
6811-655: The "Polish Grand Avenue". As Mitchell Street grew more dense, the Polish population started moving south to the Lincoln Village neighborhood , home to the Basilica of St. Josaphat and Kosciuszko Park . Other Polish communities started on the East Side of Milwaukee . Jones Island was a major commercial fishing center settled mostly by Kashubians and other Poles from around the Baltic Sea . Milwaukee has
6950-400: The 1930s the city was severely segregated via "redlining". In 1960, African-American residents made up 15 percent of the Milwaukee's population, yet the city was still among the most segregated of that time. As of 2019, at least three out of four black residents in Milwaukee would have to move in order to create "racially integrated" neighborhoods. By 1960, Milwaukee had grown to become one of
7089-463: The 1950s, the Hispanic community was beginning to emerge. They arrived for jobs, filling positions in the manufacturing and agricultural sectors. During this time there were labor shortages due to the immigration laws that had reduced immigration from Eastern and Southern Europe. Additionally, strikes contributed to the labor shortages. In the mid-20th century, African-Americans from Chicago moved to
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#17328014342807228-535: The 1970s, he developed the "Lawrence Welk Plaza", now known as the 100 Wilshire Blvd Building, in Santa Monica, California, the 21-story high rise which was the former GTE building. Next to that building is the "Lawrence Welk Champagne Towers" the 16-story luxury Apartment Complex, along with the 11-story Wilshire Palisades office building. In the 1980s, the company became The Welk Group and subsequently split into Welk Music Group and Welk Resort Group . Welk
7367-453: The Am and Em preset buttons are pressed simultaneously, along with an A bassnote. An example of the latter technique is used to play the half-diminished chord . To play an E , a Gm preset button is pressed along with an E bassnote. For the left hand, the free-bass system is used in jazz as a means of creating complex chord voicings. Jazz harmony that would otherwise be difficult to replicate with
7506-681: The American Turners established its own Normal College for teachers of physical education and the German-English Academy . Milwaukee's German element is still strongly present today. The city celebrates its German culture by annually hosting a German Fest in July and an Oktoberfest in October. Milwaukee boasts a number of German restaurants, as well as a traditional German beer hall. A German language immersion school
7645-728: The Chicago and Milwaukee areas. In the early 1940s, the band began a 10-year stint at the Trianon Ballroom in Chicago, regularly drawing crowds of several thousand. His orchestra also performed frequently at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City during the late 1940s. In 1944 and 1945, Welk led his orchestra in 10 " Soundies ", three-minute movie musicals considered to be the early pioneers of music videos . Welk collaborated with Western artist Red Foley to record
7784-524: The City of Milwaukee began in 1835, following removal of the tribes in the Council of Three Fires. Early that year it became known that Juneau and Kilbourn intended to lay out competing town-sites. By the year's end both had purchased their lands from the government and made their first sales. There were perhaps 100 new settlers in this year, mostly from New England and other Eastern states. On September 17, 1835,
7923-799: The Dominican Republic; and norteño in Mexico), whereas in other regions (such as Europe, North America, and other countries in South America) it tends to be more used for dance-pop and folk music . In Europe and North America, some popular music acts also make use of the instrument. Additionally, the accordion is used in cajun , zydeco , jazz , and klezmer music, and in both solo and orchestral performances of classical music . Many conservatories in Europe have classical accordion departments. The oldest name for this group of instruments
8062-561: The German lands between 1835 and 1910, 90 percent went to the United States, most of them traveling to the Mid-Atlantic states and the Midwest. By 1900, 34 percent of Milwaukee's population was of German background. The largest number of German immigrants to Milwaukee came from Prussia , followed by Bavaria , Saxony , Hanover , and Hesse-Darmstadt . Milwaukee gained its reputation as the most German of American cities not just from
8201-609: The Hotsy Totsy Boys and the Honolulu Fruit Gum Orchestra. His band was also the station band for the popular radio programming WNAX in Yankton, South Dakota . The Lawrence Welk Orchestra scored an immediate success and began a daily radio show, which lasted from 1927 to 1936. The radio show led to many well-paying engagements for the band throughout the midwestern states. In 1927, he graduated from
8340-722: The Italian cities of Stradella and Castelfidardo , with many small and medium size manufacturers especially at the latter. Castelfidardo honours the memory of Paolo Soprani who was one of the first large-scale producers. Maugein Freres has built accordions in the French town of Tulle since 1919, and the company is now the last complete-process manufacturer of accordions in France. German companies such as Hohner and Weltmeister made large numbers of accordions, but production diminished by
8479-539: The Milwaukee area were various Native American tribes: the Menominee , Fox , Mascouten , Sauk , Potawatomi , and Ojibwe (all Algic/Algonquian peoples), and the Ho-Chunk (Winnebago, a Siouan people). Many of these people had lived around Green Bay before migrating to the Milwaukee area about the time of European contact. In the second half of the 18th century, the Native Americans living near Milwaukee played
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#17328014342808618-594: The Mississippi in Indian Territory . Europeans arrived in the Milwaukee area before the 1833 Treaty of Chicago. French missionaries and traders first passed through the area in the late 17th and 18th centuries. Alexis Laframboise, coming from Michilimackinac (now in Michigan), settled a trading post in 1785 and is considered the first resident of European descent in the Milwaukee region. One story on
8757-586: The North side of Milwaukee. Milwaukee's East Side has attracted a population of Russians and other Eastern Europeans who began migrating in the 1990s, after the end of the Cold War . Many Hispanics of mostly Puerto Rican and Mexican heritage live on the south side of Milwaukee. During the first sixty years of the 20th century, Milwaukee was the major city in which the Socialist Party of America earned
8896-559: The Stradella bass system, such as tritone substitutions , become more accessible using a free-bass accordion. The accordion appeared in popular music from the 1900s to the 1960s. This half-century is often called the "golden age of the accordion". Five players, Pietro Frosini , the two brothers Count Guido Deiro and Pietro Deiro and Slovenian brothers Vilko Ovsenik and Slavko Avsenik , Charles Magnante were major influences at this time. Milwaukee Milwaukee ( / m ɪ l ˈ w ɔː k i / mil- WAW -kee )
9035-655: The US Country charts (No. 1) as well as its flip side, "At Mail Call Today" (No. 3) ** "Calcutta" also made the US R&B chart, reaching No. 10 Accordion Depends on configuration: Right-hand keyboard Left-hand keyboard Hand-pumped: Bandoneon , concertina , flutina , garmon , trikitixa , Indian harmonium , harmoneon Foot-pumped: Harmonium , reed organ Mouth-blown: Claviola , melodica , harmonica , Laotian khene , Chinese shēng , Japanese shō Electronic reedless instruments: Accordions (from 19th-century German Akkordeon , from Akkord —"musical chord, concord of sounds") are
9174-504: The United States include Steve Bach , Milton DeLugg , Orlando DiGirolamo , Angelo Di Pippo , Dominic Frontiere , Guy Klucevsek , Yuri Lemeshev , Frank Marocco , Dr. William Schimmel, John Serry Sr. , Lee Tomboulian , and Art Van Damme . French jazz accordionists include Richard Galliano , Bernard Lubat , and Vincent Peirani . Norwegian jazz accordionists include Asmund Bjørken , Stian Carstensen , Gabriel Fliflet , Frode Haltli , and Eivin One Pedersen . The constraints of
9313-582: The accordion can be plugged into a PA system or keyboard amplifier for live shows. Some 2010s-era accordions may incorporate MIDI sensors and circuitry , enabling the accordion to be plugged into a synth module and produce accordion sounds or other synthesized instrument sounds, such as piano or organ. Accordions have many configurations and types. What may be easy to do with one type of accordion could be technically challenging or impossible with another, and proficiency with one layout may not translate to another. The most obvious difference between accordions
9452-448: The area which only showed Kilbourntown, implying Juneautown did not exist or the river's east side was uninhabited and thus undesirable. The third prominent developer was George H. Walker. He claimed land to the south of the Milwaukee River, along with Juneautown, where he built a log house in 1834. This area grew and became known as Walker's Point. The first large wave of settlement to the areas that would later become Milwaukee County and
9591-509: The bellows to keep it securely closed when the instrument is not being played. In the 2010s, a range of electronic and digital accordions were introduced. They have an electronic sound module which creates the accordion sound, and most use MIDI systems to encode the keypresses and transmit them to the sound module. A digital accordion can have hundreds of sounds, which can include different types of accordions and even non-accordion sounds, such as pipe organ, piano, or guitar. Sensors are used on
9730-530: The body. Valves on opposing reeds of each note are used to make the instrument's reeds sound louder without air leaking from each reed block. The accordion is widely spread across the world because of the waves of migration from Europe to the Americas and other regions. In some countries (for example: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Panama) it is used in popular music (for example: Chamamé in Argentina; gaucho, forró , and sertanejo in Brazil; vallenato in Colombia; merengue in
9869-401: The bubbles wafting across the musicians' faces and instruments for the entire hour. Within a year, the bubble machine was retired except for the opening and closing "Champagne Music" selections. Whenever the orchestra played a polka or waltz, Welk himself would dance with the band's female vocalist, the "Champagne Lady". This was a long-standing tradition in the Welk band; the first Champagne Lady
10008-414: The buttons and keys, such as magnetic reed switches. Sensors are also used on the bellows to transmit the pushing and pulling of the bellows to the sound module. Digital accordions may have features not found in acoustic instruments, such as a piano-style sustain pedal , a modulation control for changing keys, and a portamento effect. As an electronic instrument, these types of accordions are plugged into
10147-692: The city since the turn of the 21st century include the Wisconsin Center , American Family Field , The Hop streetcar system , an expansion to the Milwaukee Art Museum , Milwaukee Repertory Theater , the Bradley Symphony Center , and Discovery World , as well as major renovations to the UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena . Fiserv Forum opened in late 2018, and hosts sporting events and concerts. Milwaukee
10286-605: The city's total population of 373,857. Milwaukee has a strong Greek Orthodox Community, many of whom attend the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church on Milwaukee's northwest side, designed by Wisconsin-born architect Frank Lloyd Wright . Milwaukee has a sizable Croatian population, with Croatian churches and their own historic and successful soccer club The Croatian Eagles at the 30-acre Croatian Park in Franklin, Wisconsin. Milwaukee also has
10425-504: The city, but in Milwaukee County, they number at 38,286. The largest Italian-American festival in the area, Festa Italiana , is held in the city, while Irishfest is the largest Irish-American festival in southeast Wisconsin. By 1910, Milwaukee shared the distinction with New York City of having the largest percentage of foreign-born residents in the United States. In 1910, European descendants ("Whites") represented 99.7% of
10564-497: The complex and delicate nature of the internal parts of an accordion. Various hybrid accordions have been created between instruments of different buttonboards and actions. Many remain curiosities – only a few have remained in use: The most expensive accordions are typically fully hand-made, particularly the reeds; completely hand-made reeds have a better tonal quality than even the best automatically manufactured ones. Some accordions have been modified by individuals striving to bring
10703-403: The distinctive traits of Milwaukee's residential areas are the neighborhoods full of so-called Polish flats . These are two- family homes with separate entrances, but with the units stacked one on top of another instead of side-by-side. This arrangement enables a family of limited means to purchase both a home and a modestly priced rental apartment unit. Since Polish-American immigrants to
10842-479: The early 20th century, West Allis (1902), and West Milwaukee (1906) were added, which completed the first generation of "inner-ring" suburbs. In the 1920s, Chicago gangster activity came north to Milwaukee during the Prohibition era . Al Capone , noted Chicago mobster, owned a home in the Milwaukee suburb Brookfield , where moonshine was made. The house still stands on a street named after Capone. In
10981-644: The early 60s, were in Billboard ' s top ten; nine more albums produced between 1956 and 1963 were in the top twenty. His albums continued to chart through 1973. Welk was adamant on providing wholesome entertainment. For example, he fired Alice Lon , at the time the show's "Champagne Lady," because he believed she was showing too much leg. Welk told the audience that he would not tolerate such " cheesecake " performances on his show. A torrent of fan mail indicated that viewers opposed Lon's firing. Welk relented and offered Lon her job back, but Lon refused. He then had
11120-622: The end of the 20th century. Hohner still manufactures its top-end models in Germany, and Weltmeister instruments are still handmade by HARMONA Akkordeon GmbH in Klingenthal . The accordion has traditionally been used to perform folk or ethnic music , popular music, and transcriptions from the operatic and light-classical music repertoire. It was also used by the Kikuyu tribe in Kenya and
11259-455: The entire run, musical numbers were divided fairly evenly between prerecorded lip- and finger-sync performances and those recorded live on film or tape. Generally, the big production numbers featuring dancing and singing performances were recorded earlier in the day or the day before, often at famous recording studios in and around nearby Hollywood, while the more intimate numbers were recorded live on tape or film. After retiring from his show and
11398-509: The factories of the two masters were producing 10,000 instruments a year. By 1866, over 50,000 instruments were being produced yearly by Tula and neighbouring villages, and by 1874 the yearly production was over 700,000. By the 1860s, Novgorod , Vyatka and Saratov governorates also had significant accordion production. By the 1880s, the list included Oryol , Ryazan , Moscow , Tver , Vologda , Kostroma , Nizhny Novgorod and Simbirsk , and many of these places created their own varieties of
11537-570: The fall of 1958 and was renamed The Plymouth Show , which ended in May 1959. During that time, the Saturday show was also known as The Dodge Dancing Party . During this period, the networks were in the process of eliminating programming that was seen as having either too old an audience, did not appeal to urban residents, or both (the so-called Rural Purge ). As The Lawrence Welk Show fit into this category, ABC ended its run in 1971. Welk thanked ABC and
11676-484: The family farm. Welk decided on a career in music and persuaded his father to buy a mail-order accordion for $ 400 (equivalent to $ 6,084 in 2023). He promised his father that he would work on the farm until he was 21, in repayment for the accordion. Any money he made elsewhere during that time, doing farmwork or performing, would go to his family. Welk became an iconic figure in the German-Russian community of
11815-592: The fifth-largest Polish population in the U.S. at 45,467, ranking behind New York City (211,203), Chicago (165,784), Los Angeles (60,316) and Philadelphia (52,648). The city holds Polish Fest , an annual celebration of Polish culture and cuisine . In addition to the Germans and Poles, Milwaukee received a large influx of other European immigrants from Lithuania , Italy , Ireland , France , Russia , Bohemia , and Sweden , who included Jews , Lutherans , and Catholics . Italian Americans total 16,992 in
11954-644: The final year of production of the show. Whenever a Dixieland tune was scheduled, Welk harked back to his days with the Hotsy Totsy Boys and enthusiastically led the band. Befitting the target audience, the type of music on The Lawrence Welk Show was conservative, concentrating on popular music standards, show tunes , polkas , and novelty songs , delivered in a smooth, calm, good-humored easy-listening style and "family-oriented" manner. Although described by one critic, Canadian journalist and entertainment editor Frank Rasky, as "the squarest music this side of Euclid ", this strategy proved commercially successful, and
12093-608: The first election was held in Milwaukee; the number of votes cast was 39. By 1840, the three towns had grown, along with their rivalries. There were intense battles between the towns, mainly Juneautown and Kilbourntown, which culminated with the Milwaukee Bridge War of 1845. Following the Bridge War, on January 31, 1846, the towns were combined to incorporate as the City of Milwaukee, and elected Solomon Juneau as Milwaukee's first mayor. Milwaukee began to grow as
12232-684: The highest votes. Milwaukee elected three mayors who ran on the ticket of the Socialist Party: Emil Seidel (1910–1912), Daniel Hoan (1916–1940), and Frank Zeidler (1948–1960). Often referred to as " Sewer Socialists ", the Milwaukee Socialists were characterized by their practical approach to government and labor. In 1892, Whitefish Bay , South Milwaukee , and Wauwatosa were incorporated. They were followed by Cudahy (1895), North Milwaukee (1897) and East Milwaukee, later known as Shorewood , in 1900. In
12371-476: The instrument. The accordion is one of several European inventions of the early 19th century that use free reeds driven by a bellows. An instrument called accordion was first patented in 1829 by Cyrill Demian in Vienna . Demian's instrument bore little resemblance to modern instruments. It only had a left hand buttonboard, with the right hand simply operating the bellows. One key feature for which Demian sought
12510-447: The large number of German immigrants it received, but for the sense of community which the immigrants established here. Most German immigrants came to Wisconsin in search of inexpensive farmland. However, immigration began to change in character and size in the late 1840s and early 1850s, due to the 1848 revolutionary movements in Europe . After 1848, hopes for a united Germany had failed, and revolutionary and radical Germans, known as
12649-563: The largest Polish settlements in the USA . For many residents, Milwaukee's South Side is synonymous with the Polish community that developed here. The group maintained a high profile here for decades, and it was not until the 1950s and 1960s that families began to disperse to the southern suburbs. By 1850, there were seventy-five Poles in Milwaukee County and the US Census shows they had
12788-474: The largest cities in the United States. Its population peaked at 741,324. In 1960, the Census Bureau reported city's population as 91.1% white and 8.4% black. By the late 1960s, Milwaukee's population had started to decline as people moved to suburbs, aided by ease of highways and offering the advantages of less crime, new housing, and lower taxation. Milwaukee had a population of 594,833 by 2010, while
12927-414: The left hand, opposite to the way that contemporary chromatic hand harmonicas were played, small and light enough for travelers to take with them and used to accompany singing. The patent also described instruments with both bass and treble sections, although Demian preferred the bass-only instrument owing to its cost and weight advantages. The accordion was introduced from Germany into Britain in about
13066-510: The left-hand keyboard, which is normally used for playing the accompaniment. These usually use distinct bass buttons and often have buttons with concavities or studs to help the player navigate the layout despite not being able to see the buttons while playing. There are three general categories: Inside the accordion are the reeds that generate the instrument tones. These are organized in different sounding banks , which can be further combined into registers producing differing timbres . All but
13205-531: The melody–accompaniment duality. The harmoneon is also related and, while having the descant vs. melody dualism, tries to make it less pronounced. The harmonium and American reed organ are in the same family, but are typically larger than an accordion and sit on a surface or the floor. The accordion is played by compressing or expanding the bellows while pressing buttons or keys , causing pallets to open, which allow air to flow across strips of brass or steel, called reeds . These vibrate to produce sound inside
13344-583: The more rhythmic and assertive "hot" bands of artists like Benny Goodman and Duke Ellington ). Initially, the band traveled around the country by car. They were too poor to rent rooms, so they usually slept and changed clothes in their cars. The term champagne music was derived from an engagement at the William Penn Hotel in Pittsburgh , after a dancer referred to his band's sound as "light and bubbly as champagne." The hotel also lays claim to
13483-502: The name is derived from mahn-ah-wauk , a Potawatomi word for "council grounds". Some sources have claimed that Milwaukee stems from an Algonquian word meaning "the good land", popularized by a line by Alice Cooper in the 1992 comedy film Wayne's World . The name of the future city was spelled in many ways prior to 1844. People living west of the Milwaukee River preferred the modern-day spelling, while those east of
13622-433: The next "tipo a mano" ("like hand-made"), lower grades including "export" and several more. Price is also affected by the use of costly woods, luxury decorations, and features such as a palm switch, grille mute, and so on. Some accordion makers sell a range of different models, from a less-expensive base model to a more costly luxury model. Typically, the register switches are described as Reeds: 5 + 3 , meaning five reeds on
13761-571: The northern Great Plains—his success story personified the American dream. Welk did not learn to speak English until he was 21; he never felt comfortable speaking in public. To the day he died, his English had a marked German accent. On his 21st birthday, having fulfilled his promise to his father, Welk left the family farm to pursue a career in music. During the 1920s, he performed with various bands before forming an orchestra. He led big bands in North Dakota and eastern South Dakota , including
13900-531: The number 1 position, and it kept the Miracles' " Shop Around " from becoming the group's first number-1 hit, holding their recording at number 2. It sold more than one million copies and was awarded a gold disc . The album Calcutta! also achieved number-one status. The albums Last Date , Yellow Bird , Moon River , Young World and Baby Elephant Walk and Theme from the Brothers Grimm , produced in
14039-477: The only known armed conflict in Chicago. This battle convinced the American government to remove these groups of Native Americans from their indigenous land. After being attacked in the Black Hawk War in 1832, the Native Americans in Milwaukee signed the 1833 Treaty of Chicago with the United States. In exchange for ceding their lands in the area, they were to receive monetary payments and lands west of
14178-581: The origin of Milwaukee's name says, [O]ne day during the thirties of the last century [1800s] a newspaper calmly changed the name to Milwaukee, and Milwaukee it has remained until this day. The spelling "Milwaukie" lives on in Milwaukie , Oregon , named after the Wisconsin city in 1847, before the current spelling was universally accepted. Milwaukee has three " founding fathers ": Solomon Juneau , Byron Kilbourn , and George H. Walker . Solomon Juneau
14317-416: The original "bubble machine," a prop left over from a 1920s movie premiere. Welk described his band's sound, saying, "We still play music with the champagne style, which means light and rhythmic. We place the stress on melody; the chords are played pretty much the way the composer wrote them. We play with a steady beat so dancers can follow it." Welk's big band performed across the country, but particularly in
14456-582: The patent was the sounding of an entire chord by depressing one key. His instrument also could sound two different chords with the same key, one for each bellows direction (a bisonoric action). At that time in Vienna, mouth harmonicas with Kanzellen (chambers) had already been available for many years, along with bigger instruments driven by hand bellows. The diatonic key arrangement was also already in use on mouth-blown instruments. Demian's patent thus covered an accompanying instrument: an accordion played with
14595-605: The piano accordion which included arrangements by John Serry for the U. S. School of Music in New York City in 1953, The school was founded in 1898 and was described years later as the oldest home study music school chartered by the Board of Regents in New York State with a total worldwide enrollment of over one million students. In addition to the above-mentioned "Spiked Beer", Welk's territory band made occasional trips to Richmond, Indiana, and to Grafton, Wisconsin, to record
14734-484: The population of the overall metropolitan area increased. Given its large immigrant population and historic neighborhoods, Milwaukee avoided the severe declines of some of its fellow " Rust Belt " cities. Since the 1980s, the city has begun to make strides in improving its economy, neighborhoods, and image, resulting in the revitalization of neighborhoods such as the Historic Third Ward , Lincoln Village ,
14873-410: The production crew engineered a "bubble machine" that spouted streams of large bubbles across the bandstand. While the bubble machine was originally engineered to produce soap bubbles, complaints from the band members about soapy build-ups on their instruments led to the machine being reworked to produce glycerine bubbles instead. During the show's first year, the bubble machine operated continuously, with
15012-644: The rebel Continentals. After the American Revolutionary War , the Native Americans fought the United States in the Northwest Indian War as part of the Council of Three Fires . During the War of 1812 , they held a council in Milwaukee in June 1812, which resulted in their decision to attack Chicago in retaliation against American expansion. This resulted in the Battle of Fort Dearborn on August 15, 1812,
15151-482: The reed bank on the bass side. In describing or pricing an accordion, the first factor is size, expressed in number of keys on either side. For a piano type, this could for one example be 37/96, meaning 37 treble keys (three octaves plus one note) on the treble side and 96 bass keys. A second aspect of size is the width of the white keys, which means that even accordions with the same number of keys have keyboards of different lengths, ranging from 14 inches (36 cm) for
15290-464: The river often called it Milwaukie . Other spellings included Melleokii (1679), Millioki (1679), Meleki (1684), Milwarik (1699), Milwacky (1761), Milwakie (1779), Millewackie (1817), Milwahkie (1820), and Milwalky (1821). The Milwaukee Sentinel used Milwaukie in its headline until it switched to Milwaukee on November 30, 1844. Indigenous cultures lived along the waterways for thousands of years. The first recorded inhabitants of
15429-480: The road in 1982, Welk continued to air reruns of his shows, which were repackaged first for syndication and, starting in 1986, for public television. He also starred in and produced a pair of Christmas specials in 1984 and 1985. Welk was a businessman and subsequent to his marriage in 1930, he was the manager of a hotel, restaurant, and music store. In the late 1950s, he founded Teleklew Inc., which had investments in music publishing , recordings, and real estate. In
15568-441: The role of breathing for a singer. The bellows is located between the right- and left-hand keyboards, and is made from pleated layers of cloth and cardboard, with added leather and metal. It is used to create pressure and vacuum, driving air across the internal reeds and producing sound by their vibrations, applied pressure increases the volume. The keyboard touch is not expressive and does not affect dynamics : all expression
15707-469: The show began being recorded on videotape , and it switched to color for the fall 1965 season. During its network run, The Lawrence Welk Show aired on ABC on Saturday nights at 9 p.m. ( Eastern Time ), moving up a half-hour to 8:30 p.m. in the fall of 1963. In fact, Welk headlined two weekly prime-time shows on ABC for three years. From 1956 to 1958, he hosted Top Tunes and New Talent , which aired on Monday nights. The series moved to Wednesdays in
15846-471: The show remained on the air for 31 years. Welk's musicians included accordionist Myron Floren , the concert violinist Dick Kesner , the guitarist Buddy Merrill, and the New Orleans Dixieland clarinetist Pete Fountain . Though Welk was occasionally rumored to be tight with a dollar, he paid his regular band members top scale. Long tenure was common among the regulars. For example, Floren
15985-496: The single mocked Welk's accordion work, his sometimes-stumbling patter between songs and the music of such Welk favorites Rocky Rockwell ("Stony Stonedwell"), Champagne Lady Alice Lon ("Alice Lean") and Larry Hooper ("Larry Looper"). Welk was not amused, and when he met Freberg years later, claimed he never used the "Wunnerful! Wunnerful!" term. Ironically, it became the title of Welk's 1971 autobiography. Despite its staid reputation, The Lawrence Welk Show nonetheless kept up with
16124-522: The smaller accordions are equipped with switches that control which combination of reed banks operate, organized from high to low registers . Each register stop produces a separate sound timbre, many of which also differ in octaves or in how different octaves are combined. See the accordion reed ranks and switches article for further explanation and audio samples. All but the smaller accordions usually have treble switches. The larger and more expensive accordions often also have bass switches to give options for
16263-409: The song, he (Cates) would. Welk replied, "Well, if it's good enough for you, George, I guess it's good enough for me." Although the rock-and-roll explosion in the mid-1950s had driven most older artists off the charts, "Calcutta" reached number 1 on the U.S. pop charts between February 13 and 26, 1961; it was recorded in only one take. The tune knocked The Shirelles' " Will You Love Me Tomorrow " out of
16402-512: The sponsors at the end of the last network show. The Lawrence Welk Show continued on as a first-run syndicated program shown on 250 stations across the country until the final original show was produced in 1982, when Welk decided to retire. While many longtime TV shows suffered a serious ratings drop during the counterculture movement of the late 1960s , The Lawrence Welk Show survived largely intact and even had increased viewership during this time, albeit consisting of mostly older viewers. For
16541-423: The television show has been repackaged for broadcast on PBS stations, with updates from show performers appearing as wraparounds where the original shows had commercial breaks. The repackaged shows are broadcast at roughly the same Saturday night time slot as the original ABC shows, and special longer rebroadcasts are often shown during individual stations' fund-raising periods. These repackaged shows are produced by
16680-404: The third wave from 1880 to 1893 came from Northeastern Germany . In the 1840s, the number of people who left German-speaking lands was 385,434, in the 1850s it reached 976,072, and an all-time high of 1.4 million immigrated in the 1880s. In 1890, the 2.78 million first-generation German Americans represented the second-largest foreign-born group in the United States. Of all those who left
16819-593: The times and never limited itself strictly to music of the big-band era. During the 1960s and 1970s, for instance, the show incorporated material by such contemporary sources as the Beatles , Burt Bacharach and Hal David , Neil Sedaka , the Everly Brothers and Paul Williams (as well as, in the most notorious example, Brewer & Shipley ), all arranged in a format that was easily digestible to older viewers. Originally produced in black and white , in 1957
16958-596: The treble side and three on the bass, and Registers: 13 + M, 7 , meaning 13 register buttons on the treble side plus a special "master" that activates all ranks, like the "tutti" or "full organ" switch on an organ, and seven register switches on the bass side. Another factor affecting the price is the presence of electronics, such as condenser microphones, volume and tone controls, or MIDI sensors and connections. The larger piano and chromatic button accordions are usually heavier than other smaller squeezeboxes , and are equipped with two shoulder straps to make it easier to balance
17097-635: The use of marijuana, as a "modern spiritual"; social conservatives of the era saw the song as subversive and it became the first casualty of an attempt by the Federal Communications Commission to get radio stations to ban all pro-drug songs. Later in the 1970s, however, Welk's programs often included current adult contemporary songs performed by his singers, including " Feelings " and " Love Will Keep Us Together " (made famous by Morris Albert and Captain & Tennille , respectively), and current songs were included up through 1982,
17236-620: The volume of the right-hand keyboard and the left-hand buttons can be independently adjusted. Acoustic-digital hybrid accordions also exist. They are acoustic accordions (with reeds, bellows, and so on), but they also contain sensors, electronics, and MIDI connections, which provides a wider range of sound options. An acoustic-digital hybrid may be manufactured in this form, or it may be an acoustic accordion which has had aftermarket electronics sensors and connections added. Several companies sell aftermarket electronics kits, but they are typically installed by professional accordion technicians, because of
17375-701: The war in Bosnia-Herzegovina . During this time, a small community of African Americans migrated from the South in the Great Migration . They settled near each other, forming a community that came to be known as Bronzeville . As industry boomed, more migrants came, and African-American influence grew in Milwaukee. By 1925, around 9,000 Mexicans lived in Milwaukee, but the Great Depression forced many of them to move back south. In
17514-408: The weight and increase bellows control while sitting, and avoid dropping the instrument while standing. Other accordions, such as the diatonic button accordion , have only a single shoulder strap and a right hand thumb strap. All accordions have a (mostly adjustable) leather strap on the left-hand side to keep the player's hand in position while drawing the bellows. There are also straps above and below
17653-520: The whole social atmosphere as in 'German Athens of America' as Milwaukee was called at the time." Schurz was referring to the various clubs and societies Germans developed in Milwaukee. The pattern of German immigrants settling near each other encouraged the continuation of the German lifestyle and customs. This resulted in German language organizations that encompassed all aspects of life; for example, singing societies and gymnastics clubs. Germans also had
17792-557: The year 1828. The instrument was noted in The Times in 1831 as one new to British audiences and was not favourably reviewed, but nevertheless it soon became popular. It had also become popular with New Yorkers by the mid-1840s. After Demian's invention, other accordions appeared, some featuring only the right-handed keyboard for playing melodies. It took English inventor Charles Wheatstone to bring both chords and keyboard together in one squeezebox. His 1844 patent for what he called
17931-473: Was Lois Best (1939 to 1941), followed during the war years by Jayne Walton. Beginning with the Welk show's freshman year, Welk was careful to program current songs in addition to the traditional big-band standards. The Boyd Bennett rock-and-roll hit "My Boy Flat Top" was featured on two different programs (November 26, 1955 and December 10, 1955, the latter featuring Buddy Merrill on electric guitar). The policy
18070-514: Was a first cousin, once removed, of former Montana governor Brian Schweitzer (Welk's mother and Schweitzer's paternal grandmother were siblings). Welk's paternal great-great-grandparents, Moritz and Magdalena Welk, emigrated in 1808 from Germanophone Alsace-Lorraine to Ukraine . The family lived on a homestead that is now a tourist attraction. They spent the cold North Dakota winter of their first year inside an upturned wagon covered in sod. Welk left school during fourth grade to work full-time on
18209-429: Was awarded four U.S. design patents for a musically themed restaurant menu, an accordion-themed tray for serving food at a restaurant, and an accordion-themed ashtray. Welk was married for 61 years, until his death in 1992, to Fern Renner (August 26, 1903 – February 13, 2002), with whom he had two daughters and a son. His son, Lawrence Welk Jr., married and divorced fellow Lawrence Welk Show performer Tanya Falan . Welk
18348-534: Was broadcast from the Aragon Ballroom in Venice Beach . The show became a local hit and was picked up by ABC in June 1955. By 1956, Welk also signed with Ben Selvin at RCA Thesaurus for broadcasts of his "New Lawrence Welk Show" on leading national radio networks. During its first year on the air, the Welk hour instituted several regular features. To make Welk's "Champagne Music" tagline visual,
18487-535: Was discovered in 2006 that appears to have been built earlier. The earliest history of the accordion in Russia is poorly documented. Nevertheless, according to Russian researchers, the earliest known simple accordions were made in Tula, Russia , by Ivan Sizov and Timofey Vorontsov around 1830, after they received an early accordion from Germany. By the late 1840s, the instrument was already very widespread; together
18626-873: Was inducted as a charter member of the Rough Rider Award from his native North Dakota . In 1967, he received the Horatio Alger Award from the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans . He later served as the Grand Marshal for the Rose Bowl 's Tournament of Roses parade in 1972. Welk received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement in 1980. In 1994, Welk
18765-690: Was inducted into the International Polka Music Hall of Fame. Welk has a star for recording on the Hollywood Walk of Fame , located at 6613½ Hollywood Boulevard. He has a second star at 1601 Vine Street for television. In 2007, Welk became a charter member of the Gennett Records Walk of Fame in Richmond, Indiana . Welk's band continues to appear in a dedicated theater in Branson, Missouri . In addition,
18904-547: Was relaxed over the next year, with new songs still being included but now being treated as novelty arrangements. In the December 8, 1956 broadcast, "Nuttin' for Christmas" became a vehicle for Rocky Rockwell dressed in a child's outfit, and Elvis Presley 's " Don't Be Cruel " was sung by the violinist Bob Lido , wearing fake Presley-style sideburns . In another episode, the Lennon Sisters and Norma Zimmer performed
19043-589: Was survived by 10 grandchildren and a great-grandchild. His grandson Lawrence Welk III is a helicopter pilot who worked with Zoey Tur . A devout Roman Catholic , Welk was a daily communicant . He was a noted member of The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks . He died of pneumonia on May 17, 1992, at age 89, at his Santa Monica home, surrounded by his family. He was buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California . In 1961, Welk
19182-443: Was the band's assistant conductor throughout the show's run. He was noted for spotlighting individual members of his band. Welk had a number of instrumental hits, including a cover of the song " Yellow Bird ". His highest-charting record was " Calcutta ", written by Heino Gaze , which achieved hit status in 1961. Welk himself was indifferent to the tune, but his musical director, George Cates , said that if Welk did not wish to record
19321-464: Was the first of the three to come to the area, in 1818. He founded a town called Juneau's Side, or Juneautown, that began attracting more settlers. In competition with Juneau, Byron Kilbourn established Kilbourntown west of the Milwaukee River . He ensured the roads running toward the river did not join with those on the east side. This accounts for the large number of angled bridges that still exist in Milwaukee today. Further, Kilbourn distributed maps of
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