Lawrence Welk Show Advertisement Sheet Music Collection
Collection
Identifier: Welk Mss 8
Scope and Content
The Lawrence Welk Show Advertisement Sheet Music Collection consists of music that was produced by Welk’s arrangers for the purpose of advertising products produced by the show’s sponsors. This includes the companies of Plymouth, Dodge, Aqua Velva, Chevrolet, Mutual of Omaha, and more. During the processing of the advertisement music, various loose uninventoried arrangements were discovered intermixed among them. They have been organized under the Other Music Series. It is unclear if they were used on the show, however they appear to have been produced by Welk’s hired arrangers. The Segment Themes Series are short musical interludes used on the television show during transition times between performances and sets. During the processing of this collection, it was determined to remove the conductor’s scores and house them separately in oversize boxes, due to their size. When using this collection, keep in mind to check the Score Series to see if a score exists for the arrangement of interest.
A more complete Excel inventory of this collection is available on an in-house only database:
S:\SLA\NDSU-Archives\Shared\Institute - Welk Collection\Lawrence Welk Advertisement Collection
This inventory includes the Performers, the number of parts for Rhythm, Strings, Woodwinds, Trumpets, Trombones, and any additional notes.
A more complete Excel inventory of this collection is available on an in-house only database:
S:\SLA\NDSU-Archives\Shared\Institute - Welk Collection\Lawrence Welk Advertisement Collection
This inventory includes the Performers, the number of parts for Rhythm, Strings, Woodwinds, Trumpets, Trombones, and any additional notes.
Dates
- 1950s-1980s
Access
The collection is open under the rules and regulations of the NDSU Archives.
Copyrights
Copyrights to items in this collection held by the creator or are in public domain.
Biography
Lawrence Welk was born on March 11, 1903 in Strasburg, North Dakota to Ludwig and Christine
(Schwahn) Welk. Ludwig and Christina immigrated to America from Russia, arriving in New York in
1893. They traveled by rail to Eureka, South Dakota, where they acquired a wagon and a team of oxen for
their trek northward to Emmons County, North Dakota and settled on a farm near Strasburg. There were
eight children in all in the Welk family. Born in the sod house still standing on the homestead were Barbara (1895), Anna Mary (1896), Louie (1898). Agatha (1900), Lawrence (1903), Michael (1905), and
Eva (1909).
Lawrence Welk received his first accordion at the age of seventeen. On March 11, 1924, his twenty-first birthdayhe left home and went to Aberdeen, S.D. looking for work as a musician. The only paying position he could find was with a children‟s band called the Jazzy Junior Five. He went to Bismarck, N.D. in hopes of finding more fulfilling engagements, but after a few weeks with little success, returned to Aberdeen where he teamed up with drummer Frank Schalk. In fall 1924 he met Chicago bandleader Lincoln Boulds at a concert in Watertown, S.D. and was hired for $35 a week each. In September 1925, he met vaudevillian actor George T. Kelly, who persuaded Welk to join his traveling group, the Peerless Entertainers. When Kelly became too ill to perform in spring 1927, Welk enlisted two other Peerless entertainers, drummer Johnny Higgins and saxophonist Howard Kieser, to go to Bismarck. In the capital city, they added pianist Art Beal and formed Lawrence Welk and his Novelty Orchestra. They performed at dances in the region.
Later at Yankton, S.D. he persuaded the radio station owner at WNAX to audition the band. Soon they were given a long-term contract. Because of his Yankton radio program, Welk‟s „biggest little band in America‟ became a favorite dance band throughout the Dakotas, Iowa, Nebraska and Minnesota, under the names „Hotsy Totsy Boys‟ and „Honolulu Fruit Gum Orchestra.‟ From 1930 to 1935 he traveled with his band from Omaha to Akron, from Lake Placid to Phoenix. There was a notable eight-month stop at the Dallas Main Peak Hotel. Then came small hotels, bigger ballrooms, the resort circuit from Denver in the summer to Lake Placid in the winter. His music exposure continued to bigger hotels and in 1938 that Welk has risen to the name-band level and was playing his „Champagne Music‟ with his first „Champagne Lady‟ in the William Penn Hotel in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. He also performed on Mutual network radio, performed at San Francisco and Los Angeles ballrooms. In 1939 the Welk orchestra started a long run at the Trianon Ballroom in Chicago which became his home base. Welk and his orchestra and became one of the big bands of the 1940s.
Lawrence Welk married Fern Renner, also of German Russian heritage April 18, 1931. She was born on Aug. 26, 1903 in St. Anthony, N.D., in St. Anthony, North Dakota. She was the thirteenth of fourteen children born to immigrant parents Mathias and Elizabeth Renner. When in training to become a nurse in Yankton, S.D. she went to one of his radio broadcasts. After the show he introduced himself. It was three years later that they were married. The family put down year-long roots in cities like Omaha, Denver, Pittsburgh and Dallas, where she raised their three young children, Shirley, Donna and Larry. For almost the first two decades of her marriage, she was essentially a single parent as Lawrence‟s work, of necessity, took him through many states within a few weeks. They finally settled in Chicago and bought their first home where they remained for eight years, before moving to California.
Welk moved to Los Angeles, California in 1951 where he and his orchestra performed at the Aragon Ballroom and also local television station KTLA. For almost four years Welk had Los Angeles‟ highest rated TV show. In July 1955 the national break came on ABC-TV. Welk at 52 had hit the big time. By 1957 “The Lawrence Welk Show” had become one of the nation‟s top ten TV shows and was „Mr. Wonderful‟ to an estimated audience of 37 million Americans. The show was aired on ABC for sixteen years, followed by eleven years in syndication. The last show was taped in 1982. Several specials aired on national television in 1984 and 1985, before „The Lawrence Welk Show‟ began its run on public television stations across the country in October 1987 and where it still can be seen today.
After his retirement Lawrence and Fern Welk continued to live in Santa Monica, California. Lawrence Welk died there on May 17, 1992. Fern Welk died February 13, 2002 in Santa Monica, California.
Lawrence Welk received his first accordion at the age of seventeen. On March 11, 1924, his twenty-first birthdayhe left home and went to Aberdeen, S.D. looking for work as a musician. The only paying position he could find was with a children‟s band called the Jazzy Junior Five. He went to Bismarck, N.D. in hopes of finding more fulfilling engagements, but after a few weeks with little success, returned to Aberdeen where he teamed up with drummer Frank Schalk. In fall 1924 he met Chicago bandleader Lincoln Boulds at a concert in Watertown, S.D. and was hired for $35 a week each. In September 1925, he met vaudevillian actor George T. Kelly, who persuaded Welk to join his traveling group, the Peerless Entertainers. When Kelly became too ill to perform in spring 1927, Welk enlisted two other Peerless entertainers, drummer Johnny Higgins and saxophonist Howard Kieser, to go to Bismarck. In the capital city, they added pianist Art Beal and formed Lawrence Welk and his Novelty Orchestra. They performed at dances in the region.
Later at Yankton, S.D. he persuaded the radio station owner at WNAX to audition the band. Soon they were given a long-term contract. Because of his Yankton radio program, Welk‟s „biggest little band in America‟ became a favorite dance band throughout the Dakotas, Iowa, Nebraska and Minnesota, under the names „Hotsy Totsy Boys‟ and „Honolulu Fruit Gum Orchestra.‟ From 1930 to 1935 he traveled with his band from Omaha to Akron, from Lake Placid to Phoenix. There was a notable eight-month stop at the Dallas Main Peak Hotel. Then came small hotels, bigger ballrooms, the resort circuit from Denver in the summer to Lake Placid in the winter. His music exposure continued to bigger hotels and in 1938 that Welk has risen to the name-band level and was playing his „Champagne Music‟ with his first „Champagne Lady‟ in the William Penn Hotel in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. He also performed on Mutual network radio, performed at San Francisco and Los Angeles ballrooms. In 1939 the Welk orchestra started a long run at the Trianon Ballroom in Chicago which became his home base. Welk and his orchestra and became one of the big bands of the 1940s.
Lawrence Welk married Fern Renner, also of German Russian heritage April 18, 1931. She was born on Aug. 26, 1903 in St. Anthony, N.D., in St. Anthony, North Dakota. She was the thirteenth of fourteen children born to immigrant parents Mathias and Elizabeth Renner. When in training to become a nurse in Yankton, S.D. she went to one of his radio broadcasts. After the show he introduced himself. It was three years later that they were married. The family put down year-long roots in cities like Omaha, Denver, Pittsburgh and Dallas, where she raised their three young children, Shirley, Donna and Larry. For almost the first two decades of her marriage, she was essentially a single parent as Lawrence‟s work, of necessity, took him through many states within a few weeks. They finally settled in Chicago and bought their first home where they remained for eight years, before moving to California.
Welk moved to Los Angeles, California in 1951 where he and his orchestra performed at the Aragon Ballroom and also local television station KTLA. For almost four years Welk had Los Angeles‟ highest rated TV show. In July 1955 the national break came on ABC-TV. Welk at 52 had hit the big time. By 1957 “The Lawrence Welk Show” had become one of the nation‟s top ten TV shows and was „Mr. Wonderful‟ to an estimated audience of 37 million Americans. The show was aired on ABC for sixteen years, followed by eleven years in syndication. The last show was taped in 1982. Several specials aired on national television in 1984 and 1985, before „The Lawrence Welk Show‟ began its run on public television stations across the country in October 1987 and where it still can be seen today.
After his retirement Lawrence and Fern Welk continued to live in Santa Monica, California. Lawrence Welk died there on May 17, 1992. Fern Welk died February 13, 2002 in Santa Monica, California.
Extent
4.5 Linear Feet
Language of Materials
English
Overview
Full orchestra sheet music written and arranged for advertising purposes on the Lawrence Welk Show, 1951-1982
Provenance
Donated by Welk Group Inc., 1992.
Property rights
North Dakota State University owns the property rights to this collection.
- Title
- Finding Aid to the Lawrence Welk Show Advertisement Sheet Music Collection
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Institute for Regional Studies Repository
Contact:
West Building N
3551 7th Avenue North
Fargo North Dakota 58102 United States
ndsu.archives@ndsu.edu
West Building N
3551 7th Avenue North
Fargo North Dakota 58102 United States
ndsu.archives@ndsu.edu