Lawrence Welk has been a hero of mine since I turned 60. Does anyone know where I can buy the style of pipe he used? I find it to be much less loud than a Bing style pipe.
Lawrence Welk Pipe
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Welk as a musical hero.... there's something you don't hear everyday
I did a Googley search, and I couldn't find a picture of him with a pipe. Do you have one?
Yeh, I only ever remember seeing Lawrence Welk's show as I scanned past it looking for something good to watch, like Kojak or Baretta.
Yeh, I only ever remember seeing Lawrence Welk's show as I scanned past it looking for something good to watch, like Kojak or Baretta.
I couldn't find one picture of him smoking a pipe...........
Whatever it is I’m sure it’s wunnerful, wunnerful, wunnerful.
And now for a word from our sponsors, Geritol.
Used to watch his program on TV with my grandfather who never missed an episode if he had anything to say about it.
And now for a word from our sponsors, Geritol.
Used to watch his program on TV with my grandfather who never missed an episode if he had anything to say about it.
Milton Berle used to call cheap sticks Lawrence Welk cigars: “a piece of sh*t with a band around it”
Not sure about Lawrence Welk, but I never found the Bing style pipe to be “loud”. He “generally” preferred light-weight small bowl briars w/straight stems. Mastercraft was one of the brands, as well as Edward Kolpin’s hand made pipes… albeit, in a similar shape.
I think he was pretty martinet (extra controlling) with his talent. He did provide a kind of life boat for older TV viewers who were getting swamped by baby boomers and their rock and roll music, and he did preserve some of the big band musical scores, though in a rather stiff way. The "real" big bands in the forties had a lot of swing and considerable jazz chops. I was one of those kids who moaned and walked away when his folks tuned up Lawrence. Individual performers on his show had real talent, but it seemed pretty reigned in. I've never seen a photo or heard any mention of Welk smoking a pipe.
I admit to being a Big Band fan. I read a book about them by George Simon. In some ways the bands fell into three groups. The leaders were great musicians and great businessmen (Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman), great musicians and lousy businessmen (Bunny Berrigan), or good businessmen and mediocre musicians (Guy Lombardo, Lawrence Welk).
And man, Berrigan was incredible. He could hit the “high Z’s).
Would one call the music LW made, jazz? I thought he was mostly a polka and waltz guy.
Way before my time, but I enjoy and appreciate Big Bands as well, particularly around the holidays. We’ve worn out A Swinging Big Band Christmas, and other related CDs… All that you listed are noteworthy, as well as Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Artie Shaw, Harry James, Woody Herman, Gene Krupa, Claude Thornhill, Louis Armstrong… and the list gone on ?
My mother adored Lawrence Welk. She also liked "Hawaiian" music. There is no accounting for this in an otherwise discerning woman who could speak seven languages, including French, Greek and Latin, was well read, well informed, and smart in matters of business and investing.
I'm not sure, but I think the main reason for her liking Welk was that the sound of his peppy polka accordion playing would result in immediate and total evacuation of the rest of the household, a result not unlike Ex-Lax. On consideration, comparing the effect of Welk's vacuous music to a laxative doesn't seem all that much a stretch. Maybe that's what makes it so popular.
Make no mistake, Welk was wildly popular and successful.
I've never seen an image of Welk smoking a pipe, but then again, I've never done an image search on Welk, nor have I had occasion to deliberately extend any conscious awareness of his existence since leaving home in my teens.
As for a Welk pipe, I would imagine finding something that is pleasant and satisfying while having no distinctive character whatsoever. Maybe a bent billiard to emulate the curve of an accordion. Grabow or Dunhill should fit the bill.
I'm not sure, but I think the main reason for her liking Welk was that the sound of his peppy polka accordion playing would result in immediate and total evacuation of the rest of the household, a result not unlike Ex-Lax. On consideration, comparing the effect of Welk's vacuous music to a laxative doesn't seem all that much a stretch. Maybe that's what makes it so popular.
Make no mistake, Welk was wildly popular and successful.
I've never seen an image of Welk smoking a pipe, but then again, I've never done an image search on Welk, nor have I had occasion to deliberately extend any conscious awareness of his existence since leaving home in my teens.
As for a Welk pipe, I would imagine finding something that is pleasant and satisfying while having no distinctive character whatsoever. Maybe a bent billiard to emulate the curve of an accordion. Grabow or Dunhill should fit the bill.
I suppose Welk may have had a guest performer in instances, but most of the band and much of the other talent was part of his company and under strict control and strictures about their music or dancing, etc., as well as in aspects of their personal lives. It felt like every performer was tensed up for a job interview or out to lunch with the boss. Welk both provided careers for some who may not have had them otherwise, but also wrapped himself around performers who might have done more if they weren't so subjugated. All the intros and "banter" were scripted and rehearsed, it seemed. It was a real patriarchy. I don't think Welk and the band were jazz musicians at all, but since they drew on the big band music from the past, some jazz was in evidence, just not much sense or creativity of jazz. He did have one ragtime piano player, a woman, who broke out of the mold a little bit through shear energy. I wouldn't put Lawrence Welk in the big band category at all, nor in the jazz category, though he borrowed a lot from big band and a little from jazz, or maybe Dixieland and ragtime. Polka and waltz were probably his mainstays. And yes, commercially he was very successful. He knew what his specific audience wanted, and he enjoyed grinding it out season after season, replacing the parts of the machine, the performers, as needed. "His" people always spoke of him with respect; I never detected any warmth.
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I couldn't find the photo but saw him smoking one in a few episodes. I believe this one features a pipe about 40 mins. in:
Whoa. I wasn’t sure if that was Inspector Clousseau or Father Guido Sarducci.