# Who watches Lawrence Welk? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 28, 2018, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-watches-lawrence-welk/818752 "2018-07-28T23:40:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-watches-lawrence-welk/818752/41 "2018-07-29T08:20:19Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > That’s why my parents watched it. Welk was pretty much unique from about the mid-1960s on. If you liked big bands and standards, that was your one chance to see them on TV. > > So, while I can see the appeal to people like my parents, my parents would be over 100 years old today. I have trouble believing there are still enough people alive to justify it being shown even on PBS. Maybe one of those nostalgia networks like Antenna or Cozi. **Robot Arms’s** post and link to Benny Goodman with Gene Krupa addressed this but the saccharine-sweet version of big band jazz played by Welk were pallid examples of a once vibrant genre of music. Years ago, we had another thread on Welk here at the SDMB where I mentioned it was rather sad that a generation that grew up listening to people like Goodman, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Louie Armstrong, the Dorseys, Harry James, Artie Shaw, and Glenn Miller in the end listened to Welk since he was the only one left who played their type of music. On a related note, a long time ago I read a magazine article featuring an ad from the 1920s for an early hot jazz edition of Welk’s band. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-watches-lawrence-welk/818752/42 "2018-07-29T08:36:47Z")
> [@jaycat](#): > > [This clip](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLuVdSaxhoA&index=23&list=RDbMvqPffzDMQ) is actually pretty cool. Note the acoustic guitarist shown around 1:37. How could anyone hear him? He’s got a microphone, just like all the other players. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-watches-lawrence-welk/818752/43 "2018-07-29T08:59:44Z")
I wonder how many times they’ve replayed the one Welk show with the, umm, very interesting song, one that he apparently thought must be a Gospel or Spiritual number because the name Jesus is in the lyrics - “One Toke Over the Line” ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-watches-lawrence-welk/818752/44 "2018-07-29T12:29:25Z")
> [@DavidwithanR](#): > > I wonder how many times they’ve replayed the one Welk show with the, umm, very interesting song, one that he apparently thought must be a Gospel or Spiritual number because the name Jesus is in the lyrics - “One Toke Over the Line” 993,782 for that particular copy. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-watches-lawrence-welk/818752/45 "2018-07-29T12:31:41Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > He’s got a microphone, just like all the other players. Can you hear him? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-watches-lawrence-welk/818752/46 "2018-07-29T12:36:57Z")
_Qui vigilat vigilun-and-a-two …_ ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-watches-lawrence-welk/818752/47 "2018-07-29T12:39:20Z")
> [@DavidwithanR](#): > > I wonder how many times they’ve replayed the one Welk show with the, umm, very interesting song, one that he apparently thought must be a Gospel or Spiritual number because the name Jesus is in the lyrics - “One Toke Over the Line” That song is linked to in post #3. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-watches-lawrence-welk/818752/48 "2018-07-29T12:52:58Z")
I wonder how that song got considered for inclusion on the show in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-watches-lawrence-welk/818752/49 "2018-07-29T12:58:12Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > I wonder how that song got considered for inclusion on the show in the first place. Pertinent lyrics. > [@](#): > > One toke over the line **sweet Jesus** > One toke over the line > Sittin’ downtown in a railway station > One toke over the line > Awaitin’ for the train that goes home, **sweet Mary** > Hopin’ that the train is on time > Sittin’ downtown in a railway station > One toke over the line Hence Welk calling it a “modern spiritual”. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-watches-lawrence-welk/818752/50 "2018-07-29T13:16:41Z")
I watch it to catch a glimple of [Linda Ronstadt without any underwear on.](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=427923) ---
**Author:** ![LLCoolL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/llcooll/32/3596_2.png) [@LLCoolL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LLCoolL)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-watches-lawrence-welk/818752/51 "2018-07-29T13:24:42Z")
> [@River\_Hippie](#): > > I sometimes watch it but never listen to it. It’s on the TV with the sound turned off while I listen to music I like. I like the 50s-60s fashion and hairdos in a ha-ha look at what people thought was cool back in the day kind of way. I’ve tried to listen to the audio but can’t last more than about 30 seconds. It’s kind of weird when the music I’m listening to syncs with the video. And what is your favorite intoxicant to go along with this experience? P.S. Bonus points for the comment/user name synergy. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-watches-lawrence-welk/818752/52 "2018-07-29T13:26:30Z")
> [@jaycat](#): > > Can you hear him? I’ll admit that it’s hard to hear him distinctly. The sound quality on that video is not great, and the strumming is always synchronized with the bass and drums. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-watches-lawrence-welk/818752/53 "2018-07-29T13:26:52Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > In it’s heyday, I’d never say that big band music was passionless. Watch [this clip](https://youtu.be/GwPvLMlGWPI) with Gene Krupa on the drums and tell me if you think he’s holding anything back. The Welk Orchestra strikes me a something of a special case in terms of being a big band. The leader played the accordion, ferpetessake. How many charts did Fletcher Henderson write that used an accordion? How many lineups of Ellington, Basie, Goodman, Miller, Dorsey, Webb, Whitehead, Shaw, etc. even _had_ an accordion? It’s just not a swing instrument. And I dare say it makes any selection from the Great American Songbook sound like a polka. ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-watches-lawrence-welk/818752/54 "2018-07-29T13:30:56Z")
**Ray Conniff Lives!!** It’s very complicated, I would if I could however: When I stumble upon Lawrence Welk on PBS and my heart is flooded with memories. My parents and grandparents beloved aunts and uncles would watch on Saturday nights when I was a kid, that was their show and their music. Now at age 54 almost all of my family are gone and to tell you the truth I can’t watch the show for more than a few minutes before tears well up I was filled with much nostalgia and feelings of great loss. ---
**Author:** ![LLCoolL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/llcooll/32/3596_2.png) [@LLCoolL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LLCoolL)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-watches-lawrence-welk/818752/55 "2018-07-29T13:35:28Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > That’s why my parents watched it. Welk was pretty much unique from about the mid-1960s on. If you liked big bands and standards, that was your one chance to see them on TV. > > So, while I can see the appeal to people like my parents, my parents would be over 100 years old today. I have trouble believing there are still enough people alive to justify it being shown even on PBS. Maybe one of those nostalgia networks like Antenna or Cozi. My father watched it until he passed away in his mid-80s in 2011. Yeah, I think the audience for PBS reruns of this show must be dying off now. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-watches-lawrence-welk/818752/56 "2018-07-29T14:33:31Z")
> [@Jim\_s\_Son](#): > > Best reason to watch Lawrence Welk: Anacani > > [MEET THE LADIES: ANACANI](http://www.welkgirls.com/anacani.html) > [@terentii](#): > > How about Charlotte and her Cello? > > [http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YI7HTH0nuFM/Tbq6HYqUG6I/AAAAAAAAJkc/ENBFnFVlhic/s1600/shadish495.JPG](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YI7HTH0nuFM/Tbq6HYqUG6I/AAAAAAAAJkc/ENBFnFVlhic/s1600/shadish495.JPG) > > She spread her legs for Welk every week! 😃 Ah yes, Lawrence Welk, the soft-core porn of network television. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-watches-lawrence-welk/818752/57 "2018-07-29T14:55:43Z")
> [@DavidwithanR](#): > > I wonder how many times they’ve replayed the one Welk show with the, umm, very interesting song, one that he apparently thought must be a Gospel or Spiritual number because the name Jesus is in the lyrics - “One Toke Over the Line” **Funny tangentally-related story:** The guy I worked with in commercial radio in the '90s had been a DJ for Radio Moscow in the late '80s. He was able to slip Monty Python’s “Lumberjack Song” into his mix by telling his superiors it was about the ruthless capitalistic exploitation of ordinary Canadian workers.\* \*Yes, they were stupid enough to believe him. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-watches-lawrence-welk/818752/58 "2018-07-29T15:02:38Z")
[Hippy Lawrence Welk](https://youtu.be/oFmSv2WFDrs) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-watches-lawrence-welk/818752/59 "2018-07-29T15:20:31Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > [Hippy Lawrence Welk](https://youtu.be/oFmSv2WFDrs) Reminds me of the Homecoming shows I was in in high school. The actors are just as wooden and the music is just as bad. And hey, dig those yellow blazers and white slacks! That’s class! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-watches-lawrence-welk/818752/60 "2018-07-29T15:54:08Z")
In that outfit, he was a dead ringer for [Sonny Bono](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/A1WrNf3HVPL._SL1000_.png). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-watches-lawrence-welk/818752.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-watches-lawrence-welk/818752.md?page=4)