Throughout World War II, Lawrence added many young and talented members to his orchestra, such as Jerry Burke on organ, trombonist Barney Liddell, Orie Amodeo on reeds, trumpet players Norman Bailey and Rocky Rockwell, Johnny Klein on drums, vocalist/saxophone player Dick Dale and accordionist Myron Floren who would also be the Maestro's trusted right hand man, serving as both orchestra announcer and conductor.
In 1939, Lawrence hired Lois Best as his first full-time "Champagne Lady" and a year later, booked his orchestra for a long term engagement at the Trianon Ballroom in Chicago, Illinois, which lasted nine years. The couple would have two daughters, Shirley and Donna, and a son, Larry Jr.ĭuring the "Dirty Thirties," his band began to take shape, especially on one faithful night in 1938 at the William Penn Hotel in Pittsburgh where the name "Champagne Music" came into being because a patron described Welk's music as being "light and bubbly like champagne." It was around this time in 1931 that he married the love of his life, Fern Renner.
In the late 1920s, he lead several big bands in North Dakota and eastern South Dakota which included the Hotsy Totsy Boys and the Honolulu Fruit Gum Orchestra, which regularly performed one-nighters on the road and on the radio courtesy of WNAX in Yankton, South Dakota. However, after a while, he found that being a bandleader was more fun and challenging than just being a member only. When he turned twenty-one years of age, he left the family farm to pursue a career in the world of show business, first with several bands throughout the Midwest thanks to his magic fingers on the accordion. With accordion in hand, young Lawrence got his start performing at church socials, weddings and local dances around Strasburg. He was the third youngest of eight children to German immigrants Christina and Ludwig Welk.ĭiscovering at a young age it was music was to be his career and not farming, he convinced his father to buy him his first accordion from a mail-order catalog. The musical genius we all know as Lawrence Welk was born Maon a farm near Strasburg, North Dakota.