Ah-One, Ah-Two! Life With My Musical Family

by Lawrence Welk, Bernice McGeehan

Autographed by author Lawrence Welk with dust jacket.

Genres: Biography, Music

215 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1974

About the author

Lawrence Welk was an American musician, accordionist, bandleader, and television impresario, hosting The Lawrence Welk Show from 1955 to 1982. His style came to be known to his large number of radio, television, and live-performance fans as "champagne music."

Reviews

[Lance Lumley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Welk's second writing comes after his show was cancelled on ABC and the question was what to do next. Does he air specials throughout the year or go into syndication (fans know the second option happened to continue the show for many more years). While deciding, the book follows the cast and musicians of the show on tours culminating at Madison Square Garden show during Labor Day where ticket sales start off slow, and Welk wonders if the show will be a success.
The text talks more about his musical “family” and the “kids” (the stars on the show like Anacani, Bobby Burgess, Sandi Griffiths and Sally Flynn, and Guy Hovis, and Ralna English, where his first one is more about his childhood and early career. He talks about fans getting on stage to dance with the cast at shows, to a time when the orchestra and cast were not held up to Welk’s professionalism on and off camera, which brings honesty to the text about the members.
A good book about how the music and TV business and how to treat employees (in any business) at times as well. The book holds up today , along with his comments about entitlement and attitudes of people, which Welk may be shocked at how right he was at certain things today.

For an in-depth review, visit my page at (follow and subscribe to my page) https://lancewrites.wordpress.com/202...

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is Lawrence Welk's second book. It covers the period from 1971 to 1974 about his TV show and musical family. ABC had broadcasted his weekly show for 16 years and in 1971 they cancelled the show. Lawrence Welk said he didn't want to let down his musical family that he called his "children", so they found a way to go into syndication and started to broadcast his show on over 200 TV stations. This book goes deeply into that process and then he talks about everyone that helped him achieve this and talks about the performers on his show. I enjoyed this 2nd book but his first book, "Wunerful, Wunerful" was better if you want his life story.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vintage Welk in every enjoyable way. Reminds me of when I was a little kid.