Sunday, February 11, 2007

Wunnerful Wunnerful.......

I've had several fellow bloggers ask me today..." G-Man please tell us a Lawrence Welk Story". You know me, how can I turn down such a sincere request? Well it just so happens that I do have a Champagne Music story to tell.
The year was circa 1970. I've told you about my fraternity back in college, and the fact that we used to usher at the beautiful Whiting Auditorium. Unfortunately, all of the shows were not Jerry Lee Lewis, or Smokey Robinson. One of the shows that we had to usher for was, " The Stars of the Lawrence Welk Show". Actually that was accurate in every regard, except for the fact that Larry himself never toured with the show. He left control of his namesake band, in the very formidable hands of Myron Floren. The Master of the Accordian!
You young folks out there may not realize this, but Lawrence Welk was huge! Not him personally, but his show was a monster on TV and syndication for years. In fact it's still on PBS now at times. His ensemble of stars could hold their own with any quality of Broadway or Las Vegas productions.He had the deep-voiced Larry Hooper, he had the tap dancing Arthur Duncan, he had the Irish Tenor Joe Feeny, he had the great Jo Ann Castle on Honkey Tonk piano, he had the great dance partners of Bobby Burgess and Barbara Boylen. But the absolute darlings of the show was the lovely Lennon Sisters.
Now usually a show like this, was very hard to work. The main reason was because the average age of the audiance bordered extinction. What do you think? Lawrence Fricken Welk!!
Holy shit, the concession stand was selling Geritol shots, and Nitro. If you didn't get high by then, trust me, you started that night....Anyway, all I wanted to do was to finish my door man job that night and book outta there ASAP. Like I really needed to go backstage THAT night to keep the groupies away. Don't forget, this cast of squeaky clean characters , made Ozzie and Harriet Nelson, look like Ozzie and Sharon Osborne....
But......I got the call, me and Mange got task of guarding the back door. Manges real name was Dick M, but everyone had a nickname back then, Ajax, Shakey, Mondo ( he got the name because he tagged a 37 year old MILF and the 18 year old daughter....at the same time) .
Getting back to the story, while back stage, the dancin mannequin Bobby Burgess rushes up to us and asked if there was a TV in the house. ...WHY?....Because it seems that an episode of Lawrence Welk was on Channel 12 at 7:00 pm and he wanted to see himself on the tube. Now I thought to myself..( This is only the 45,0000th time you've danced with this bitch and you want to see it again?), but even back then the G-Man showed much compassion. " Bobby, this is what I'll do for you". I then left Mange in charge of the door, and ran across the street to the frat house and grabbed my 12 in B/W TV with aluminum foil on the rabbit ears, and brought it back to the waiting room. So that Bobby Freakin Burgess can watch himself two-step on my tiny tube. He was very grateful though, so I wasn't too pissed about it. The Lennon Sisters were HOT!
..And yet another brush with fame...From the G-Man....Peace, and a One and a Two.....

75 comments:

Manny said...

First! And no, I'm not making her give it back.

Manny said...

And, I met Lucy from Lucy's Toy Shop.

Anonymous said...

good Sunday morning g-man.
What a great story, you are a perfect example that fine wine is best when it has aged a bit.:)
(I can say that you know)

You probably could've gotten hooked up with one of those hotties if Bobby was grateful and that would've been another great post....or two.
tc

CuteBeachGirl said...

Omg, if I turn on PBS and Lawrence is on, for some odd reason I can't change he channel right away....so creepy.

Anonymous said...

I got lost somewhere in the story... but anyway... this is not the topic... My only question... Where the heck did you pick that GREEN!!! I saw it everywhere... On girl suitcases, on girl coats, on girls skirts, on girl underwears... It is the last place I thought I could dee it!!!!!
Searabbit

G-Man said...

Manny, Who the Hell is Lucy?

Mornin TC, That Diane Lennon was Hot!

Cutebuttgirl, you are just sooooo......Cute!
I tried to visit your site and felt like I was under surveilance.WTF?

Sea Rabbit, I've reallly missed you! You maybe never have caught that show in Canada growing up. So this whole post would seem like French to you. But thanks for stopping by, I'll keep checking you out every day.....Galen

SignGurl said...

Did you say something?

Anonymous said...

"it would appear captain we have entered some type of green, living organism fog that is trying to penetrate our shields."
"mr scott, all ahead warp factor 6"
(scotty tipsy from consuming too much Romulan ale)shouts "screw you Captain Kirk, she can't take anymore and I can't either."

the saga continues

G-Man said...

You are in another galaxy.

SignGurl said...

I told you not to post Lawrence Welk stuff.

SignGurl said...

It makes people more insane.

G-Man said...

No it's soothing and melodic..Serenity Now..

Anonymous said...

we play Lawrence Welk stuff on any new planet we visit, it makes the inhabitants confused so we can go in there and change their culture to become nice aliens.

barman said...

I have a confession ... within the last month or two I have watched 2 or 3 Lawrence Welk shows. This may very well be more than I watched when the show was on before although I remember turning the TV channel and catching bubbles floating by on more than one occasion.

Captain TC admit it, you are just trying to put the aliens in the mood so you can ... you know.

G-Man said...

Barman my son, Say 5 our Fathers, and 5 Hail Marys.. Go and sin some more!

Captain Ki...er TC, See how it has worked! BTW
what planet is Pink Ginger from...Yowzer?

Anonymous said...

there must be something in the water north of here, you been drinking a lot of water barman?

of course every planet I go to there has to be a romantic conquest or two or three or....

g-man we are still analyzing the data on pink ginger, we have determined they are very sensual and beautiful.:)

G-Man said...

The results are what Spock says...Fasinating!

Anonymous said...

looks like boys night out guy, time for a little hellraising.

THIS TOWN NEEDS AN ENEMA!!!!

Hoist up that gat g-man we're gonna start kickin ass and not even bother to take names.

Anonymous said...

c'mon g-man, your wife said you could play until 2.

lime said...

oh man, what a hoot. the title alone made me want to say 'anna one anna two-ah...'

i may be a youngster but i was weaned on heehaw and lawrence welk. i wanted to take tap lessons because of the black guy who danced on the show. and wait?? how could you forget, 'our wery ownah mexican senorita, maria....' gads, we watched that show every week when i was a kid. lmao.

oh lordy and now with the star trek bit? i can damn near name the episode by the color fo the planet because mr lime is such a crazed fan of that show...

G-Man said...

She's in Europe for another week! Hoo Rah!

Gimme the "fleet"....

G-Man said...

Lawrence would introduce Limey as......
"And heres our very own little Dutch treat singing the Pennsylvania Polka..Michelle".

lime said...

and then i do a grinning duet on the accordian with good old myron

GAB said...

I dont remember what age I was around 12 or maybe older when we went to the state fair and Lawrance Welk was the grandstand show that night. Now every year my mom and dad would go and I was in charge of taking care of my 2 sisters while they enjoyed the grandstand. But this year my dad said lets let gab go. so I got to go to the grandstand show and see Mr welk. although I whined about it after all I seen him on TV every week why did I have to see him at the fair too? But I went. I actually enjoyed myself(shhh dont tell my dad)
Ahhh the joys of the TV with tin foil on the rabbit ears. We too had a set up just like your. I can remember the first time I see a tv without tin foil on the ears and I actually thought the tv didnt work imagine my surprise when they turned it on and the picture was crystal clear!

G-Man said...

Thank you Gabby, I'm sure you would enjoy that story. North Dakota is right next door!!!
Thats where he was from.

SignGurl said...

My mother and her sister always say "Wunnerful, wunnerful." I thought they made it up.

Is there a minimum age limit in this room?

SignGurl said...

Brooklyn Frank has a new place in my heart.

barman said...

Fascinating! But very illogical.

G-Man said...

Ticket Please...
Ticket Please...
Tick..Uh Ms. Gurl you are under 40..Go home until you grow up...Now!

And Take fuckin Brooklyn Frank with you!

Governor Barman
Pardon me please..( I always wanted to say that.)

SignGurl said...

Frank and I are going on our "honeymoon". I'll be back when I reach forty.

KJ said...

Hope you're having a good weekend

G-Man said...

You just topped it off Kristen...Thanks...G

SignGurl said...

*duck and run*

lime said...

hey now listen, i am under 40 and i knew all about lawrence welk......i also know about fibber mcgee and molly, so there:P

SignGurl said...

If you want to beat Frank, you'd better hurry.

Anonymous said...

morning g-man, I love the smell of coffee in the morning.

Anonymous said...

Good Morning G-Man,

Looks like I miss a lot of fun around these places on the weekend!!!

Hope yours was nice.

Happy Monday :)

Meg

G-Man said...

Sign, the heads up was duely noted, and already acted upon. Thank you sweets, but I was a bit naughty, please forgive me...G

Mornin TC, Is that a hedgehog, or a Chia Pet?...3 more lives left!

Meg, Meg, Meg,
God I love saying your name. The sweetest lips always comes to mind!
I did indeed have much fun this week-end, Thank You, Meg.

Anonymous said...

hedgehog! ever heard of Ron Jeremy?

G-Man said...

You wish!

barman said...

Coffee ... where is the coffee. The boss called and needed to be picked up at the dealer. Now my morning is all thrown off. Coffee!

Anonymous said...

WELLLL????

For God's Sake, spill!!!

**wink, wink**

Meg

G-Man said...

Bryan, If you lived closer, you would be enjoying a hot delicious Tim Horton's. With me and the Ghost of Crabby!


Meg, our friend TC, is wiggin out so try and humor his little personality hop scotching for a while OK?

CozyMama said...

MORNING!!

G-Man said...

Mornin Jodi

Excuse the mess.

SignGurl said...

Is that hedgehog poop I just stepped in?

Anonymous said...

Ok - quick little Ron Jeremy story....was watching a show once with my teenage son and this guy on their looked just like Danny Devito (I thought any way), so I say to my son - "hey who do you think that guy looks like?" (wanted to see if he had the same opinion as I did) and he says "Ron Jeremy" !!! WTF...

I was torn between asking him how he knew who Ron Jeremy or just keep my mouth shut being proud as hell that he did :)


TC - whats all the wiggin about?
Have another cup......

Anonymous said...

Sybil..Sybil are you in here?
"no she ain't biaaatch" "stop it"
"meow" "beam me down Scotty" "yo homies" "squeak"

SignGurl said...

Can I have some of what TC's on?

G-Man said...

Jenn, that avatar makes me dizzy, and I don't need any more help with that!

Meg,
It's not what you think..Ron was on a VHI reality show, with several past has been stars of different fields, all living together in a mansion getting drunk, getting naked, and puking.
I hate pukers!
THATS the deal...
You never heard of Ron 11inch Jeremy?
Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeg?

G-Man said...

Ignore the little bastard....

Hey Hey Hey....not there......

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I've seen that show...VH1 is on all the time at my place...They sure have quite the group on this series...and yes, too much puking and other stupid stuff - but, we don't turn it off, do we???

YES - I know all too well who Ron Jeremy is and what he is famous for - I was just surprised that my teen knew too - LOL

Looking at him now - its all just a little creepy :)

barman said...

Now your Avitar makes me cold! Burrr!!!

S said...

Oh man, I hate Lawrence Welk show...what a bunch of cheese! We get it a couple times a week here on PBS..Now, I have three channels, so....

Anyway, there was enough chiffon in that show to wrap around the world 50 times.....a costumers nightmare!

And the music...yuk! If not for the bubbles....

Good morning everyone!

G-Man said...

Meg, He is creepy!

Sign, much better!

Right Barman?

Mistress? How do you REALLY feel about Mr. Welk? A bit pissy today?
Ha ha ha..

Anonymous said...

meg I'm fine, g-man hurt my feelings by calling me a schitzo because I've been changing my profile pic rather frequently.
So me and the other guy decided to do multiple voices, right? right!
I knew you knew about Ron"the hedgehog"Jeremy.

what was that comment about hedgehog poop?

SignGurl said...

Barman, you dork! I'm in the sand in that picture! It was taken on my honeymoon in Aruba many moons ago.

Sheesh! Why does everyone think I would stand in the snow in my swimsuit?

jillie said...

OMG....my grandmother use to love watching that show. I of course hated it. What 9 year old wouldn't??? Polka music? I got enough of it at home without the "tube"...lol. There were time my grandmother made me dance with her...of course me on her feet. But those memories are treasured.

Thanks for bringing me back to happy times..xo

Mouthy Girl said...

This is going to sound bad, but what the hell:

I've only seen Mr. Wunnerful ONE time...on some rerun of his show...on like PBS or something.

Ironically, he's referenced in a novel I read with some of my students - The Watsons Go To Birmingham, 1963. I always have to explain who Wunnerful is.

barman said...

OK Sign, so I am a dork. Maybe I should go in for a Lasik tuneup on my eyes! Somehow it still looks like snow to me.

I think my eyes are shot from doing color/sharpness corrections on a pile of pictures I took last year. I am over 25 percent done. Yea! Maybe next time I will learn to take the right picture in the first place so I do not have so much work to do.

Oh and by the way, I have sean some unusual things on blogger. I learned not to question them. Of course the bad thing is I have seen that picture before I should have known better.

If only I could go back to bed.

G-Man said...

TC to Earth
TC to Earth

Jillie Bean, Polka's in Wisconsin?
Who'da thunk it? Beer too?

What they teach in school nowadays!
Thanks Buddha Girl.

Jenn, thats one of favorite Photo's. Keep that one on..

Anonymous said...

I'm here g-man.
Is that Star Trek stuff again because last time I wound up posting the same Kirk pic as another blogger.
Wait until you see who I'll be next...haha ha haha ha heh!

Anonymous said...

Hey Jillie - LOL at your polka reference from the childhood - did you ever go to Polka Days when you lived here? ha ha Yep, only in Wis. :)

Lets see, one more things to put on the "proud to be from" list:
Beer
Polka
Cheese

TC - keep the Ron "the hedgehog" Jeremy..it conjures all sorts of wicked thoughts :)

G-Man said...

No son, it's Not Star Trek stuff.
It's Twilight Zone stuff.....

G-Man said...

Jillie, Meg, stop BADGERING me!!!


btw..Meg, Leini Red Too? Like Jildo?

Anonymous said...

mmmm, Leini Red works for me...that or Spotted Cow !!!

Oh, thinking of your post last week about the local establishment where everyone knows your name...listen to this, went to this little quaint pub here on Sat. night and it was there 29th Anniv. in business, so it was Tappers for 29 cents all night long - oh, and Karaoke - twas heaven for this little girl - albeit a bit redneck!! LOL

Anonymous said...

g-man..got it! it made perfect sense once I read your comment on my blog.

ok meg..just for you it's hedgehog time for awhile but I'm just a itchin to be somebody else.

jillie said...

Maybe that's my problem! Too much polka music caused brain damage...or is that "dain bramage?"

See what I mean?

Anonymous said...

of course wearing a CHEESEHEAD had nothing to do with it.

Anonymous said...

????

Wearing a CHEESEHEAD makes you smarter !!

G-Man said...

Jillie, like you need a partner to kick my ass, more than you already do....But Meg does like Survivor!
Spotted Cow?

TC, now I expect to see a Rod avatar tomorrow.

SignGurl said...

I want to see a John C. Holmes avatar. Not really.

Manny said...

Excuse me, You are no longer considered a newbie...that means, leaving a post up in order to milk comments is no longer permitted. You must post new more often or else we will talk bad about you on our smoke breaks, private e mails, or our IM sesions.

Breazy said...

Hey G! Sorry I haven't been by in a while but I am dealing with dial-up now and it frustrates me too much to sit and wait five minutes for a page to load then five minutes more for the comment box.

I miss y'all so much and I am going to have to make a trip to the library just so I can read everyones blogs. I have waited for more than ten minutes for some blogs to load and got tired of waiting. Anyways, I wanted to stop by and say hi and tell you that I really miss y'all so much !

Breazy
xoxo

G-Man said...

Sign, Johnny Wadd!
What a great blog name that would make..
My blog name should be ..
Micro-Soft!

Man-Eater, do you REALLY need a reason, to trash talk me?

Breazy honey, Please come to my rescue. The cyber sisters are killin me here!