These links are interviews of the Susan McCray radio show on KSAV.  When you click on these links, they will automatically play the interviews from their website.  Simply hit your browser's back button to return to this page when done listening to each.

Mary Lou Metzger - Dec. 8, 2009

Guy Hovis - Oct. 27, 2009

Bob Ralston - Nov. 4, 2008

The instructions below assume you're using Internet Explorer but the clips also work with other browsers - the controls may just appear differently:

Click on the Play icon (blue circle in the black boxes below) to play the clips.  

Click it again to Pause, or click the square button to its right to stop the audio.  

Please stop each audio before starting another to avoid simultaneous playing

These archival audio files were graciously provided by WelkNoter Steve Cooper who has his own big band in the Chicago area.  Steve is always so willing to share his vast knowledge of all things musical and/or related to the Welk band with us.  

Thank you, Steve!

This clip is the opening of the September 21, 1949 Miller High Life Welk Show.  Lawrence was only 46 years old on this broadcast.  The only musicians that appeared on the Welk TV shows that were in the band in 1949 are:

Organ & Celeste - Jerry Burke     

   Piano-Larry Hooper     

Flute & Clarinet - Orie Amadeo    

Trombone - Barney Liddell

This is a very rare broadcast from the Aragon Ballroom in California in 1952.  It's almost the one year anniversary of Lawrence & the band being there in an historic record-breaking ballroom engagement.  The band was hired for 2 weeks and stayed 52 weeks!  Then they were rehired and stayed another 8 years!  The announcer is famed Welk radio announcer Ralph Portner.  You can hear the opening and also their first tune - "Happy Days Are Here Again" featuring Myron Floren on accordion and Barney Liddell on trombone.  Dick Dale and Rocky Rockwell were also in the band at this time.

Here's another broadcast from the Aragon Ballroom - this one is from late in 1959.  The band is now opening the broadcast with "Champagne Time" (written by George Cates) and only using "Bubbles In The Wine" for a closing theme.  The sound quality is extremely good on this broadcast.  After the theme is "Let It Snow" in Champagne style.

Here's a very rare LIVE recording from the Willowbrook Ballroom near Chicago when the Welk band played two times in the late 60's & early 70's.  This is from 1971 and features Sandi & Sally singing the end of "I Got Love" and also "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter".  The 2nd song isn't quite as loud as the first, but it's still almost like being there!

Here's another tune from Willowbrook Ballroom 1971 with Dick Dale backed by the entire Welk Orchestra singing "One Cup Of Happiness".