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Wunnerful, Wunnerful! The Autobiography of Lawrence Welk
Tells of the life and career of this famed band leader who began his career playing accordion at barn dances.
294 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 1971
2 people are currently reading
70 people want to read
About the author
Lawrence Welk
65Ìýbooks2ÌýfollowersLawrence 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."
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
November 18, 2014
I really thought this was a very good book. It read easily and went along smoothly in Lawrence Welk's life. He had quite a sense of humor.
I found this book in my Mom's things after she died. I decided to read it as Mr. Welk is a favorite of hers and she watched it every Saturday night. My Dad did too when he was home. My wife, Kristy's Dad and Mom were permanent watchers also. I would see some of the shows and I thought it was a good show especially the Lennon sisters, but I would never admit that to critical peers as this show was uncool for teenage boys.
Lawrence was from a German family and community in North Dakota and he had such an accent it made him self-conscious. I do remember his accent on television. He worked hard as an accordion-playing band leader to make his way in the world of band music.
He loved his parents but due to his traveling was unable to be there for them when they passed on. He didn't make his dad's funeral because the airport was fogged in. He felt bad about this.
He had a lot of success as a big band leader and managed to survive most of the others and eventually had an over 20-year run on ABC television and became a staple for many homes on Saturday night. He was a great performer and organizer and cared deeply for his band family and his own wife Fern and three children.
I feel able to relate better to my own mom now and others who lived through the Big Band Era.
I found this book in my Mom's things after she died. I decided to read it as Mr. Welk is a favorite of hers and she watched it every Saturday night. My Dad did too when he was home. My wife, Kristy's Dad and Mom were permanent watchers also. I would see some of the shows and I thought it was a good show especially the Lennon sisters, but I would never admit that to critical peers as this show was uncool for teenage boys.
Lawrence was from a German family and community in North Dakota and he had such an accent it made him self-conscious. I do remember his accent on television. He worked hard as an accordion-playing band leader to make his way in the world of band music.
He loved his parents but due to his traveling was unable to be there for them when they passed on. He didn't make his dad's funeral because the airport was fogged in. He felt bad about this.
He had a lot of success as a big band leader and managed to survive most of the others and eventually had an over 20-year run on ABC television and became a staple for many homes on Saturday night. He was a great performer and organizer and cared deeply for his band family and his own wife Fern and three children.
I feel able to relate better to my own mom now and others who lived through the Big Band Era.
May 29, 2012
It seems like the author (LW) and the ghost (BM) got tired at the end. The California-television years are sort of a blur, and the work ends abruptly. The book opens with fairly interesting material about Welk's boyhood in Emmons County, North Dakota, and the middle section, treating Welk as empressario of a territorial band, is engaging.
In recent years some self-conscious Germans from Russia have criticized Welk for not claiming his German-Russian heritage. After reviewing the book, I think this criticism is unfair. You have to consider the timeline. Copyright 1971. Self-conscious German-Russian identity, defined in relation to the rest of the world, did not emerge until the mid-1970s. I do not think Welk suppressed his German-Russian identity. I think that at this time, he was not capable of articulating it if he had tried, and it probably did not occur to him to try. Even if he had, then based on what I see in the book, it would have been nigh impossible to convey to the ghost writer, BM.
The self-deprecating attitudes displayed through the book can be misleading, I think. Welk continually speaks of his many foibles, his naivete, especially his ineptness at public speaking, but at the same time he brags of his successes. The self-deprecation is both a native instinct for a German-Russian boy from North Dakota and also a continuing life strategy.
So, overall, there are things to talk about in relation to this book, but it's not really very good.
In recent years some self-conscious Germans from Russia have criticized Welk for not claiming his German-Russian heritage. After reviewing the book, I think this criticism is unfair. You have to consider the timeline. Copyright 1971. Self-conscious German-Russian identity, defined in relation to the rest of the world, did not emerge until the mid-1970s. I do not think Welk suppressed his German-Russian identity. I think that at this time, he was not capable of articulating it if he had tried, and it probably did not occur to him to try. Even if he had, then based on what I see in the book, it would have been nigh impossible to convey to the ghost writer, BM.
The self-deprecating attitudes displayed through the book can be misleading, I think. Welk continually speaks of his many foibles, his naivete, especially his ineptness at public speaking, but at the same time he brags of his successes. The self-deprecation is both a native instinct for a German-Russian boy from North Dakota and also a continuing life strategy.
So, overall, there are things to talk about in relation to this book, but it's not really very good.
October 9, 2018
Anna one, anna two!
Having spent my earliest years raised in Lawrence Welk's hometown of Strasburg, ND and meeting him as well; I thought it about time that I actually get around to reading the man's autobiography. I enjoyed the book very much. A quick, feel-good read about the grit, determination, and music-loving loyalty of one of America's more humble cultural icons. We could use more men today like this one!
"Good night, sleep tight, and pleasant dreams to you!"
Having spent my earliest years raised in Lawrence Welk's hometown of Strasburg, ND and meeting him as well; I thought it about time that I actually get around to reading the man's autobiography. I enjoyed the book very much. A quick, feel-good read about the grit, determination, and music-loving loyalty of one of America's more humble cultural icons. We could use more men today like this one!
"Good night, sleep tight, and pleasant dreams to you!"
November 23, 2008
I love Lawrence Welk, so I couldn't help but love his autobiography. I love thinking about bands from the twenties to the fifties. As long as PBS shows Lawrence Welk's shows, I'll be watching. (I might be an 80 year-old in a twenty-three year-old body, but I'm okay with that!)
September 6, 2017
Lovely. I wasn't sure what to rate this at first because it was so easy to put down. But it was sweet, well organized, and I recommended it to 3 people over the past month so I guess that speaks to itself.
February 17, 2014
Had this book for a long time before I read it. It is interesting learning about his early life and why he had the accent he did. I think his wife was a very patient woman raising 3 kids almost by herself but I guess that is what entertainers had to do when they were in his business. I will be watching the reruns of his shows to put faces to names he writes about in the book. He seems like a very smart man and very loyal to family and friends.
Read
December 17, 2011Someone donated a SIGNED COPY to the thrift store where I work.
We didn't really know what to do with it, so it ended up on the break room table, and ... voila.
We didn't really know what to do with it, so it ended up on the break room table, and ... voila.
June 30, 2022
The truth here. Despite the book being credibly autographed, with historical news clippings tucked inside, I found this book in a discard bin and read it because I needed a book.
This is a great "feel good" book from a man who created a legendary (if corny) TV show that aired for 37 years after years of struggling to make it to the big time . Welk's goodness comes through in every chapter, and his concern for his musicians is something the music community has long been aware of.
I grew up in the 70's listening to the Beatles, the Doors, Steely Dan. Watching the Welk show on public TV years later, I can appreciate how good those bands were (still corny). I have worked with Jack Imel, who bought the band beers and told us humorous Welk stories, and Myron Floren, who happily signed an autograph I could send to my Welk fan Aunt. I can appreciate what Lawrence Welk did for the musical community he loved and I think this book is worth a look for the 'good guy who struggles to make it' story.
This is a great "feel good" book from a man who created a legendary (if corny) TV show that aired for 37 years after years of struggling to make it to the big time . Welk's goodness comes through in every chapter, and his concern for his musicians is something the music community has long been aware of.
I grew up in the 70's listening to the Beatles, the Doors, Steely Dan. Watching the Welk show on public TV years later, I can appreciate how good those bands were (still corny). I have worked with Jack Imel, who bought the band beers and told us humorous Welk stories, and Myron Floren, who happily signed an autograph I could send to my Welk fan Aunt. I can appreciate what Lawrence Welk did for the musical community he loved and I think this book is worth a look for the 'good guy who struggles to make it' story.
September 1, 2021
I really enjoyed this memoir. I knew that Lawrence Welk came from a farming community in North Dakota, but I didn't know that this community was mostly German and Lawrence himself only spoke German until he was 21 and was able to leave the farm. I didn't know that his father loaned him the money for a professional accordian and that Lawrence promised that he would stay on the farm for four years until he turned 21 and would turn over all his earnings until he turned 21 to his father. I didn't know that Lawrence was very self conscience about his accent and it took him some time to be able to learn and speak English. My aunt faithfully watches his show on PBS every Saturday, so it was fun to read about him and his orchestra and how everything came together for him to have a TV show. He had many failures and learned many lessons to become the person we see that makes it look so effortless on TV.
August 23, 2023
I remember watching the show as a child with my older relatives, and how everyone of a certain generation was glued to the tv every Saturday night when Lawrence Welk was on. While the book was interesting to hear about his early life on the farm and how he got his start in the music business, I was hoping for a little more about the "television years", as that is what I'm most familiar with.
Overall it was a difficult book for me to follow because there were so many people that Welk knew over the years that he referenced. Just hard to keep up with whom he was talking about and why they were important.
Overall it was a difficult book for me to follow because there were so many people that Welk knew over the years that he referenced. Just hard to keep up with whom he was talking about and why they were important.
August 23, 2018
This book was truly 'wunnerful, wunnerful'! I loved watching Lawrence Welk and the Music Makers growing up and it was a pleasure to learn about his past and the stories behind his bringing wholesome programming into peoples hearts and homes.
November 11, 2017
I enjoyed the heck out of this.
Read
December 13, 2020Very good! Very interesting to read about the early years of entertaining and one night stands on the road.
December 26, 2023
Really nice book about sincerely nice people. One of the only bios of a famous person that I have read and ended glad to know more about them, rather than wishing for my ignorance back.
May 15, 2024
Gigging musicians can relate.
July 10, 2013
Everyone knows how PBS stations run Lawrence Welk shows, even decades after the man's death. Have you ever wondered, WHY, God, WHY??? What is so fascinating to blue hairs about this man, that the rest of the populace needs to be exposed to the garish colors and wardrobes of the 1970s for the rest of time?
Yeah, me too.
That is part of what made me snatch up this book on the final day of the Milwaukie Ledding Library's annual book sale, when an entire grocery bag full of books can be obtained for a steal. (The book also smelled just as strangely musty as one might expect of a book by Lawrence Welk.)
After reading the book, I can say I have a little window of insight into the phenomenon that was Lawrence Welk. Essentially, the man is a first-generation American, son of German immigrants who settled in the midwest. Instead of fulfilling his family's expectation of being a farmer, he felt he had a date with destiny (and a bubble machine) and left the family farm to try and make it as a working musician. The bulk of the book centers around how he got to the top with hard work and persistence. Yay America, isn't everyone in this fine country wonderful, God is great, etc.
It is clear that Lawrence Welk is very representative of hawkish 1950s values, which probably led to his immense success during that decade. In the final section of the book when he gains his national television program and discusses hot topics such as why the Lennon Sisters left the show, the prose becomes almost unbearable. Here's the final paragraph of the book:
I stood and looked out at all that beauty for a long, long time. How marvelous! What a wonderful life God had granted me. I could never thank anyone enough for all the blessings I had been given. But I could spend the rest of my life trying.
Welk seems to be working extra-hard in these final chapters to uphold his image. And with the help of ghost writer Bernice McGeehan, he succeeds saccharinely! (Welk and McGeehan went on to partner on several more books after this "autobiography" was written).
While Welk's background was super interesting as both a memoir of a midwest German immigrant and as a bandleader trying to make it in the early part of the 20th century, the book is fascinating. As Welk's brand was more important at the time he was writing this book than actually giving readers critical insight into his life, this "autobiography" leaves quite a bit to be desired. This reviewer can't say it was wunnerful.
Yeah, me too.
That is part of what made me snatch up this book on the final day of the Milwaukie Ledding Library's annual book sale, when an entire grocery bag full of books can be obtained for a steal. (The book also smelled just as strangely musty as one might expect of a book by Lawrence Welk.)
After reading the book, I can say I have a little window of insight into the phenomenon that was Lawrence Welk. Essentially, the man is a first-generation American, son of German immigrants who settled in the midwest. Instead of fulfilling his family's expectation of being a farmer, he felt he had a date with destiny (and a bubble machine) and left the family farm to try and make it as a working musician. The bulk of the book centers around how he got to the top with hard work and persistence. Yay America, isn't everyone in this fine country wonderful, God is great, etc.
It is clear that Lawrence Welk is very representative of hawkish 1950s values, which probably led to his immense success during that decade. In the final section of the book when he gains his national television program and discusses hot topics such as why the Lennon Sisters left the show, the prose becomes almost unbearable. Here's the final paragraph of the book:
I stood and looked out at all that beauty for a long, long time. How marvelous! What a wonderful life God had granted me. I could never thank anyone enough for all the blessings I had been given. But I could spend the rest of my life trying.
Welk seems to be working extra-hard in these final chapters to uphold his image. And with the help of ghost writer Bernice McGeehan, he succeeds saccharinely! (Welk and McGeehan went on to partner on several more books after this "autobiography" was written).
While Welk's background was super interesting as both a memoir of a midwest German immigrant and as a bandleader trying to make it in the early part of the 20th century, the book is fascinating. As Welk's brand was more important at the time he was writing this book than actually giving readers critical insight into his life, this "autobiography" leaves quite a bit to be desired. This reviewer can't say it was wunnerful.
October 12, 2012
Lawrence Welk is not of my era, however, my father grew up watching him religiously. So, I decided to read this autobiography as a conversation piece with my dad. The book started with Welk's life as a child and his struggle to make it big in the music business. The story is pleasant, but it was a little mundane (it IS Lawrence Welk, so what can one expect!). I actually speed-read the last 1/3 of the book because it was overdue and not all that interesting. It would have been nicer if the book covered more of the "behind the scenes" life of the Lawrence Welk Show. Anyway, I have some info for my dad, and he'll get a kick out of some of the stuff.
January 25, 2017
I really enjoyed the first part of the book. His determination and hard work to make it in the music business was admirable. Even when some people told him he wasn't any good, he kept focused on his goal.
The last part of the book disappointed me though. He spent so much time away from his family. His wife begged him to come home, and he really missed his family, but business was good. He likes to brag about his "family values" in the book, but it sounded like he left the business of running his family entirely to his wife. The almighty dollar was more important to him.
The last part of the book disappointed me though. He spent so much time away from his family. His wife begged him to come home, and he really missed his family, but business was good. He likes to brag about his "family values" in the book, but it sounded like he left the business of running his family entirely to his wife. The almighty dollar was more important to him.
January 2, 2015
If you've ever seen or heard the man, you're not going to be surprised by this book, which can be pretty well summarized by two words: Aw, shucks. But it's fairly interesting as a window into the music business of the first half of the 20th century, and the bits about North Dakota farm life in the 1910s are especially foreign.
November 16, 2007
I loved This Book So much, Lawrence Welk Is So Cool Throughout ALL his Years. I cant get enough Of This Old Man! I Want ALL his TV shows to come out of DVD OR at least released on VHS for Less Then $15.
-95
-95
December 28, 2009
Hilariously bad yet enjoyable. Although I'm curious to hear the other side of the story because from what I've heard, Lawrence wasn't exactly the easist guy to work with.
November 22, 2011
I love this book, its a great piece of music history and I was amazed at how he would take such HUGE risks in life!
November 21, 2010
Liked bios. Lawrence Welk is not very likeable; remember thinking it wasn't very well written.
March 30, 2017
Very interesting look into North Dakota farm life in the 1910's and what America was like in the first half of the century. I especially enjoyed reading about the Lennon Sisters and the big bands from the 20's to the 50's. I like watching his show on PBS too.
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