Nimble Fingers - Lawrence Welk

 

Lullaby Of Birdland

Nimble Fingers
Lawrence Welk and His Champagne Music
Instrumental Fox Trots
Coral Records High Fidelity CRL 57178
1957

From the back cover: Lawrence Welk has been on the American Musical scene for thirty years. An amiable, soft spoken man in his early fifties, Lawrence formed his first band in 1927. Consisting of six pieces it made its way from Barn dances to square dances and community gatherings throughout the midwest. In 1938 the Lawrence Welk orchestra, larger in size and prestige, was booked into the William Penn Hotel in Pittsburgh. This proved to be the turning point for Lawrence and his orchestra as he was allowed to play his music over the Mutual Broadcasting Network twenty times a week. For the first time he had a coast-to-coast audience and a loyal legion of Lawrence Welk fans were born.

After years of playing in America's top flight hotels, supper clubs and ballrooms, the Lawrence Welk orchestra, settled on the West Coast and made the famous Aragon ballroom its headquarters. When his performances began being televised to west coast audiences in 1951, it aroused very favorable comment, and resulted in his winning his current ABC program. The network show started with a modest rating, but with the acclaim from critics and viewers, its audience increased rapidly. Today, "The Lawrence Welk Show" is rated head and shoulders above its national competitors.

From Billboard - September 16, 1957: With Lawrence Welk continuing to reign close to the top of the TV and pop album sales heap, it's fair to predict that this package can pull down its share of loot along with the rest. This time, Welk himself is spotlighted as an accomplished accordionist backed up by the band. Arrangements are typical on a danceable group including "Dardanellam," "Doll Dance," etc. Put this where it can be seen and it will sell by itself.

Dardanella
Nimble Fingers
Flapperette
Nola
Dainty Miss
Keyboard Serenade
Lullaby Of Birdland
Rag Doll
Doll Dance
The Wedding Of The Painted Doll
Dancing Tambourine
Holiday