Thursday, 23 August 2012
Metamorphosis
By Mickey Rogers of This, That and the Other
Last evening the double-barreled truth hit me - I’m officially old and in at least one way, I’ve become like my father.
Bev and I watched an old Fred Astaire - Ginger Rogers movie with her dad. After the film was finished we returned to his room at the assisted living complex. Innocently enough, he turned on the TV set and began watching one of his favorite programs.
When I was a kid, like most families in our neighborhood, we were the proud owners of one TV set. When the boss (Dad) was at work, occasionally I had the chance to view something that he would never watch.
For example, Dad worked on Saturdays so sometimes I’d watch college football and basketball games. When the boss got home, however, he was in complete charge of everything, including the “boob tube.”
At that point, we kids could either watch whatever Dad had on or we could find something else to do. Luckily for me, most of Dad’s favorites were my favorites, too. Just about every night he and I would watch westerns, comedies and variety shows.
But with me being a teenager at that long ago time, it shouldn’t surprise you to learn that a few of Dad’s shows simply nauseated me. Every Saturday night he watched a cornpone country western program that made me yearn to escape to the basement, the woods or even Siberia.
Growing up in the ‘50s and ‘60s, I was weaned on rock and roll. It was perfectly clear to me that no other music could ever reach the perfection of “my” listening favorites. Naturally, being an “old” guy, Dad hated Elvis Presley and a few years later, he developed an even bigger hatred for The Beatles. To be on the safe side, I hid my rock and roll records in my underwear drawer.
The worst program from a then-kid’s point of view was The Lawrence Welk Show. Sophisticated fourteen year olds listened to inspirational music like that offered by the Rolling Stones, not to the out-of-date stuff offered by some old guy who spoke with an accent (wunnerful, wunnerful!) and occasionally danced with elderly, blue-haired ladies. Of course, those “old” ladies don’t seem so old anymore.
We young folks had a term for Welk’s music; it was “square.” Scratching one’s fingernails down a chalkboard sounded better than Myron on the accordion or Ms. Castle on the piano. Admitting that one watched the Welk show was akin to admitting that he was not “hip.”
A friend and I used to make fun of Lawrence and his show: “This is Lawrence Welcome. Our show tonight is wunnerful, wunnerful! Tonight I’m a gonna’ dance ah with the ah old ah ladies in the ah audience. Then the Lemon sisters will do a medley of a 1820 big ah hit ah songs. A one and a two ah.”
Bev said that neither of her parents regularly watched Lawrence‘s program but they were exposed to it whenever they visited Grandma on a Saturday night. Although Bev and I didn’t know each other at the time, we had a similar evaluation of the show.
For a kid, watching the program was pure torture. More than once I wondered how any sane person, even an old one, could stoop so low in seeking entertainment.
Surprisingly, there were many people who did like the show. Welk’s program ran on a Los Angeles station from 1951 until 1955. Then it had a long run (too long, as far as I was concerned) on ABC from 1955 until 1971. Still not through, the show continued in syndication until 1982.
This longevity surprised me. I thought that once the original old fans died off, the show would simply fade into the sunset but like a certain watch, the show just keeps on ticking.
Let’s go back to last evening. My father-in-law turned on a 1964 recording of The Lawrence Welk Show. To my utter surprise, I no longer had an urge to jump out the nearest window or to stick tissue paper into my ears. As Myron and Ms. Castle played, and while the Lennon sisters sang, I merely sat back and enjoyed myself!
No doubt somewhere in this universe my father was watching this great transformation and I bet he had a huge grin on his face. Just like he had done so many years ago, I was watching and enjoying an old person’s show! Say it isn’t so!
Why are Welk’s reruns shown today? Because there is a new set of fans out there. Let’s call them the “new old.” Mother nature keeps producing an audience for the show.
No doubt Lawrence, wherever he is, is thinking that this is just “wunnerful, wunnerful” but it scares me half to death. I’ve morphed into a Lawrence Welk fan. My old hero Elvis must be rolling in his grave! What’s next, foxtrot lessons?
[INVITATION: All elders, 50 and older, are welcome to submit stories for this blog. They can be fiction, non-fiction, poetry, memoir, etc. Please read instructions for submitting.]
Posted by Ronni Bennett at 05:30 AM | Permalink | Email this post
Comments
Verify your Comment
Previewing your Comment
This is only a preview. Your comment has not yet been posted.
As a final step before posting your comment, enter the letters and numbers you see in the image below. This prevents automated programs from posting comments.
Having trouble reading this image? View an alternate.
True confession. I have watched a few Lawrence Welk shows in the past two or three years and have actually enjoyed them. I've never admitted this to anyone before. Help!
Posted by: Brenda Verbeck | Thursday, 23 August 2012 at 07:49 AM
Mickey - My local PBS TV station does Lawrence Welk reruns. I still hate them. As I enter my 76th year, I struggle to avoid giving in to this aging thing.
On the other hand, as time passes, either my body or my yoga instructor rules out more and more of the more difficult poses.
(However, I've always kinda liked the foxtrot!) - Sandy
Posted by: Sandy Dickson | Thursday, 23 August 2012 at 08:34 AM
Mickey,
Lawrence Welk appears on PBS every Saturday night in my area. I always avoided it because of memories of my parents and having to watch it when I was younger.
A few months ago,as I was passing through the channels looking for something to watch,there were Larry and the gang in their pink blazers & ties and white shoes playing
"Don't Sit Under The Apple Tree".
Amused, I thought I would watch for a minute. That minute turned into the entire program and now I watch every Saturday night.
When my grandchildren are here,they watch for 5 minutes then pretend to stick their fingers down their throats and go to another room.
I hope they are still running the Lawrence Welk Show in 2052
so those kids can watch and enjoy it then.
Posted by: Nancy | Thursday, 23 August 2012 at 09:09 AM
The first meeting with my soon to be in-laws had their attention to me and the Lawrence Welk Show, I think the show won. I watch it now and love the clothes!
Posted by: Marcy B. | Thursday, 23 August 2012 at 09:32 AM
For some reason I always enjoyed the Lawrence Welk Show, even when I was young, and I still do. I think it is because of the simplicity and wholesomeness. At least we can understand the words and still sing them, unlike so many songs today.
Posted by: Jackie Harrison | Thursday, 23 August 2012 at 10:53 AM
Ditto to what Jackie said. It's good wholesome music with a beat I seem to understand.
Posted by: Johna Ferguson | Thursday, 23 August 2012 at 11:09 AM
And to think that in the early 1980's I sloughed off Lawrence Welk's suggestion that I go talk to his personel manager. Quickly and quietly, Welk's good golfing friend Eddie Shipstad took me aside with "Don't work for Welk he won't pay you enough and besides we need you here." Shucks, maybe Mr. Welk's magic wand could've turned me into the Champagne Lady for today's audience.
Posted by: auntann | Thursday, 23 August 2012 at 11:18 AM
I laughed and laughed at this piece. I hated that show as an adolescent, and after I married and had children, my hubby would find the reruns once in a while. When my oldest was a preschooler, and he turned 16 today, he would dance and dance to the music. Even today if he and his little brother run across it when they are surfing the channels, he'll stay right there on it. I can't figure him out at all. I tolerate those reruns and sit and laugh at the style of clothes.
Posted by: wearmanyhats | Thursday, 23 August 2012 at 02:07 PM
A good post and it elicited a lot of nostalgic posts--we never had TV during the first run of that show, but in middle age, when visiting my parents, I would excuse myself and go read or work crossword puzzles.I'm afraid that's still my reaction, except my escape is the computer!
Posted by: Lyn Burnstine | Thursday, 23 August 2012 at 06:11 PM
Funny story! Some of us do have changing tastes in music as we age.
Posted by: Jeep | Thursday, 23 August 2012 at 07:47 PM
Yes, our perspectives can change -- even on music. I, too, was a young adult in the '50's and '60's -- even exposed to Elvis before he was anybody musically. I didn't care for him then because it was so obvious he had commandeered music of another culture and those in the South, where I was then living, were suddenly embracing this music that they rejected when performed by those in that other culture. Seeing all the discrimination otherwise I found this distasteful. I guess that's not his fault, and ultimately the R&B and all performers began to be accepted everywhere, so that was good. But during that time I was heavily into jazz, anyway -- and still am.
I never got into the full-fledged rock 'n roll scene, though I have greatly enjoyed and appreciated many of the tunes -- especially when they have been arranged and played with different instrumentation i.e. "Yesterday" and many more. Liked a number of the rock groups i.e. the one that did "The Wall." Guess that was later and my son introduced me since he knew what I'd like -- he has liked both rock and jazz.
As for Welk, we made fun of him, too. Some musician types referred to his music as "Mickey Mouse" music. My mother liked it. She's gone now. Amazingly to me, I, too, along with my then living jazz-playing husband found ourselves listening to and actually enjoying Welk some years ago when all other music had disappeared from commercial TV. My husband appreciated that they had some really good musicians and probably they took the gig because they wanted security and tired of jobbing around.
After moving to So Cal, we took my mother to visit the Welk housing development located near San Diego.
Actually, I like every kind of music, but usually only certain numbers, or select musicians, etc. in any one genre.
Somewhere on TV Welk's music is still playing now.
Posted by: Joared | Saturday, 25 August 2012 at 06:56 PM
My parents didn't like Welk's music until their later years, so you might be on to something!
Posted by: Mustlovecats | Monday, 03 September 2012 at 08:32 AM