No matter where he played, Chicago's Aragon, Hollywood's Pladium, or some small town affair, Welk always inserted several polkas. Polkas became a primary part of his repertoire. He felt that if he came from such a background, others did too - millions of them. Another thing that Welk never forgot, was his heritage and the music he grew up with, polkas. It took a long time, but eventually the right formula was hit upon - a lightness of quality with a bubbling flow - he called it "Champagne Muisc." As his popularity rose, Welk began adding more instruments but always leaning heavily on the "Champage Music" style and soon the nation at large was to know that Lawrence Welk was a man to be contended with when it came to big name bands. His deft showmanship and his fine playing soon led to the formation of his first band, accordion and drums which later were supplemented by piano and saxophone, and by 1927, thanks to a few appearances on radio, his orchestra was known throughout the midwest as the "Biggest Little Band In America." All through this "growing up" era, Welk played mostly polkas but he gradually learned and began performing more modern numbers.Īs the years passed, Lawrence gave more and more thought to the idea of giving his music a personal and distinctive touch - something that would set his music apart from other orchestras and make it recognized the moment it was heard, regardless of what type of music he was playing. Lawrence Welk's first taste of show business came when he went on the road as an accordion soloist, a tour that was soon to make him well known throughout the vicinity of the Black Hills.
The accordion is considered universal as the basic instrument for a polka band, and thru help from his father, Lawrence at the age of 13 was already playing polka music for local dances in North Dakota. To add to this natural bend toward polkas, Lawrence gained a love of music from his father Ludig, whose favorite pastime was playing the accordion. To choose Lawrence Welk as the star in this album titled, "Music For Polka Lovers," is the most natural thing to do, for Lawrence was born and raised in Strasburg, North Dakota, right in the middle of a community which doted on polka music. Mercury Records takes pleasure in presenting to you this Long-Playing recording by Lawrence Welk and his orchestra, one of the most popular band leaders in America, and one of the leading exponents of the polka playing art. Probably one of the most popular forms of music everywhere is the polka because it stems from more than one country such as germany, Poland, Lithuania, Switzerland, and many others.
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