LAWRENCE WELK AND HIS CHAMPAGNE MUSIC - Shamrocks and Champagne

LAWRENCE WELK AND HIS CHAMPAGNE MUSIC
Shamrocks and Champagne

Side One

1 when irish eyes are smiling
2 my heart danced an irish jig
3 irish alphabet
4 the story of kevin barry
5 an irish soldier boy
6 mcnamara's band


Side Two

1 a little bit of heaven (shure they call it ireland)
2 wild colonial boy
3 ireland must be heaven for my mother came from there
4 'tis the luck of the irish
5 shamrocks, shillelaghs and shenanigans
6 dance aroun' a stack of barley


There seems to be nothing that Lawrence Welk cannot do. His "Sparklin Strings" and his "Champagne Music" dispense a great variety of musical highlights to the millions of listeners who relax or dance whenever his organization is heard on the air. In this album, one of America's favorite bands features some of the most popular Irish music ever composed. Although all the numbers are Irish in character, they belong to several categories. There are, for instance, such great standards as "McNamara's Band," "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling," "Ireland Must Be Heaven For My Mother Came From There"; such highly original songs as "Irish Alphabet," "Tis the Luck of the Irish," the merry "Shamrocks, Shillelaghs and Shenanigans," "Dance Aroun' A Stack of Barley," which is really an Irish Barn Dance; and songs which have the quality and color of a folk song, like "Wild Colonial Boy," "An Irish Soldier Boy," and "The Story of Kevin Barry," which is a tragic and noble tribute to the martyr who died for liberty.

For the cause he proudly cherish Then to death he walked that morning
This sad parting had to be; That old Ireland might be free.

Lawrence Welk emphasizes the vigor, the humor, and the basic appeal of all these numbers. He communicates the spirit of another culture, for he is a product of a cultural background from abroad. When the Prussians invaded France in 1878, Ludwig Welk escaped from his native Alsace-Lorraine and, with other Alsatians, came to America. They settled on a small North Dakota farm which had the Alsatian name of Strasburg. In the course of time there were eight Welk children, and Lawrence was next to the youngest. From his father, Ludwig, the boy inherited so great a love for music that he mastered the accordion while he was still a child. At thirteen, without formal instruction, Larry was already playing for community dances. He made his first personal appearance on the inaugural broadcast of radio station WNAX at Yankton, South Dakota - his "orchestra" consisted of drums and accordion. Soon he added a saxophone and a piano and gave his group such fancy names as "The Hotsy Totsy Boys," "Lawrence Welk and His Honolulu Fruit Gum Orchestra," and "The Biggest Little Band in AMerica" - this last because its five members peformed on thirty instruments.

Lawrence Welk's organization survived all these titles. Gradually the orchestra was enlarged - it changed its character - the instruments were regrouped - new rhythms and new arrangements were introduced - and finally it achieved that characteristic lightness and bouncing effervescence which earned it the appropriately bubbling name of "Champagne Music."