Monday, February 23, 2009

'A one-a and a two-a...'

This should be a hint that I did not have the wildest of weekends, but around 7 p.m. or so Saturday, I was channel surfing and just for the heck of it, clicked on "The Lawrence Welk Show" on public television KACV.

My wife and I were trying to guess what year it was. With the wide ties and big hair, our best guess was around 1970 for the big band variety show.

You have to be middle aged to appreciate the kind of hold the Lawrence Welk Show had on middle America in the 1960s and 1970s. It was a staple on Saturday nights with Bobby and Sissy dancing, Myron playing on the accordian, and Welk, with baton in hand, saying in his German accent, "And a one-a and a two-a..."

My parents used to watch that all the time, and for a teen, that looked like one hour of torture for me. But that was their business until Welk took his act on the road.

He and all his performers came to Amarillo for a concert one time in the 1970s. My parents went and made this a family affair. Under extreme protest, I was dragged along. Even had to dress up. Someone please shoot me.

I remember the Civic Center Coliseum was packed. I mean completely full. Historians will still say it's still the biggest gathering of bee-hived hair styles and black horn-rimmed glasses in Amarillo history. And truth is, I probably liked it better than I'd ever admit even nearly 40 years later.

No comments: