My Secret Vice

When I was growing up in the 1960s, it was popular to belittle and make fun of one of the most popular shows on ABC Television – “The Lawrence Welk Show.”

It seemed that no one would admit to watching the Saturday evening musical show although judging from the ratings, a lot of people did. Stars of the show were also splashed on the covers of the magazines that filled the racks at local drug stores.

The show was usually on in our home because my grandmother, who lived with us following a stroke in 1962, loved watching the program.

The stroke had left her partially paralyzed on one side and she was unable to speak but it was apparent to all of us that for the hour broadcast, she seemed almost miraculously healed. Her face had a glow and there was a youthful glimmer in her eyes as she watched Bobby and Barbara dance, Norma and Jimmy sing and Joe Feeney reach for notes so high during his renderings of Irish tunes, that you were certain they could be heard in Ireland.

When I briefly attended school in Mobile, Ala., I lived with my aunt who was in her late 60s. She too loved the show and planned her Saturday evening around it.

She urged me to become a pianist like Bob Ralston, who played on the show. I told her I’d rather be like Jo Ann Castle, who played ragtime on the program. She always seemed to be genuinely having fun when she played and I thought that playing the piano should be fun.

Once I began working in the 1970s, I pretty much forgot about the show although I would occasionally stumble upon it or read how successful it continued to be well into the 1980s, seeming to outlive the “British Invasion” and Disco.

One winter evening in 2001, when the cold seemed to sap any desire for me to go anyplace, I turned on Channel 11, which was broadcasting one of the old Welk shows, and sat down with a large glass of egg nog and watched. To my surprise, I found myself enjoying it.

At first, I dismissed it as nostalgia or because it reminded me of the pleasure on my grandmother’s face all those years before.

Each week, however, I either tuned in or recorded the program and was amazed to discover a whole new group of faces had joined the show in the 70s and early 80s. Many of them quickly became favorites that I actually looked forward to seeing each week including Guy & Ralna who sang with a style, skill and passion that I didn’t normally equate with the wholesome Welk setting.

Although “The Lawrence Welk Show” was clearly defined by Mr. Welk’s desire to set a standard for decent entertainment, as an adult I was able to recognize and appreciate that many of the performers on the program were in fact extremely talented singers and dancers. A great deal of work  goes into putting together a weekly one-hour musical variety show.

Whenever I was asked what I’d done on the weekend or what I’d seen on television recently that I had enjoyed, I never let slip about my “Saturday fix.”

In the summer of 2010, we actually journeyed to Pennsylvania to see a group of performers from the show’s heyday perform live before a standing room only crowd of 1,600 whose approval was resounding.

It was apparent that Ken Delo, The Otwell Twins, Jo Ann Castle who, at 70, stopped the show, Anacani and Guy & Ralna loved to perform and were all still at the height of their talents.

You didn’t need to sit there wrapped in a veil of nostalgia remembering how they had once performed because, if anything, there were performing with even more passion than during their television years.

Perhaps life’s experiences had enriched their vocal expertise, but Guy & Ralna raised the roof with their superb vocalizing and I had chills running up and down my spine as I listened to them. I made a silent vow that I would one day give Concord audiences a chance to hear them sing live one more time.

The pair had performed at the in 2006 and again in 2007. They still talk about the two hour autograph line after their Concord show as being a record-breaker in their careers.

Guy & Ralna fell in love with Concord during their visits and still rave about the lobster rolls at .  

The is launching its 19th season, with a benefit concert featuring Guy & Ralna on Friday, Sept. 14, at the Capitol Center.

When individuals or businesses consider coming to a particular city, the presence of an orchestra of the caliber of the Granite State Symphony Orchestra can play an enormously important role in that decision making process. After all, any city that can support an orchestra clearly has something special and unique going for it and recognizes the importance of the arts and music.

Whatever your musical taste may be come hear a pair of world-class talents, supported by members of the symphony show you why Concord has something for everyone.

Tickets go on sale at the Capitol Center for the Arts on Monday, June 11 at 11 a.m.