The 405 Coffee Break with O.K. Solberg
Oct 13, 2026 · 6 min · 5 segments
Lawrence Welk what a man! [Click here to view the episode transcript.](https://share.transistor.fm/s/cc0745ec/transcript "Click here to view the episode transcript.")
He only went through the fourth grade of school because he was needed on the farm to help.
At the age of 17, he borrowed four hundred dollars from his father to buy a professional or- accordion, and he promised four years of farm labor to repay that debt, and he stayed all four years.
As he worked for his father those next four years, he gave the family every penny he earned from playing that accordion at dances and social gatherings, as well as doing all the farm work.
Lawrence Welk left home when he turned twenty-one with three dollars in his pocket and that accordion at his side.
Lawrence Welk turned a regional dance band into a national radio and television empire.
He hosted one of America's longest-running and most successful television variety shows ever.
Lawrence Welk received two Hollywood Walk of Fame stars, yep, one for television and one for recording.
He built successful businesses in television, music, publishing, and real estate.
Lawrence Welk retired at the age of seventy-nine after nearly sixty years as a professional entertainer, and he left behind a television legacy that continues to this day in reruns even after his death.
When ABC canceled the Lawrence Welk Show in 1971, yes, sir, ABC canceled him, Welk refused to disappear.
He personally took the show into syndication, adding more television stations than he had when he was on the network.
He only went through the fourth grade of school because he was needed on the farm to help.
At the age of 17, he borrowed four hundred dollars from his father to buy a professional or- accordion, and he promised four years of farm labor to repay that debt, and he stayed all four years.
As he worked for his father those next four years, he gave the family every penny he earned from playing that accordion at dances and social gatherings, as well as doing all the farm work.
Lawrence Welk left home when he turned twenty-one with three dollars in his pocket and that accordion at his side.
Lawrence Welk turned a regional dance band into a national radio and television empire.
He hosted one of America's longest-running and most successful television variety shows ever.
Lawrence Welk received two Hollywood Walk of Fame stars, yep, one for television and one for recording.
He built successful businesses in television, music, publishing, and real estate.
Lawrence Welk retired at the age of seventy-nine after nearly sixty years as a professional entertainer, and he left behind a television legacy that continues to this day in reruns even after his death.
When ABC canceled the Lawrence Welk Show in 1971, yes, sir, ABC canceled him, Welk refused to disappear.
He personally took the show into syndication, adding more television stations than he had when he was on the network.
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