Lawrence Welk and his cast of performers were known for their safe, respectable, anodyne music. Occasionally, though, they would perform current hit songs in an attempt to attract younger viewers and keep the show up-to-date. In 1970, completely unaware of the meaning of one of the words in what he thought was a modern gospel song, he made a selection that created a bit of a controversy. Thirty years later, you can still hear the faint echoes of jaws dropping to the floor all across America: Here are Gail Farrell and Dick Dale singing One Toke Over The Line. Seriously.
(h/t exetaz)
The comments are open for your Reader Tips.
Hours of fun: Mapping Stereotypes.
The Telegraph:
“Millions of Americans risk falling out of the job market forever, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has warned, as it cautioned a full recovery from recession will take years.
“The recession has left the US with a long-term unemployment rate – a measure of those without work for more than six months – of 4.5pc, almost double that of the 1980s and 1990s downturns.
“‘Previous US recessions have exhibited no long-term damage to the economy or long-term increase in unemployment, but it is possible this recession will trigger these effects,’ the OECD said in its first survey of the world’s biggest economy since late 2008.”
My cousin married Johnny Zell, lead trumpet for the Welk band for 25 years, he even took over as band leader and did shows after Lawrence retired. He has got some incredible tidbits of hilarious situations which the band used to do to L.W.
Lawrence’s poor grasp of the English language made for some awkward and funny moments. No doubt this was done with full intentions of the meaning by the crew/producer as Lawrence would have no doubt of the real meaning. There would have been some great laughter and tipping of glasses after the fact.
Too funny!!!
I can believe it, glacierman. Welk would never have okayed the song if he knew what “toke” meant, and it’s impossible to believe that no one working on the show knew what it meant.
RT: Full transcript of the Pope’s speech in Westminster Hall.
If you had heard the stories that Johnny had me you would think differently. Most were pretty strait-laced, but there were a few who liked to stir the pot.
They did what they could to try and get away with as much as possible. After a good tongue lashing from Lawrence, they would be on good behavior for a long while, but when they were doing live television every week, there were quite a few things which got through the iron curtain!!!
*had (told) me
Even this many years later, a Google search on the string “Lawrence Welk sex scandal” produces no results.
The first, second or third? ;^)
There was and is a code, just like in Vegas!
What Ever Happened to Camille Paglia?
Once known as “America’s foremost cultural critic,” Paglia’s literary output has dropped precipitously while she has failed to engage on the number one women’s issue in the world: Islam’s treatment of females.
http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/what-ever-happened-to-camille-paglia/
Paglia is back at Salon writing.
She took some years off while professing.
Her new writing are as powerfull as ever.
Saudi women are now permitted to drive:
Cars-for-Saudi-Women.wmv
I’m listening to Dave Rutherford’s coverage of the despicable “Avaaz”. You can listen to it here – Sept. 20th – 11:00 AM – 36 minutes into the hour.
It sounds like this AMERICAN organization is interfering with the Canadian political process. It’s not clear if what they’re doing is illegal but the spirit of their actions clearly is wrong.
“I can never look at crazy right-wingers in the same way again.”
http://www.salon.com/books/memoirs/index.html?story=/books/int/2010/09/20/meredith_maran_my_lie_interview
O’Muslim in the closet: O’Muslim’s takkiya*.
“Ye shall know them by their fruits.”
(Matthew 7:16)
…-
“Obama goes to church to hear a Muslim speaker!”
Did Obama attend a Protestant church on Sunday because a pro-Palestinian Muslim was invited to speak?
(Sept. 20, 2010) — Yesterday, on Sunday, September 19, 2010, the Obama family attended church for only the third time in a year. They went on foot to the St. John’s Episcopal Church situated across the Lafayette Park.
But what is widely not reported by the White House and the MSM is that on that particular Sunday in that particular church, Dr. Ziad Asali, M.D., a Muslim, founder and president of the American Task Force on Palestine, was the guest speaker. He was there to speak on the subject of “Prospects of the two-state solution in the Middle-East.””
http://www.thepostemail.com/2010/09/20/obama-goes-to-church-to-hear-a-muslim-speaker/
*Muslim takkiya: dissembling, lying.
“Quote of the week – zzzzz”
“Some weeks we are given gifts from on high. This week was one of them.
Give thanks to George Monbiot for this gem, from his essay:
[Monbiot] Climate change enlightenment was fun while it lasted. But now it’s dead”
“George still doesn’t get this bit though:
[Monbiot] Greens are a puny force by comparison to industrial lobby groups, the cowardice of governments and the natural human tendency to deny what we don’t want to see.
[WUWT?] It was regular citizens, blogs, and somebody who had the courage to bring CRU’s emails to sunlight to show the world what they were really dealing with. There wasn’t any “industrial lobby”, just a bunch of regular folks who were fed up with being fed mushroom food. Once it was out in the open, exposed by this rag tag bunch of citizens and bloggers, the greens pretty much did the rest themselves by their pathetic public relations on the situation.
And soon, they’ll be on to the next big scare.
Read the whole article here:”
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2010/09/20/quote-of-the-week-zzzzz/#more-25146
“A modern spiritual by Gail and Dale”
LOL!
Sometimes when surfing channels I’ll come across The Lawrence Welk Show and watch it just for the groans. God bless these folks! They’re so earnest and squeaky clean, smiley and dancey (THAT Bobby!), lovey and dovey, that you can’t help watching them like you would watch a train wreck: with horrified fascination.
At least no animals were harmed in the filming of this show.
Thanks, EBD, for the transcript of Pope Benedict’s speech at Westminster Hall, a comprehensive call for reason and faith to work together to help elevate human dignity and alleviate human suffering throughout the world.
I particularly took note of these observations:
“Religion, in other words, is not a problem for legislators to solve, but a vital contributor to the national conversation. In this light, I cannot but voice my concern at the increasing marginalization of religion, particularly of Christianity, that is taking place in some quarters, even in nations which place a great emphasis on tolerance. There are those who would advocate that the voice of religion be silenced, or at least relegated to the purely private sphere. There are those who argue that the public celebration of festivals such as Christmas should be discouraged, in the questionable belief that it might somehow offend those of other religions or none. And there are those who argue – paradoxically with the intention of eliminating discrimination – that Christians in public roles should be required at times to act against their conscience. These are worrying signs of a failure to appreciate not only the rights of believers to freedom of conscience and freedom of religion, but also the legitimate role of religion in the public square. I would invite all of you, therefore, within your respective spheres of influence, to seek ways of promoting and encouraging dialogue between faith and reason at every level of national life.”
Amen.
One toke? Amateurs!
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/guns-and-grow-ops-conservatives-should-be-consistent/article1712802/
Check out Roger L. Simon’s latest article:
“Considerable buzz is being created by a three-part series of Internet interviews with an alleged White House insider. These anonymous interviews on the NewsFlavor site attack Obama, Pelosi, and company as self-involved incompetents and describe the Democratic Party in general as being in serious disarray.”
http://pajamasmedia.com/rogerlsimon/
Bill Clinton, talking to George Stephanopoulos, says that Sarah Palin should not be underestimated by her opponents:
“She hasn’t won all of her endorsements, but she’s won most of them. And you know, she’s a compelling, attractive figure.”
“I think she’s clearly a public figure who is, who speaks well and persuasively to the people who listen to her. And she’s somebody to be reckoned with. And she’s tough.”
Stephanopoulos:
“Clinton recalled when ‘people were making fun of her’ he read about Palin’s husband finishing the last 500 miles of Alaska’s Iron Dog race with a broken arm. ‘Now, where I come from, people like that. They think that’s pretty good,’ he said.
“So is she qualified to be president? Clinton said the ‘American people can elect whomever they want.'”
Duly noted.
(via Drudge)
Batb, (8:03), wrt the Pope’s statement –
“There are those who argue that the public celebration of festivals such as Christmas should be discouraged, in the questionable belief that it might somehow offend those of other religions or none.”
The belief – the assumption, the assertion – that people of other religions will be badly offended by Christmas celebrations (for example) IS questionable, as the Pope noted, and it’s also massively hypocritical, in that the sort of people who advocate toning down – or even removing – Christmas celebrations from the public sphere in the putative interest of not stepping on the toes of other faiths tend to be educated, well-traveled, “enlightened” people who will magnanimously regale you with lengthy anecdotes about the beauty of foreign (Indian, Korean, African, South American, etc) religious festivals. None of these enlightened folks would ever, *ever* advocate that the citizens of those delightful and colourful nations stop celebrating their own beliefs in order to not offend people from other places, and in fact I think they’d be offended if anyone even floated the idea.
“And you know, she’s a compelling, attractive figure.” Oh, oh, sounds like Slick Willie is starting to put verbal moves on Alaska’s finest. Maybe that’s why Heidie Hillary is changing up the hair do. Could wearing a dress be far behind? How big of a fence will Todd have to build when Billy bob moves to Wascilla?
rzr, I read that Salon article you posted. Its a good one, in that it shows a woman who’s judgment is SO damaged by her “education” that she ruined her family life, became a lesbian, and did all manner of really nasty things to people in her sphere of influence.
Then at the end we have this diamond of revelation:
[Maran] Would I allow an innocent man to sit in prison if it meant keeping children safe?
[Salon] So would you make that choice?
[Maran] I think so.
Behold the true nature of the Left-wing feminist. That’s a tiny perfect gem of knowledge, my friends.
Thanks Rzr!
Crazy Rutgers philosophy prof wants all carnivorous animals to become extinct.
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/p-j-gladnick/2010/09/21/nutty-professor-pleads-extinction-all-carnivorous-animals
Black Mamba, I was sure that you were joking. You weren’t:
Holy Smokes. Wowee. In the New York Times, no less.
Umm, kill the gun registry. And in a related note, I’m now accepting reservations for a spot in my soon-to-be-built underground shelter….
Song update:
.
“One toke over the line, my Obama…”
.
Works with three different scenarios. The last one being massive over reach without expecting a huge hurricane of steadily building opposition.
EBD: ” … they’d be offended if anyone even floated the idea.”
‘You got it, EBD! The hypocrisy and bigotry is breathtaking. Of course, these educated, well-traveled, “enlightened” people never look in the mirror. It’s always inferior others who offend hypothetical others; it would never enter their self-centred, hair-brained skulls that THEIR ideas might be offensive.
‘Guess that’s what happens when you live in a hermetically sealed bubble.
Velvet Underground was also performed on Lawrence Welk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i48BP1PUoFI
From the Salon article by Meredith Maran, posted by rzr @ 5:11 a.m., on false “recovered memories” of child molestation which ruined countless people’s lives, MM says, “It’s a little embarrassing for a person who’s always been thought of as a critical thinker.”
Yup. More than a little.
George monbiots misery is my source of elation/relief:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/sep/20/climate-change-negotiations-failure
The AGW lobby is in very and increasingly dire straights. Kyoto lapses in 2012 and no replacement is in sight. AGW is fading into oblivion a la the zero carb diet.
A little tidbit via Drudge:
http://wbztv.com/local/obama.aunt.zeituni.2.1921954.html
It’s kind of a sad commentary on life when people bite the hand that feeds them. But then again, it is always someone elses’ fault.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/09/21/california.bell.arrests/index.html?hpt=T2
City officials in Bell, CA have been arrested. Excellent!
Reading David Warren is a nutritional snack.
Articulating freedom
David Warren
In this space last week, I warned my readers that I’d embarked on an eccentric little journey. Inspired, somewhat, by the Tea Party phenomenon in the States, I want to write some columns in a positive spirit, on what needs doing and how to go about it.
http://www.davidwarrenonline.com/
My mother was born near the Canada USA bodfer in Sask. She met Lawrence Welk at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. in or about 1980.
Welk was born in Strasburg, North Dakota. He knew quite a lot about Southern Saskatchewan, mostly because there were several German communities in his area, much like North Dakota.
Mom couldn’t beleive how he was friendly and down to earth, in spite of the fact that he was an extemely rich and successful man. (Check out his record sales.)
I still miss Lawrence Welk, Sunday nights, the popcorn, the B+W Zenith and my Dad’s honest criticism of the singers.
My mother was born near the Canada USA bodfer in Sask. She met Lawrence Welk at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. in or about 1980.
Welk was born in Strasburg, North Dakota. He knew quite a lot about Southern Saskatchewan, mostly because there were several German communities in his area, much like North Dakota.
Mom couldn’t beleive how he was friendly and down to earth, in spite of the fact that he was an extemely rich and successful man. (Check out his record sales.)
I still miss Lawrence Welk, Sunday nights, the popcorn, the B+W Zenith and my Dad’s honest criticism of the singers.
Re: One Toke over the Line.
Looking at her eyes, I think she knows a lot more than you think! (God she’s cute!) Keep in mind that the couple is from Oklahoma, and in OK and Texas, weed was a wild plant. Much like moonshine was the social drink in Western Canada, they may have thought nothing of it!
Hey, Sam, I’m glad you haven’t been so silent!
I make fun of Lawrence Welk — who doesn’t? Whoops, sorry, you don’t! — but he was a decent guy and his performers were decent and talented entertainers. Maybe that’s why I stop at his show when I’m channel surfing. I find I can take only so much, but he made a lot of people happy and did no harm.
Our oldest son was just learning to walk around furniture when my wife and I decided to take him to visit his great grandfather who lived in a seniors lodge in Calgary. We found Gramps sitting in the common area surrounded by a gaggle of women his own age all watching Lawrence Welk. While the old boy lit up like a Christmas tree with the arrival of his granddaughter and great grandson his harem was more interested in LW. After a few minutes, to our amazement, our son pulled himself up and began to walk across the room without support. He walked all the way to the big box TV reached out and … shut it off. It took me a few minutes to find the on switch after which I brought the son back to Gramps. As we talked with the old boy the young boy got up, walked across the room and again shut off Lawrence Welk. The first time a few of the women complained but the second time well…Lets just say I could walk faster carrying my son than the old ladies could walk pushing their walkers while shaking their fists. And all that time I had thought Calgary was friendly!
I don’t mind making fun of Lawrence Welk. My brother used to walk around the living room on Sunday nights talking just like him. It wasn’t hard for us, because we lived about 5 miles from a German Catholic community that had common roots with Welk.