Welk All-Stars still have star power

     From the down-home warmth of singer Ava Barber to Bob Havens’ unsurpassable jazz trombone, the old magic that made the Lawrence Welk Show one of television’s most popular variety shows lives on in these performers. Barber and Havens, who were members of the Lawrence Welk Show during its heyday, joined the North Carolina Pops Orchestra for a special concert Thursday, September 8, in Campbell University’s Scott Concert Hall.
     The North Carolina Pops Orchestra opened the concert with Aaron Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man,” a piece that could easily be a metaphor for Welk’s success, according to Havens.
     “Mr. Welk had a knack of knowing what to present and knowing what the people wanted to hear because he considered himself an average listener,” Havens said. “He was a chicken farmer who took accordion lessons by correspondence.”
     Havens, who joined the Lawrence Welk Show in 1960 after playing with Al Hirt and Jack Girard in New Orleans, had a million Lawrence Welk anecdotes up his sleeve. Born in North Dakota into a German-speaking community, Welk did not learn English until he was 21 and a theatre owner in Milwaukee promised him more money if he could speak to the audience. Finally introducing the band himself one night, Welk’s accent became a trademark that audiences loved, especially his “Wunnerful, Wunnerful.”
      Barber joined the Lawrence Welk Show in 1974, at the same time pursuing a successful recording career. Her hit song, “Bucket To The South,” went all the way to #13 on the “Billboard” charts, and she has appeared on prime time music shows such as “Nashville Now,” “Music City Tonight,” and “The Grand Ole Opry.” During an interview, Barber explained why the Welk Show, currently celebrating its 50th anniversary and in its 19th year of reruns on PBS Television, still strikes a chord with audiences.
     “When Lawrence Welk produced the show, it was a better time and place for Americans,” she said. “I think it takes people back to a time in their lives when there was good, old-fashioned wholesome entertainment.”
     Barber and Havens triumphed Thursday with songs like “Cowboy’s Sweetheart,” “Right to Sing the Blues,” “Tiger Rag,” and “Southern Nights.” Havens, who spent 23 years on the Lawrence Welk Show, continues to perform and appear at jazz festivals and concerts throughout the world. He is known as one of the world’s greatest Dixieland trombonists and the leading exponent of the Jack Teagarden style.
Barber and her husband drummer Roger Sullivan traveled with their band. In 1990, Barber opened her own theatre in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., and performed there until 1996. At present, she performs at various events all over the United States.
     The ABC Network dropped the Lawrence Welk Show in 1971 because programmers thought its audience was too old and moving away from its core viewing target. Welk immediately signed a lucrative syndication contract and went on producing the show for a number of years with even greater financial reward. He accumulated a vast real-estate empire and royalty rights to 20,000 songs, including the entire body of Jerome Kern’s work.


Photo Copy: Campbell President Jerry M. Wallace sings a duet with Lawrence Welk star, Ava Barber, at a concert featuring Barber and jazz trombonist, Bob Havens, who was also featured on the Lawrence Welk Show. The stars performed with the North Carolina Pops Orchestra in Campbell University’s Rogers Fine Arts Center recently. (Photo by Bennett Scarborough)