From 1955 to 1982, bandleader Lawrence Welk (1903–1992) and his Champagne Music Makers presented an hour-long program of easy-listening popular music that appealed to traditional audiences who disliked rock and roll (see entry under 1950s—Music in volume 3) and other musical styles of the younger generation. The show was sponsored for many years by Geritol, a tonic medicine for older people, and Sominex, a brand of sleeping pills.

Welk was born in Strasburg, North Dakota, but never lost the accent of his Eastern European parents. He was famous for expressions such as "wunnerful, wunnerful" and for starting his musical selections by waving a baton to the words "ah-one and ah-two." After many years as a struggling bandleader, he got his break in 1951 when KTLA-TV in Santa Monica, California, began to broadcast a show featuring his band. The show went nationwide on ABC-TV four years later...