The Lawrence Welk Show: Wah Wahtusi

[karjens41]

I love the Lennon Sisters and was surprised to find this. I saw the Orlons do this song on the PBS special and it was great to see the Lennon Sisters do such a great job. It does make me laugh a little that it seems Janet is holding back with some of the moves, most likely because Mr. Welk or the producers were afraid the Twist, the Fly and the Watusi may be too suggestive for the audience :-). Great video. Thanks for posting it.

[AllBobsAllTheTime]

Pretty corny but they actually do a good job with it.

[sabinoson]

Rock n' Roll...on The Lawrence Welk Show?!!! Hmmm....

Well, I did see some surf bands on the show, too...

[ladyvee7110]

Do I dare ask? I'm wondering why they didn't ask the Orlons to perform this on the show? Hmm.

[sabinoson]

@ladyvee7110 Exactly! I also wonder about that! Pat Boone would've fit in perfectly here....

[Nanadsyl]

Every Sunday night Lawrence Welk was on my mom wouldnt miss him.lol

[crazyromanian1]

God this was painful but kinda fun.

[jaytlr9]

I'm having a crush on Janet all over again!

[recordguy4321]

talk about white bread versions, YOW!

[GinoongJojo]

Weird dance

[jakestud2007]

That ain't the Watusi. 

[Chuck1974]

I recently saw the movie "The Help" and "The Wah Watusi" was one of the songs in the film. Thought I might find the song on youtube. This isn't exactly The Orlons but it's fun anyway!

[bluewingtip]

Norma and Larry are really being sports; I don't know that I would have done this, even if Lawrence told me to! I think Larry is supposed to be a "hep cat" but it really backfired. Poor Larry. Oh, they are lip syncing.  In Lawrence's book 'Wunerful, Wunerful' he says that they sang to their own recordings. This is because they didn't have good boom mics then and he wanted to have lush sound. It's them singing to their own recording.

[carlsondm]

How creepy does Larry Hooper look in this clip?

[mrcheetah799]

I think the guy with the FAKE muscles is lip syncing.

[grandstef]

These dresses and sweaters would make even the longest-legged pinup look like a mustard pot, and the calf length socks are a killer, too; and by the way, what does the disguise of the guy means?

[dancebandleader]

I saw this show when first broadcast. Welk decided to do one show consisting

of current pop hits. They weren't all in this style, either. On a later show

Welk quoted one fan letter as saying "mashed potatoes and champagne

don't mix" they resumed the format with a mix of various styles, the following

week. Even then the music wasn't all champagne style in the regular

shows. Give Welk some credit for taking chances once in a while.

[7252christian]

I just read" rest in peace Norma," and it shocked me. I was born in 1952, and so I grew up watching and loving the Welk show. This might sound stupid but everything in the entertainment world that I remember is gone. What is considered entertainment today, is not. I'm so happy to say that Norma Zimmer was a Christian. It is very true that as you grow older your circle of family and friends grows smaller, and that includes the entertainer's who entertained many generation's of the past.

[hhhgfgyffyugvs]

haha my grandma can dance the wahtusi

[MoonLitBunny]

The Orlons do it better

[musicfan43055]

The dance they're doing looks more like the Mash Potato then the Watusi.

[stlgtrace]

Rest in Peace, Norma!

[ggreenwood4]

They were always SOoooo LAME!

[fuhoney]

First of all, no one did the Watusi during this number, those outfits were even too conservative for Jesus and even watching Lawrence Welk makes it smell like a nursing home in here...

[stevieplez2]

I'm black and I can't dance like that, darn shame LOL

[stevieplez2]

The lead dancer probably got all the guys with those moves WOW get downs soul sistahs LOL

[stevieplez2]

WOW she gettin down....

[gomezesmorticia]

It is true white men can't dance.

[waynebrasler]

My favorite number from the Lawrence Welk Show. The outfits are priceless and Norma Zimmer obviously is having such fun. Janet is darling. And it is all so out of joint with the Welk persona. I know many who agree this is priceless.

[pataphysician66]

I remember seeing a commercial in the late 60's with Welk dressed as his idea of what a hippie looked like, and the announcer saying something like- "Were going to have a psyche-diddly-delic time!' Does anyone remember that one or have the video? I would love to se that one again! I laughed my ass off! Been trying to find it on YT.

[conifer541]

@pataphysician66

That clip is right here on you tube, just use the tag line "Welk hippie" Poor Lawrence, he just didn't get it.

[pataphysician66]

Can it get any whiter than this?

[bass0111]

@pataphysician66: LOL

[TP2001]

Is this the only example of someone doing the Twist and the Mashed Potato on the Lawrence Welk show? So awesome to see the girls doing this Top 40 hit from '62 here! However, as I understand the Watusi, none of the girls ever did the actual dance during this number. I never saw anyone Watusi.

Such a rare piece of wonderful Lennon Sisters and Welk nostalgia! Thank you so much for sharing.

[axcrewe]

oh lord save us from dee whyte folks tryin do dee black folks musik !

[bass0111]

@axcrewe: Although you got a lot of negative votes, you are in fact correct. Although likely benevolent, this is an unintentional mockery of The Orlons original.

[409442]

@bass0111 I've heard 'em both, bass man, & this version is actually BETTER than the original!

[bass0111]

@409442: You must be joking. This lacks any R&B grit whatsoever, which is the entire musical essence of the song. As with most of their renditions of then-contemporary 60s and 70s numbers, the Welk orchestra's version, while very proficient technically, is so devoid of soul that it winds up being a parody of what it tries to emulate.

[409442]

@axcrewe  Hey bud, dee white folks done did it better!

[calihartley2010]

@axcrewe what a fool you are. They did the number very well.

[buzz4homes]

funny watching Peggy and Norma laugh when Norma is off on the dance!!

[boatracer39]

Janet's birthday today! Happy Birthday beautiful !!

[ChangsUncle]

Great job all around but that costume makes Larry look like Frankenstein, ha ha.

[stlgtrace]

Rock and Roll on the Lawrence Welk show!!! Geez, what was the world coming to in '62!!! They do a groovy job!!

[scurge33]

what is up with that fake buff suit on the bass man?

[erod1944]

Did ya see Janet slip in a couple of Mash Potatoes steps? Nice Moves!

[patentpumps]

Shows that the Lennons could rock it when given the chance. Love it! And I saw them sing it on the original show.

[freshair345]

Go Janet!!

[successandlifestyle]

This makes me laugh!

[mjtbr2]

Janet's got the moves! One of the most fun numbers I've ever seen from the Welk show. Love it!

[Jayee123]

@mjtbr2 I agree. But the beatnik guy seemed off. On purpose? Supposed to be funny? 'T'wasn't, but little Janet was the tea!

[Libby194]

@Jayee123 Yes, I've noticed that a great many people didn't appreciate Larry Hooper's performance in this number--which was, as you've noted, an (intentionally?) awkward and tongue-in-cheek view of the 50's style beatnik. The Lennons could have easily performed the Watusi minus these self conscious antics, but then I'm resigned to the fact that the Lawrence Welk show was always "square," even in the early years. They wouldn't do a rock n roll number unless they were able to make a joke of it.

[spacepatrolman]

@Libby194 they needed a guy with a low voice cause the orlons have one he calls it his frog voice

[jaytlr9]

@Libby194 Great post, Libby194. That was one thing that always bothered me about the Welk show; they often wouldn't just leave well enough alone.

[hebneh]

"For our younger viewers" - ? The only younger viewers of this show were the ones who were forced to watch it with their grandparents.

The only way a current rock hit could appear on this program was as a parody, which this performance is.

I think I read that the Lennon Sisters gradually became displeased as Lawrence Welk regulars, when they couldn't really "grow up" and had to continue acting and dressing younger than they actually were.

[andrewlynchtube]

Let us embed please! Love The Wah Wahtusi...

[benoni45]

Terrific! Beautiful, beautiful people enjoying the moment and thrilling millions!

[oceanbound222]

Awesome vocals !!!!!!!

[Jaybird1103]

This was when the Lennon Sisters were a trio consisting of Janet, Kathy, and Peggy after Dianne left to help raise a family (she was off the show from 1960-64). Larry Hooper looked hip as a beatnik, and Russ Klein does a great sax solo. Also performing in the song is Norma Zimmer, who shows that the Champagne Lady has some soda pop in her.

[gdqqps]

I saw the Lennon Sisters say it was when Dianne had laryngitis and Norma Zimmer filled in on her part.

[fordman4444]

@gdqqps--- Dianne had taken leave at this time to get married and raise a family,she didn't rejoin the group till 1964.

[gnativerson]

Larry Hooper looks hipper than the later hippies - LOL

[supremes1964]

Norma Zimmer is so cool  LOL

[mykittykatmykittykat]

Just-a-wonderful to see my favourite Janet sparkling so much !!

[kelmhk]

To see the Lennon Sisters perform like this is great. I remember when they first started branching out on their own, they would perform a song Sunny. If you have a clip of them singing and dancing to Sunny I would really like to see it again. I remember them singing it on, The Jerry Lewis Show, and their own TV special as part of the medley of songs they opened with. If you can find any of these clips would be great. Thanks

[spacepatrolman]

@kelmhk Rock out with the lennon sisters