LAWRENCE WELK - "Calcutta" (1960)

Big, big hit for Larry, which he originally didn't want to do. Just goes to show.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• 1960s
• pop
• instrumental
• easy
• listening
• standards

[fmazzar]

The pop charts had room for stuff like this back in the 60's...there was room for all sorts of music and the AM radio band was alive with pop masterpieces all day and night long...where did it go? Rap music is an oxymoron, and AM argument shows with Rush or whomever, are a waste of bandwith.....where did we go off the track?

[MrTrashcan1]

@fmazzar Part of it was that FM was gaining listeners and had better sound quality. The other problem is that radio was deregulated without removing the FCC's tight control over licensing and acting as a traffic cop to make sure one signal didn't trounce on another. Had the airwaves been left to the private sector, technology would have advanced to the point where there could have been far more stations and variety. Thanks to the government, though, AM is the same as it was 90 years ago.

[IBMeddling]

At 1:03 there is a funny picture of a guy holding a "Calcutta" record album. Is there a story behind that?

[MrTrashcan1]

@IBMeddling One of my favorites. Really just a picture I found on the web, but it's so funny--a guy excited about a Lawrence Welk album. The irony of it is that back in the 90s when I was searching to find all the songs I had taped back in school I was probably just as excited to find that record.

[tigermark64]

Calcutta was Lawrence Welk's sixth entry into Billboard's charts. It was one of nine #1 instrumentals in the 1960's

[jlgood50]

Was #1 on the pop charts for two weeks in 1961. Who can forget the lovely Lennon sisters singing?

[CBSEye]

This was an era when you could have Lawrence Welk right next to Elvis in the Top Ten! Those were great years, all gone today. Everything blends into one big noise. The variety of music was astounding back then.

[td1238]

@MrTrashcan1 If that is the case, then why was there room for more variety back then on the same AM radio that has been the same for 90 years? There is plenty of room. What is wrong is that deregulation in the 1980s and 1990s has allowed giant corporations to own many stations and spew the same sensational commercial crap over and over again on each station.Whatever sells the most advertisement, not what people necessarily like.The Communications Act of 1934 was a wonderful thing,and it's gone.

[oLdSkOoLkisS]

this has the definitive early 60's feel....

[tomovox]

YES! For years I have been trying figure out who did this and where I could find it! WGN radio was playing it the other day and the radio show host was flipping out over it. He kept playing it after every commercial break and I was going nuts waiting for the name. A listener called in to reveal the mystery. Thank you times a million for posting this here! What a fun and catchy tune!

[unwindzen]

I don't understand why Mr. Welk didn't want to record this song. It's simple, but great.

[bheffley2002]

@jlgood50 Or the late Myron Floren on accordion.

[billboardnumber1]

@fmazzar But wait, what's wrong with Vanilla ice's Ice Ice Baby and Notorious Big's "Hypnotize"? Don't they have the calibre of quality songs like Calcutta? Hmmm???

[mirandabsings]

First time hearing this. I am 41 and love it!