You're listening to Civic Media.
You can tune into any of our live shows on any radio station across the state with the Civic Media app.
Find us in your phone's app store and listen anytime, anywhere.
It's Lou Vergani and you're the best audience anywhere you get it.
Thinking about summer and what a summer.
Looking for some trendy and witty sings.
Whether you want to explore the outdoors.
Yeah, right.
Or relax with some local flavor around your radio set.
Maybe kayaking up on the Root River.
Or on a bicycle along the Lake Michigan pathway.
Maybe a jazz event.
Or enjoying acres of sand along North Beach.
Summertime in Wisconsin, right?
The music of the stars, the Civic Media Radio Network, good morning.
We're on the air all the way till high noon Central Time.
This is Nat Call at the Keyboard.
These are the platters on the Ed Sullivan show.
That's a Jerome Curran classic.
Here's Barbara.
I of course replied something here inside cannot be denied.
They said someday you'll find All who love are blind When your heart's on fire You must realize Smoketh's in your eyes
Oh, I laughed.
Oh, yes, I gately laughed to think they could doubt.
Doubt my love.
Yet today.
Because I cannot hide So I smile and say When a lovely flame dies Smoke gets in you
A sign of spring was nowhere to be seen The trees in Central Park were anything
tops of buildings
reappeared then suddenly I saw you come my
way and I knew that this would be a
Tops of building
Roseanne.
No, not that Joe McCarthy.
Frank Sinatra.
But as I walked through the dreary streets alone It turned out to be the luckiest day
It lost its charm How long I wondered Could this thing last But the age of miracles It hadn't passed For suddenly I saw you standing right there And in foggy London town The sun was shining, shining, shining, shining
How long I wonder Could this thing possibly last But the age of miracles It hadn't passed For suddenly I saw you right there And in foggy London town The sun was shining
new within
until
of San Francisco are the fog horns, the Basso Profondo accompaniment for the summer fog that spills through the Golden Gate, the fog that has made San Francisco famous as the city with built-in air conditioning, and as the cool gray city.
The busiest horns are the five at the entrance to the bay.
Mile Rock.
And the two on the Golden Gate Bridge.
for your life.
Do it to him before he does it to you.
What do you want?
Your gun.
We got the fattest beers and the fattest harbor in the world.
Everything moves in and out.
We take our cut.
What for?
I
really
don't.
Now listen, you know who the pistols are.
You're going to keep still until they cut you down one by one.
She swims all the channels Waterloo She swims in red flannels She dives like an otter Takes the water like a blotter Waterloo Drip, drip,
drip
I paddle up to see her every Sunday morning In my old canoe And when I paddle home again on Sunday evening I know I've met my wa-
of the fishes.
Waterloo.
Her kiss is delicious.
I love her with passion, but she's always business flashing.
Waterloo.
Monday morning in my old canoe And when I pat it back again on Sunday evening I know I've met my Waterloo A Waterloo She drinks only water, Waterloo That other stuff got her, her knees started sagging Now she's on the water wagon, Waterloo
It's not the way, it doesn't pay If you want happiness, help yourself to some Why don't you try to take life the way
I
do Let the whole world sigh or cry I'll be high, near the sky Up on top of a rainbow, sweeping the clouds away
I don't care what's down below.
Let it rain or let it snow.
I'll be up on a rainbow sweeping the clouds away.
I have learned life's lesson.
Fighters who
always
win are those who can take it right on the chin and grin.
So I shout to everyone, find your place in the sun.
Up on top of a rainbow, sweeping the clouds away.
Como.
looks them through, picks the few to come true.
There are wishes from a kiddie's prayer, from folks who are apart, wished from afar, from a grandma in her rocking chair, and from a lover's heart.
There's a big blue cloud next to heaven Where all wishes are stored old and new So be patient, leave it to heaven
someday too
Wishes from a kiddie's prayer From folks who are apart Wished from afar From a grandma in her rocking chair And from a lover's heart Wished on a star
There's a big blue cloud next to heaven Where all the stars are golden new So be patient, leave it to ha-
The national news cycle never stops, but it can be hard to find news about your local community.
Civic Media is dedicated to providing quality local and state news coverage across Wisconsin.
With the Civic Media app, you can get notifications about local stories that matter to you and your community.
Find the free Civic Media app in your phone's app store and choose notifications from the menu to tell us what kind of news you want to hear about.
You're listening to Civic Media.
You can tune into any of our live shows on any radio station across the state with the Civic Media app.
Find us in your phone's app store and listen anytime, anywhere.
is swarming with other thousands.
And small wonder, 1950s most distinguished film achievements are about to be honored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
This is Oscar night.
This is the money run.
Sitting on my left in the booth is actor John Lund.
During the course of tonight's show, he will chime in to describe the action and keep radio listeners abreast of what's going on here in the theater.
Right now, the overture is about to begin.
The Academy Awards Orchestra, Alfred Newman conducting.
a show you can make them laugh you can make them cry anything anything can go a show that is really a show sends you out with a kind of a glow and you say as you go on
Touch of romance is the art that appeals to the heart.
That's entertainment.
I think we're a hit and we'll go on from there.
We played a charade that was lighter than air.
A good old fashioned affair.
As we sing this finale, we hope goes up your ass.
This goodbye brings your tear to...
Well, what do you think I am?
What do you think they are?
What do you think the theatre is?
It's all entertainment.
Believe me, there is no difference between the magic rhythms of Bill Robinson's immortal feet.
You said that before.
All right, all right.
Well, what did Bill Robinson do?
He doused in the stairs, didn't he?
Now, I happen to play Oedipus the King on the same stairs.
What's the difference with all theatre?
Show me the greatest tragic actor of the lowest rent.
Knows comic and burlesque, and I'll show you an entertainer.
We're all...
life can happen in a show you can make them laugh you can make them cry anything anything can go the clown with these pants falling down or the dance that's a dream of romance or the scene where the
The plot can be hot
simply teeming with sex.
A gay divorcee who is after her
ex.
It could be Oedipus Rex.
Where a chap kills his father and causes a lot of bother.
The clerk who is thrown out of
work.
By the boss who is thrown for a lot of work.
by the skirt who is doing him dirt the world is the stage the stage is the world of entertainment
Some great Shakespearean scene Where a ghost and a prince meet And everyone ends in mincemeat The gang may be waving the flag that began
fighting for.
Maestro, if you please.
OK, we are back now.
I've known Johnny Winters for well over 30 years.
He is unique.
He has influenced an entire generation of young comedians.
And I've been with groups of people, rather sophisticated people, at gatherings where he has gotten on a roll, where people were literally crying.
He had him absolutely wiped out.
As you know, he stole co-stars in the popular series Davis Rules, which airs tomorrow night on another network.
Would you welcome?
Jonathan Withers.
Costume tonight.
I just decided to come out to a mixed array of things one was there this was in a fire sale and Shoes were taken off a guy.
He was hit just once A lot
of good news and those shoes are bought.
Yeah, well you
look very
outstanding store.
So I at least it's it's me, you know, I'm not kidding anybody It's a total of a hundred and thirteen dollars
very nice
John.
Good.
See you again.
Well good to see you guys.
I tell you I can't believe it
This is my last show.
Let's see, you're going up until what, the 22nd?
22nd of this month?
22nd.
I guess you've saved a lot of your money.
Not as much as he would like to have.
Johnny, I tell you, I guess it's just about time for the fat lady to sing.
We're talking about the ninth inning.
And people are leaving the parking lot.
You and I will be going about the same time.
And the crowd, of course, and then the locker room, change their uniforms.
Sounds like a downer.
It does, yeah, a little better.
It doesn't, though, for you, because you're going straight to a bank.
And you can walk in.
I'm Johnny Carson.
Come on, everybody.
Mr. Carson, jeez.
such a distinguished guest, the pride of our cellars.
Vintage pickle juice.
Healing.
time we got together cause it's get together weather and in get together weather together is just what we got to get.
Come on the weather man's insisting this is weather beyond resisting this is get together weather together is just what we got to get.
What wonderful weather to go on an outing.
What wonderful weather to run around shouting.
What wonderful weather for love to be sprouting.
It's mighty
fine weather I hope
that it stays.
What glorious weather for zipping and zooming.
What glorious weather for hearts to be blooming.
What
glorious weather for brining
and grooming.
What marvelous weather for
cooing and dilling.
For
yodeling, wobbling, gargling, trilling.
What marvelous weather for dally down
dilling.
What marvelous weather, hey, hey, what a day.
What fabulous weather for loping and leaping.
What
fabulous weather for bipping and beeping.
For snipping and snopping and snooping and snooping.
What fabulous weather, hey,
hey, what a day.
Come on, the weatherman's announcing that the weather's right for flouncing and bo-bo-bo-bo.
overnight tonight, partly cloudy, mild with those temperatures dropping down into the mid 70s.
Now we've got some big changes here for the upcoming work week starting tomorrow.
We're going to have a volcanic eruption right near Charlottesville and it's going to make things rather toasty across the area.
We're going to see lava spill out into central Virginia and make temperatures in Richmond at 350 degrees.
Fredericksburg at 345 Charlottesville, the hotspot at 400.
not as hot off towards the tide water.
A little bit more comfortable with highs near 100 degrees.
The reason why we're going to have tidal waves moving in ahead of this, a global super storm developing off towards the Atlantic Ocean.
This thing is headed our way, but the key to the forecast right before this thing makes landfall.
It is going to be deflected by Godzilla.
Now a lot can change between now and then.
We're looking at the latest data will continue to bring you the very latest.
I do want to encourage you though.
that if you ever do see a sleeping coyote, do not wake it.
Bad idea.
She swims all the channels Waterloo She swims in red flannels She dives like an otter Takes the water like a blotter Waterloo
with the fishes.
Waterloo.
Her kiss is delicious.
I love her with passion, but she's always busy splashing.
Waterloo.
On Sunday evening, I know I've met my Waterloo.
Oh, Waterloo.
She drinks only water, Waterloo.
That other stuff got her.
Her knees started sagging now.
She's on the water wagon, Waterloo.
Trip, trip, trip.
From the door Don't come up any higher I'm so alone Leave the bed in the fire That is all I own I ain't breaking your heart Don't start breaking my heart River stay away
from the door.
I'll keep going my way.
You keep rolling your way.
River, stay away from the door.
I just got me a cabin.
You'll never need that cabin.
River, stay away from the door.
Music
They say writes all of his songs about real life about the things that happen to him all through his life
They say that all of his love songs he wrote because he loved his wife so much.
And I was thinking, what if Irving Berlin didn't like his wife?
So I took one of his most beautiful love songs, How Deep is the Ocean.
And I rewrote it the way it would sound if Irving Berlin didn't like his wife.
How much do I love you?
I'll tell you once more.
How deep is a bird bath?
How high is the floor?
How many times a day do I think of you?
How many fire engines are painted blue?
That joke is no good in towns with blue fire engines.
How far would I travel to be where you are?
How far could I travel?
You just wrecked my car.
And if I ever lost you, how great my chagrin.
How deep is the ocean?
Why don't you fall
deep is the ocean, how high is the sky?
A sprinkle of dew.
How far would I travel to be where you are?
How far is the journey from here to a star?
How deep is the ocean How high is the sky
How deep is
in style someday.
Oh, dream maker, you heartbreaker, wherever you're going, I'm going your way.
to see the world there's such a lot of work to see where after the same
I think it's beautiful.
And which I decided to desecrate.
And
my trouble is that from all this vamp...
heartbreaker you fat maker from now on I'm going the safflower way you made me wider than a mile oh you when you're begun
Like Uncle Barry Pie.
Chopped liver.
Farewell.
The national news cycle never stops, but it can be hard to find news about your local community.
Civic Media is dedicated to providing quality local and state news coverage across Wisconsin.
With the Civic Media app, you can get notifications about local stories that matter to you and your community.
Find the free Civic Media app in your phone's app store and choose notifications from the menu to tell us what kind of news you want to hear about.
You're listening to Civic Media.
You can tune into any of our live shows on any radio station across the state with the Civic Media app.
Find us in your phone's app store and listen anytime, anywhere.
Memories of violence and disaster.
Memories of cherished love letters burned to ashes.
Memories only too well remembered by all except the one they touched most deeply.
That was Singleton.
Well, and there's something in my past.
I don't know what it is, but it's something horrible.
Helen, if I remember someday, it might hurt you and I couldn't bear it.
Written by Alan to a girl he had never met.
Never knowing what terror they were to cause.
And no one dared tell him the truth.
Anybody think a murder had been committed?
Yes, there has.
No murder.
It's all over and forgotten now, but a murder remains a murder and goes on affecting people.
Look, I wish you'd tell me what now.
No, don't ask me anymore.
I've told you too much already.
But Alan had to know more.
had to learn the strange secret behind the lost memory of this lovely haunted girl.
The girl he loved in spite of every warning.
Do you think it would matter to you or to me if you did remember the past?
We're both afraid of the same thing, Howard.
I love you, and I think I'll always love you.
But I must try to remember.
For her sake.
Won't you tell me what happened that night?
Have you read the accounts of the trial?
Then that's all you have to know.
It's only that there's something like a fog.
I can't seem to get through it.
The shape's coming forward.
I should recognize it.
But when I reach for them, there's nothing there.
Oh, yes.
He is helping.
I'm gonna sit right down and write myself a letter And make believe it came from you I'm gonna write words oh so sweet They're gonna knock me off my feet A lot of kisses on the bottom I'll be glad I got them I'm gonna smile
I hope you're feeling better And close with love the way you do I'm gonna sit right down
I'm gonna smile and say I hope you're feeling better.
And then I'll close with love the way you do.
I'm gonna sit down, write myself.
It came from you.
Oh
And that was not Perry.
Either is the guy I'm gonna...
says Johnny K. Now you never heard of him, which is more of a pity, because the guy's really good.
Except he's not Perry Coleman.
I think he's from Chicago.
This guy is a mystery to this day.
Who was Johnny K?
Chicago land, I think.
Made a lot of records.
Yeah, listen.
Mitchell Ayers and his fashions in music.
Mitchell Ayres from Milwaukee.
Not then.
He was in Hollywood from... Keep Him Flying with Bad Abbot and Luke Costello.
The Music of the Stars.
The Civic Media Radio
The sailor with the navy blue eyes When the boat comes home after crossing the phone He's still at sea, thinking, wondering Who's he gonna take, rowing on the lake?
Who's the god, who's got a job, waving the most bye-bys?
The sailor with the navy blue eyes
Mitchell Ayers, the orchestra, started his own band in the 1940s, took on the title, Fashions in Music.
Composer, conductor, band leader, songwriter, studied at Columbia University, made a lot of records.
Why don't more people know about Mitchell Ayers?
Work with Perry Como.
Here's an instrumental album, Mitchell, out of Milwaukee.
The Music of the Stars.
The music of the stars Ronald High noon, incidentally, or maybe not so incidentally.
The music of the stars and Mitchell Ayres.
Stepped out
Honest and truly you stepped out
safe in my heart.
face in the crowd and it looked a lot like your face once upon a dream I heard a laugh and a sigh and they sounded just like yours finding you is a sweet
It's Christmas, but July's not through.
So is love.
Though she isn't there
Stand by for news.
The music of the stars.
The Royal Anderson.
Who else would have thought of stopping coal to deliver the message of a forgotten dream?
Music of the Star, Civic Media Radio Network.
Take a quick look at what's shaking in this goofy old world of ours.
NBC News next be right
back.
The national news cycle never stops.
but it can be hard to find news about your local community.
Civic Media is dedicated to providing quality local and state news coverage across Wisconsin.
With the Civic Media app, you can get notifications about local stories that matter to you and your community.
Find the free Civic Media app in your phone's app store and choose notifications from the menu to tell us what kind of news you want to hear about.
You're listening to Civic Media.
You can tune into any of our live shows on any radio station across the state with the Civic Media app.
Find us in your phone's app store and listen anytime,
unfolds the day in the heart of rapids under sun's golden play
Stretching far where wild flowers bloom Tales of laughter rise in air Painting shadows in the room Children chase the fireflies Like stars on evening's edge Memories woven in the light A vibrant silken pledge All the river sings its song
you
There are some pretty big, pretty fast private yachts parked in New York docks these days.
Some of them are stamped like hotels, large as houses.
Some will do 60 miles an hour without breathing hard.
George Harbow and Frank Samuelson had plenty of confidence in their privately owned pleasure vessel, so they decided to take her, Moe had been christened to Fox, to take her from her slip at the New York Battery across the Atlantic Ocean to Port La Havre, France.
A transatlantic cruise in a pleasure craft.
Well, they left the battery on June 6, stocked with enough food to feed hundreds.
The skies were fair, the seas were calm.
Thus began the vacation of a lifetime.
But the fourth night out, George was awakened by a thump so powerful it shook the boat.
He got up and peered over the starboard side and beheld the most monstrous shark he had ever seen.
Now we're talking jaws.
Really big and he was ramming the vessel George threw a wooden plank at the creature hoping to frighten it the shark ate it the shark ate it In fact that same monster trailed the fox for a day and a half Before deciding there was nothing better to eat on board than board More days passed the fair weather turned foul the wind first the howling merciless wind and then the
Seas rolled and rose until the waves were matterhorn high, the sort of water that mucked the stabilizers on the big ocean liners, and there were George and Frank on a joint to the harbour, and suddenly the path before them was straight up and down.
At first, they struggled against the storm, trying to hold their course.
After a few hours, they just gave up and decided to ride it out.
One mammoth wave actually washed some things overboard.
It would take two days.
Two days for the wind and the sea to subside.
And after they did, the fox continued her voyage.
And she arrived at Lahav on August 7, was greeted by thousands.
For you see, never before, and I mean not once in all history, had anybody done what George Harbaugh and Frank Samuelson had done.
Purposely, I neglected to mention that in the midst of that ferocious Atlantic storm, when the huge wave washed some supplies over the side, both George and Frank went over the side with them.
And they saved themselves only because they had tied ropes to their waists.
With the other ends of those ropes tethered to the vessel itself, thus to pull themselves back to the relative safety of their craft,
even though she, the intrepid fox, could hardly have been considered safe under the circumstances or for her owner's intentions.
You see, the fox was a pleasure boat.
The fox was not even a yacht for George and Frank, these two hardy Norwegian seamen in that summer of 1896.
succeeded in doing what not even their fiercest Viking ancestors would have attempted.
They took a vessel without engine or sail.
They took a craft only 18 feet long and 5 feet wide and they traversed the great watery divide without seeing Valhalla first.
They crossed the Atlantic.
They crossed the Atlantic Ocean.
in a rowboat.
And now you know the rest of the
story.
For many a stormy wind shall blow where Jack comes home again.
And it's sailing, sailing, over the bounding rain.
For many a stormy wind shall blow where Jack comes home again.
Sailing, sailing, over the bounding rain.
For many a stormy wind shall blow...
And here's to the soldier too!
Hey,
Tommy, tell me one thing.
What do you want to do?
I want to ask you a question.
Yes, go ahead.
What do you want to do when you finally grow up?
Smack you right in the mouth.
I mean, seriously.
Well, what I like after that.
What I'd like to do more than anything else in the world is I'd like to grow up to be more like anything I'd like to be like my father.
Because I admire my father more than anything in the world I want to be just like him when I grow up.
I think it's a wonderful thing that when you grow up you want to emulate your father.
I wouldn't do that.
I like my father.
When I was little, my father used to, when I was seven years old, I remember he used to take me for walks in the park.
And I'd hold his hand.
I was proud to walk with my father because he was a tall man and everybody admired him.
And in our town, every Sunday, people would be sitting in the park and things, and they'd all holler out.
Hi there, Gort.
There goes Gort's mother's big man.
I'd be holding his hand.
I feel so proud and happy to be walking
with him.
What did
they say?
They say, there goes Gord Smothers, one of the big men.
Hi,
Gord.
How are you?
Hey, wait a minute.
You're
Tommy.
Your father's name is Mort.
Then who is that guy that I was walking with for you?
My old man's a sailor.
What do you think about that?
He wears a sailor's collar.
He wears a sailor's hat.
He wears a sailor's raincoat.
He wears a sailor's shoe.
And every Saturday evening, he reads a Sunday news.
And someday, if I can, I'm going to be a sailor.
The same as my old man.
My old man's an anthropologist.
What do you think about that?
He wears an anthropologist collar.
He wears an anthropologist hat.
He wears an anthropologist raincoat.
He wears anthropologist shoes.
Every Saturday evening reads the anthropologist's news, and some day, if I can, I'm gonna be an anthropologist, same as my old man.
My old man's a refrigerated repairman, what do you think about that?
He wears a refrigerated repairman's collar, wears a refrigerated man's hat, wears a refrigerated repairman's raincoat, he wears a refrigerated man's shoes.
Every Saturday morning, he reads a playboy.
I suggest you try some other.
He wears a cotton-picking finger-legged chicken flicker's collar.
He wears a cotton-picking finger-legged chicken flicker's hat.
He wears a cotton-picking finger-legged chicken flicker's wrinkler.
He wears a cotton-picking finger-legged chicken flicker's shoes.
What about socks?
by striped necktie.
What about a bracelet?
What about a bra?
What did you say?
It wasn't that important.
Wait a minute.
You asked me a question.
What did you say?
Say it out loud again.
I'm gonna be a cotton-picking, finger-licking chicken plucker.
Water arteries of America these dependable heroes these dependable heroes of yes a year For they worked the flat boats up and down the rivers bringing essential goods to the river the river towns of yes a year for now for Noor when nor sleep nor snow would stop the rugged boatman as they brought their First of all they were dependable that's
wasn't their motto.
That was the model for the postal department
The will will stop the postman on his appointed rounds.
They didn't have a motto.
They
didn't need one.
They didn't boast.
They didn't brag like the post office department.
No, they did their job.
They knew what they did.
They were supposed to do, and they did it.
Right?
Nothing stopped the boatman.
Nor wind nor sleep, nothing.
Nor through wind nor, nor wind nor sleep, nor snow or rain.
Nor rivers.
Nor rivers would stop the boatman.
Nor
floods.
Nor great oceans.
Nor oceans.
but they weren't really a happy lot.
No, the boatmen were not a happy lot, for they worked from dawn till dusk, toiling, bringing essential goods to these river towns of yes a year, which eventually grew into the great slum areas of today.
These men of yes a year would stand on the back of their flat boats with poles, pulling their boats, but they didn't want to use poles, they wanted to row their boats.
But they couldn't, Tommy.
Everybody
pulled their boats.
Everybody pulled their boats in those days.
But they wanted to row their boats, and they'd go to work 6.30 every single morning, cold and tired from 12 hours of work.
And they'd come to a vicious, mean captain.
And they'd come up to the boat house, and the captain would say, hi, fellas.
And the boatman would say, could we row our boats today instead of using.
The poles, you know, like the kind of aurora boats.
And the captain might say, nope, you got to use the poles because that's the way boatmen have always done it.
Well,
what's
so bad about using the poles?
Because sometimes in the Ohio River where this song comes from, the river was over 700 feet deep.
Short poles.
A lot of boatmen are lost that way.
This song tells of the fun and frolic that the boatmen have.
Once a week on their one night off as they go into town and spend their weekly mixed penances
Their week makes pay as they go into town and dance and frolic around.
This old boatman went ashore, liked it so he stayed for more.
Dance, boatman dance, dance, boatman dance.
I'm a boatman.
Gee, I'm sore.
I came home without an oar.
Dance, boatman dance, dance, boatman dance.
Hey, days all night for the broad day, like home with the guys in the morning.
Hey, ho, sailing down the road from the old hot hole.
Hey, ho.
The boatman of yesteryear worked their flat boats up and down the rivers, bringing essential goods.
They had these big flat boats, like, see, this is a visual aid.
They had these big flat boats, and on the front of the flat boats were piled up essential goods.
And the boatman would stand on the back of the boats.
See, they'd stand right back here with these poles, and they'd pull their boats and work their way up down the river.
See, the essential goods were piled up in the boatman's stand right up.
Sometimes it's them.
What do you mean, Tommy?
Essential goods.
What do you figure, essential goods?
You mean medical supplies and things like
that?
Well,
no.
Well, there was bandages.
They piled up here in the front.
And oh, chicken wire.
And church keys.
Church keys.
Very religious group.
They work their boats down the river here.
Now you
say this is a flat boat.
This visual aid is a flat boat.
And
this is the back over there.
And
the
cargo is in the front.
That's why the
boatman stand right back here with the
rugged
man.
They would laugh and smile.
OK, one question.
May I ask a question?
What is the slant skinny thing stuck to the front of your boat?
See these...
I know there were essential goods, Tommy, but what is this long skinny thing stuck to the front of your flat boat?
It's a rudder.
So the boatman would say, hi, hey-ho, boatman rode.
But
didn't row because he had poles.
That doesn't make sense.
That's a flaw in the song.
I just figured it out.
That doesn't make sense.
Rudders aren't on the front of boats.
They're on the back.
All boats have their rudders on the back.
Never on the front.
No exceptions.
Now, you call this a rudder, so why?
I mean, you tell everybody.
They believe you.
Everybody's listening.
They say, oh, gee, he has a rudder on the front of his boat.
They don't know.
Now, why did you call that a rudder?
Why?
Well, see, there were... Well, there... There could be...
That
It's nice.
It's really... Well, just give me one of your favorite answers, you know.
I mean, there's many answers, I suppose, but why did you call this a rudder?
Well, I lied.
Ladies and gentlemen, here's Dean Martin, the singing half of that sensational new young comedy team just signed by Hal Wallace.
Mark
Lewis will take you
on a slow boat to China.
In my arms evermore
And I want you just to leave Leave all your lovers
But
we
burn on the
far away shore For a lot on the briny With a moon big and shiny
This is the first time I've been out in a canoe since I saw the American tragedy.
Oh, you're perfectly safe, Professor, in this boat.
I don't know.
I was going to get a flat bottom, but the girl at the boat house didn't have one.
see sick but go anyway cause you make me sick if you miss the boat and you stay out on the briney between here and China China you make it long
they seem to say
you have stolen her heart now don't go away
as we sang love's old
song they seem to say you have stolen
join us with an old folk song custom this is what everybody does in the folk business and that's kind of a thing called sing along with the Christie's and I'm sure you all know the song Nick why don't you show them how it
goes
Sun pulls away from the shore, and our boat sinks slowly in the west.
We approach the island of Lulu, spelled backwards.
Ah, in the distance we hear Spike Jones and his wacky, wacky kids.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
started swinging it, like a tropical storm that's the way it hit.
Funny little gay Hawaiian chair.
Hauwe, Tahuwala, Hauwe, Tauwala.
Though it started on an island on Hawaii way, it's just popular in Tennessee right away.
If you wander into any cabaret, you will hear this gay Hawaiian.
The national news cycle never stops, but it can be hard to find news about your local community.
Civic Media is dedicated to providing quality local and state news coverage across Wisconsin.
With the Civic Media app, you can get notifications about local stories that matter to you and your community.
Find the free Civic Media app in your phone's app store and choose notifications from the menu to tell us what kind of news you want to hear about.
You're listening to Civic Media.
You can tune into any of our live shows on any radio station across the state with the Civic Media app.
Find us in your phone's app store and listen anytime, anywhere.
Still, we're one big neighborhood.
You never hide me, never ever hide.
It's so good, so good, so good, so good.
The corn upon the Kansas plain.
That's good.
And frozen foods and cellophane.
That's good.
I'm Ken Dilo and it's my privilege to host the Lawrence Welk show this week.
Lawrence is taking a little vacation and he asked me if I would fill in for him.
Well of course I was delighted to do this for my old boss.
For one thing, he's still my boss.
Yes, after 13 years on the television show, I became marketing manager and public relations consultant for these beautiful resort villas here at Welk Resort.
In fact, that's where I am right now.
You know, when I first joined the show back in 1969, I was buddy youth.
I was singing mainly ballads and show tunes.
But after a while, Lawrence guessed correctly, I might add, that I was something of a ham and might enjoy doing comedy or novelty songs.
Well, he was right.
I did enjoy them and had a lot of fun and a few surprises, too.
Maybe you folks recall the time I was dressed up as Frankenstein on a Halloween show.
In fact, there was about four years in a row where I was Frankenstein.
But this particular show, everything went great all day long until showtime, right in the middle of my song, split my pants.
Lawrence Walk's first book was called Wonderful, Wonderful, which was an autobiography, was on the bestseller list for many weeks.
He has another book called, believe it or not, A One, A Two, which is Life with My Musical Family.
Would you welcome a very charming gentleman, Mr. Lawrence Walk.
I think these guys are auditioning just in case, uh,
things fall apart here.
They're ready to... They
got the theme down?
How did that
start?
One of the things that you have never taught Doc how to do is the opening like
this.
I'm gonna teach it to him before I leave today.
When did you first do the champagne bubbles?
Oh, it started at Pittsburgh Pencil Van.
I don't know that we
talked about that
on the
show.
Did somebody come up with it or...
No.
I had a style, and we had a very small band.
I couldn't afford to hire an arranger.
I used to buy stocks and tear them up, you know, and work them up with that little band I had.
And when we first played Coast to Coast, a great many people wrote us letters and said that our music was different.
They said it reminded them of Champagne.
And when so many letters came in along that line, we called it the Champagne Music of Lonswell.
And it
stuck.
Boy, has it ever.
How many years has it all together?
You've been on television.
I remember when you first went on television, I was working out here in the early 50s, and you started from one
of the long ones, I think, locally.
We started in 51 at KTLA for four years.
And July 2, 1955, we went coast to coast.
We've been on television ever since.
That's a long
run.
This is our 20th year.
20 years.
We're
right up at Gunsburg.
Johnny, you and I have a lot in common.
We started locally out here on the...
in
spite of the fact we're so different in life
and city fact.
Thank you.
Thank you and good evening, friends, for coming to you once again from the beautiful Aragon Ballroom on the lick pier at the beautiful Santa Monica Beach, California.
We've been getting lots of cards and letters from you folks out there in the television lamp.
And we surely do thank you for all the cards and the letters from you folks out there in the television land.
Starting us off tonight is our trio, the lemon sisters, and girls, how are you going to sing?
We're going to sing thank you for all those cards and letters you folks out there in television land.
Lant.
Lant.
And after appropriate the number,
I'm going to sing thank you for all those cards and letters.
I'm
sorry that number has been taken.
Well, I'll sing The Funny Old Hills.
There's a mouthpiece in it there.
A waterfall, a waterfall.
And now, on the way to the show, here's our champagne lady, Alice Lien.
Alice is gonna sing Moonlight and the Shadows.
One, and two, and... Ladies and gentlemen, for the first time in 25 years,
is caught in my cheek.
Waking me hand out, her palm arm, not at the other arm.
Yes, pull it, pull it.
That's it.
Let me set the accordion down on the stage.
And I'll
try
and fix that.
Bear with us, folks.
Just a moment, please.
GD time is running out, and we haven't even played the polka.
Sure is a clear night ain't it captain.
Yep, matey These are the kind of nights when the sea plays tricks on you.
Yeah, I recollect one night off Singapore.
Tricks, I say.
Like that mirage off the Port Bow now.
What?
See it there kind of bubbly looking in the moonlight.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah.
If I didn't know better, I'd say it looks like the Aragon Ballroom.
Yeah.
Yeah.
She has a catchy chatter you're humming there, Captain.
What is it?
Oh, I don't know.
Just keeps running through my head.
Let's go below and catch a little shut-eye.
Lee Hovis Jr., born on September 24, 1941, and peacefully passing on January 22, 2026, was more than just an American singer.
He was a familiar voice that wrapped itself around generations of television viewers like a comforting melody.
Best remembered for his beloved performances alongside his former wife, Rhonda English, Guy became a treasured presence on both the ABC and syndicated editions of the Lawrence Welk show.
His life unfolded as a story of devotion.
to music, to faith, to family, and to the simple joy of harmony.
Roots in Mississippi and dreams beyond the horizon.
Guy Hovis was raised in Tupelo, Mississippi, a place steeped in Southern tradition and musical history.
He was the son of a Mississippi Highway Patrol officer growing up in a household shaped by discipline, service, and strong values.
From an early age, Guy carried within him a quiet determination and a love for song that felt almost destined.
This song by our popular husband and wife team Guy and Rolna expresses
it very nicely.
I so much
A peaceful farewell and lasting legacy.
Guy Hove has passed away peacefully in Oxford, Mississippi at the age of 84 after being hospitalized for several weeks with an undisclosed illness.
His daughter Julie confirmed his passing and tributes quickly followed.
Ralna English shared her heartbreak publicly, writing that the family was devastated and struggling to process the loss.
Though his voice has now fallen silent,
Guy Hovis leaves behind a legacy rich with harmony, love, and gentle strength.
He will be remembered not only for the songs he sang, but for the comfort he brought to countless hearts, a timeless melody that will never truly
fade.
We can make it if we try We've not yet begun to fly It's time to let that mighty
Once again, 250 years have shown
and you'll see
The greatest wonder on this earth.
The Taj Mahal and other splendor.
possession a treasure let me from above as long as I have breath within me
cool.
stars.
The national news cycle never stops, but it can be hard to find news about your local community.
Civic Media is dedicated to providing quality local and state news coverage across Wisconsin.
With the Civic Media app, you can get notifications about local stories that matter to you and your community.
Find the free Civic Media app in your phone's app store and choose notifications from the menu to tell us what kind of news you want to hear about.