Les Baxter made a version of the song, which was featured in Volume 3: Space Capades on the 1960's CD compilation Ultra-Lounge. The Ventures released a version on their 1963 Dolton album The Ventures Play Telstar and the Lonely Bull, BST 8019. It briefly entered the Billboard Hot 100.Īl Caiola released a version on his 1961 album Golden Hit Instrumentals, UAS 6142. The Four Preps released a 45rpm single vocal version shortly after Welk's recording in 1961, Capitol Records 4508.
Lawrence welk calcutta tv#
ĭancers Bobby Burgess and Barbara Boylan, cast members on Welk's weekly TV show, worked up a dance routine to go along with "Calcutta", which they performed numerous times on the Welk show over the years.Ĭhart performance All-time charts Chart (1958-2018) (His record would be broken three years later by Louis Armstrong who at age 63 topped the singles charts with " Hello, Dolly!" in early 1964.) "Calcutta" was also a hit on the Hot R&B Sides chart, where it peaked at #10. At the time "Calcutta" reached #1, Welk, who was 57, became the oldest artist to have a number one pop single in the U.S.
"Calcutta" stayed atop the US pop chart for two weeks while the album, with its combination of easy listening tunes and covers of then-popular rock singles, charted at #1 for two weeks, spending three months on the chart. It incorporated his recognizable "trademarks," i.e., the harpsichord lead and an accordion but combined them with handclaps and a brisk rock rhythm. Welk's recording of the tune was something of a departure for him. In the English-speaking world, the song was released under the title "Calcutta", and the American songwriting team of Paul Vance and Lee Pockriss wrote English lyrics, celebrating the charms of the "ladies of Calcutta." The German version has lyrics by Hans Bradtke, and is titled "Kalkutta liegt am Ganges" (Calcutta lies on the Ganges). The original title was "Tivoli Melody", but it was re-titled several times, until it finally was named for the Indian city of Kolkata, known in German as Kalkutta and in English as Calcutta. It’s hard to imagine anyone being upset by it, but it’s even harder to imagine people going out of their way to hear it.The tune was written in 1958 by the composer Heino Gaze. But today, the song plays like a parody of elevator music. It’s possible that he might’ve been hoping to incorporate bits and pieces of rock ‘n’ roll. There are handclaps in there, and propulsively strummy guitars. For Welk, I suppose, it’s a fairly sprightly song. Welk took away all the lyrics other than la la la. The German composer Heino Gaze had recorded the song a few years earlier, and even though it sounds nothing like anything that could’ve ever come out of India, it had German lyrics about the ladies of Calcutta. This show was airing on syndicated television during my lifetime, and yet Welk’s entire existence seems prehistoric to the point where these details seem utterly, completely baffling.Īlso baffling: “Calcutta” - not the song so much as the idea that anyone would’ve preferred it to “Shop Around.” Welk himself reportedly didn’t care much about the song. He was supposed to be the classier version of Dick Clark.
Welk would grin at his bandstand while playing accordion, and bubbles would float around him. Every episode of the show opened with the sound of a champagne bottle opening. He’d been hosting The Lawrence Welk Show since 1951, and he would continue to do so until 1982.
He came to fame as an accordionist and bandleader, playing a style of music, which he dubbed “champagne music,” that worked as a warm-milk alternative to big-bad swing. Welk grew up speaking German in North Dakota.
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