Lawrence Welk pushing WEED. (Off topic)

Here's Capt. Russ' buddy Dick Dale on LW show. Cutting edge stuff! Welk thought it was a "Modern Spiritual".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ye3ecDYxOkg&NR=1

DonM

Great Song.....fine harmonies..
LW is a childhood hero of mine!

NOT THAT DICK DALE, DUMBASS (LOL)!

Guy could sing, though.

Russ (closet Lawrence WElk Fan) Lay

(Good song, too! Played it thousands of times in my college bar days).

Got your attention though, didn't it?
DonM

Ya got me too Don


I was hoping for this Dick Dale, the left handed strat master, king of the surf guitar, and was part of the soundtrack for "Pulp Fiction"... and the Captain's buddy.



...I'm sure Russ has a story or two

Larry, I went to Southern California in 1962 as a 16 year old just out of high school. When Dick Dale played the area, the Beach Boys and others couldn't beg a job. He was a real surfer, had his own record studio and packed places like the Jewish Community Center in Anaheim.

Shared a stage several times, and we knew each other, but I came back to Kentucky in 1964 and lost track of him until Pulp Fiction. By then, he gained my respect as a cancer survivor and a recognized guitar innovator. Last time I saw him was a NAMM, where he took the stage with either his kid or his grandson.

I got into jazz and corporate communications, but fondly remember my days playing surf guitar (still have my 1959 Strat, now worth about $25,000.00), and learning every Dick Dale song note for note.

Occasionally, I'll surprise everyone, break out the Strat and play Miserlou; usually at the end of the last set at a restaurant/bar.

Good memories of my days in California. Best are my times with Ray Brown, Herb Ellis and the like, but that's a story for another time...

Please excuse the ramblings of a sentimental old dude...


Russ

Russ,

Love hearing those ol' stories. I think it's cool you know him that well. I heard he never smoked or drank, and was a pretty straight and narrow guy. Did he have anything to do with the Ventures?


And speaking of old Strats, when my father was active in the music store, someone wanted to trade in a Fender Stat for $100 on a new guitar. Neither buyer or seller knew the value, but the guy really wanted a new guitar, so the deal was made. As it turned out it was a 1960 Strat worth at that time about 10G. I'm not sure what he actually received for the guitar, but a collector eventually bought it for... who knows how much.(probably a lot) Anyway, my Pop notified the original owner and he gave him a percentage of the sale, so he must have made a bundle in that deal.

PS: Is the '59 Strat part of your sale? I heard DonM always wanted one, and has an extra $25,000 to spare

I actually HAD one. I won it in a poker game in college in 1962.
Twenty years later I sold it for about four thousand dollars. Wish I had it now, I'd sell it to Russ!
DonM

From one old dude to another I love the the ramblings of a sentimental old dude. Such great memories, it is awesome that you keep them alive for us all. I'd love to hear you playing that 59 strat.

Ditto!

Ian

Hahaha, read the comments toward the bottom of that LW page. Somebody said that LW knew what the song was about. And that the guy "choking" during the introduction was not by accident. Inferring the choking, hacking during a toke. Now, that makes sense to me. If true, that's pretty cool of ol' Lawrence.

On a totally crazy sidenote, look what I found by looking at other youtube songs that came up when the song was over. This one is just about as bizarre as the LW song. I never thought I'd hear Debbie Harry singing this one...

No, Larry, the 59 Strat is one of the "keepers". Don't believe Dick Dale even knew the Ventures. Some think he did because they recorded each others songs on their albums.

The Ventures were not in California in the early 60's. I never ran into them, although, like the Dick Dale songs, I learned every note of Walk Don't Run and the other Ventures hits. In fact, in the early 60's there were lots of instrumental bands with no vocals at all playing Duane Eddy, The Ventures, and others. I played in several of them.

R.

And here is another unlikely artist playing Ghost Riders ... The Tubes.