The Turtles

In 1970, The Turtles released More Golden Hits, which contained the singles Sound Asleep and The Story of Rock and Roll, and in 1971, a B-sides and rarities album, Wooden Head, their last album. Welk's instrumental cover of the song "Yellow Bird" was a hit. In spite of Turtle Soup's critical success, commercial acclaim was low and the band soon began disintegrating. One notable showcase was his album with the noted jazz saxophonist Johnny Hodges. Kaylan and Volman then rebelled against White Whale's attempts to push The Turtles towards Monkees-style studio chicanery, and they recorded Turtle Soup, a critically well-received album that was inspired by The Kinks' Village Green Preservation Society. His band was well-disciplined and had excellent arrangements in all styles. Elenore may be the only Top Ten single to contain the lyrics et cetera. Welk was noted for spotlighting individual members of his band and show.

"Elenore" and "You Showed Me" were Top Ten singles. The reputation for "corny music" notwithstanding, his musicians were always top quality, including accordionist Myron Floren and New Orleans Dixieland clarinetist Pete Fountain. Later in the year, The Turtles released a concept album called The Turtles Present the Battle of the Bands, in which the group pretended to be eleven different bands, each with a song. During one show Welk brought a cameraman out to dance with one of the ladies and took over the camera himself. 1968 was a fairly successful year: The next two singles, Sound Asleep and The Story of Rock and Roll charted in the middle of the top 100, but were never received quite as well. Welk often took ladies from the audience for a turn around the dance floor. Golden Hits was released later that year, charting in the top 10. His TV show was recorded as if it were live and was sometimes quite free-wheeling.

Two other top-15 singles followed, You Know What I Mean, and She's My Girl, which marked a shift by the band towards psychedelic music as the genre became more popular. Although born in the United States, he spoke with a slight but notable European accent that many, especially ladies, found to be quite appealing. 1967 became The Turtles' most successful year in the charts, with another song written by Bonner and Gordon, She'd Rather Be With Me, which reached #3 on the US charts in the late spring, and actually outcharted Happy Together overseas. Much of the show's appeal was Welk himself. The album by the same name was released in April and charted at a high of #25. This strategy proved commercially successful. With its tongue-in-cheek atmosphere, incessant background guitar riff, addictive chorus and backing vocals, simple drum and organ lines, and even an oboe playing along during the second chorus, it spent three weeks at #1 on the American charts in 1967, the only Turtles record to do so. Welk's television program had a policy to only play well known songs and tunes from previous years, so that the target audience would only hear numbers that they were already familiar with.

Their biggest hit and signature song, "Happy Together", considered 1960s pop at its best, provided a turning point for The Turtles. The show was first aired nationally on ABC in 1955. It occurred to the band that, for eight months, they had been performing a certain song on stage that was moderately popular with the fans, but had yet to be recorded; originally written by songwriters Garry Bonner and Alan Gordon, Happy Together seemed almost a parody of itself, and had been rejected already. That same year, he began producing The Lawrence Welk Show on KTLA in Los Angeles. In the beginning of 1967, a heavy touring schedule combined with a lack of recent chart success were cited by Don Murray (drums) and Chuck Portz (bass), who left the group to be replaced by John Barbata and Chip Douglas, respectively. In 1952, Welk settled in Los Angeles, California. However, their second album You Baby never entered the top 200, and of several singles released that year only two (Grim Reaper of Love, Can I Get to Know You Better) entered the top 100. This gig turned into a 10 year stint, drawing crowds of nearly 7000 on a regular basis.

Their third single, You Baby charted in the top 20 in early 1966. In the early 1940s the band travelled to California for a six-week engagement at the Avalon Ballroom. Their second single, Let Me Be also appeared in the top 30 that fall. The band performed in many places across the country, particularly in the Chicago area. Similarly to The Byrds' career, The Turtles' first break was with a Bob Dylan cover, It Ain't Me Babe, which was a Top Ten hit in summer 1965 (see 1965 in music) and the title track to their first album. During the 1930s, Welk led a travelling big band, specializing in dance tunes and 'sweet' music. With the help of DJ and club owner Reb Foster, The Crossfires signed to White Whale Records, and, adjusting to the prevailing musical trends of the time, became a folk-rock group known as The Tyrtles, the misspelling an ode to The Byrds that was soon dropped. His band was the station band for popular radio station WNAX in Yankton, South Dakota.

The band was formed by Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman in Westchester, California in the 1965, as a surf rock group called The Crossfires. In the 1920s Welk lead a big band played engagments in eastern South Dakota area. The Turtles are an American bubblegum pop, psychedelic and folk-rock band, best known for 1967's "Happy Together" (see 1967 in music). His "Champagne Music" has been considered the epitome of "square". His show was warm and family-oriented. His music was conservative, concentrating mostly on pop song standards, polkas, and novelty songs, delivered in a smooth, calming, good-humored easy listening style.

He was born in Strasburg, North Dakota to Russian German parents. Lawrence Welk (March 11, 1903—May 17, 1992) was a musician, accordion player, band leader, and television impresario.