According to the blog Welk Musical Family and The Globe Gazette, Dick Dale has passed away. He performed on The Lawrence Welk Show from 1955 to 1982.
Sadly, his passing is not being covered by major news sources, presumably because the editors don't think anyone cares about or remembers The Lawrence Welk Show.
The fact that Welk's program is continuously run on cable networks is proof enough that this show is a permanent part of our musical heritage, like it or not. The interviews at the end of each program with former members of the show offers insight into this particular part of show business history. Occasional forays into big band arrangements makes me wish we could see more of those great swing ensembles.
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