Page "Lawrence Welk" Paragraph 15

During its first year on the air, the Welk hour instituted several regular features.

To make Welk's " Champagne Music " tagline visual, the production crew engineered a " bubble machine " that spouted streams of large bubbles across the bandstand.

While the bubble machine was originally engineered to produce soap bubbles, complaints from the band members about soapy build-ups on their instruments, led to the machine being re-worked to produce glycerine bubbles instead.

Whenever the orchestra played a polka or waltz, Welk himself would dance with the band's female vocalist, the " Champagne Lady.

" His first Champagne Lady was Jayne Walton Rosen ( real name: Dorothy Jayne Flanagan ).

Jayne left Welk's show after her marriage and later pregnancy.

After Welk and his band went on television, she appeared as a guest on the show, where she sang Latin American songs and favorites that were popular when she was traveling with the Welk band.

Novelty numbers would usually be sung by Rocky Rockwell.

Welk also reserved one number for himself to solo on his accordion.