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Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection (c. 1614 – 12 February 1691) served as a lay brother in a Carmelite monastery in Paris. Christians commonly remember him for the intimacy he expressed concerning his relationship to God as recorded in a book compiled after his death, the classic Christian text, The Practice of the Presence of God.

Biography[link]

Brother Lawrence was born Nicolas Herman in Hériménil, near Lunéville in the region of Lorraine, located in modern day eastern France. Having felt he had received a revelation of the providence and power of God at the age of 18, within six years he joined the Discalced Carmelite Priory in Paris. In this intervening period he fought in the Thirty Years' War and later served as a valet.

Nicolas entered the priory in Paris as a lay brother, not having the education necessary to become a cleric, and took the religious name, "Lawrence of the Resurrection". He spent almost all of the rest of his life within the walls of the priory, working in the kitchen for most of his life and as a repairer of sandals in his later years.

Despite his lowly position in life and the priory, his character attracted many to him. He had a reputation for experiencing profound peace and visitors came to seek spiritual guidance from him. The wisdom he passed on to them, in conversations and in letters, would later become the basis for the book, The Practice of the Presence of God. Father Joseph de Beaufort, later vicar general to the Archbishop of Paris, compiled this work after Brother Lawrence died. It became popular among Catholics and Protestants alike, with John Wesley and A. W. Tozer recommending it to others.

As a young man, Herman's poverty forced him into joining the army, which guaranteed him meals and a small stipend. During this period, Herman claimed an experience that set him on a unique spiritual journey. He considered it a supernatural clarity into a common sight, more so than as a supernatural vision.

Conversion[link]

During the winter, Herman looked at a barren tree, stripped of leaves and fruit, and realized it awaited the sure hope of a springtime revival and summer abundance. Gazing at the tree, Herman grasped deeply the extravagance of God's grace and the unfailing sovereignty of divine providence. Like the tree, he felt seemingly dead, but held hope that God had life waiting for him, and the turn of seasons would bring fullness. At that moment, he said, that leafless tree "first flashed in upon my soul the fact of God," and a love for God that never ceased. Shortly after, an injury forced his retirement from the army, and after a stint as a footman, he sought a place where he could suffer for his failures. He thus entered the Discalced Carmelite monastery in Paris as Brother Lawrence.

His method[link]

He was assigned to the monastery kitchen where, amidst the tedious chores of cooking and cleaning at the constant bidding of his superiors, he developed his rule of spirituality and work. In his Maxims, Lawrence writes, "Men invent means and methods of coming at God's love, they learn rules and set up devices to remind them of that love, and it seems like a world of trouble to bring oneself into the consciousness of God's presence. Yet it might be so simple. Is it not quicker and easier just to do our common business wholly for the love of him?"

For Brother Lawrence, "common business," no matter how mundane or routine, could be a medium of God's love. The sacredness or worldly status of a task mattered less than motivation behind it. "Nor is it needful that we should have great things to do. . . We can do little things for God; I turn the cake that is frying on the pan for love of him, and that done, if there is nothing else to call me, I prostrate myself in worship before him, who has given me grace to work; afterwards I rise happier than a king. It is enough for me to pick up but a straw from the ground for the love of God."

Brother Lawrence felt having a proper heart about tasks made every detail of his life possess surpassing value. "I began to live as if there were no one save God and me in the world." Brother Lawrence felt that he cooked meals, ran errands, scrubbed pots, and endured the scorn of the world alongside God. One of his most famous sayings refers to his kitchen:

"The time of business does not with me differ from the time of prayer; and in the noise and clatter of my kitchen, while several persons are at the same time calling for different things, I possess God in as great tranquility as if I were upon my knees at the blessed sacrament.^[1]

or in the original French

"Je possède Dieu, affirme-t-il, aussi tranquillement dans le tracas de ma cuisine, où quelquefois plusieurs personnes me demandent en même temps des choses différentes, que si j’étais à genoux devant le Saint Sacrement."[1]

He admitted the path to this union was difficult. He spent years disciplining his heart and mind to yield to God's presence. "As often as I could, I placed myself as a worshiper before him, fixing my mind upon his holy presence, recalling it when I found it wandering from him. This proved to be an exercise frequently painful, yet I persisted through all difficulties."

He found a peace in reconciling himself to the thought that this struggle and longing was his destiny. He said his soul "had come to its own home and place of rest." His death in 1691 occurred in relative obscurity, but his teachings lived on in the compilation of his words.

See also[link]

• Carmelite Rule of St. Albert
• Book of the First Monks
• Constitutions of the Carmelite Order
• Hermit

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Brother Lawrence

• Works by Brother Lawrence at Project Gutenberg
• Practice of the Presence of God at CCEL.org
• Works by or about Brother Lawrence in libraries (WorldCat catalog)

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2011)

Lawrence Welk
Lawrence Welk and Norma Zimmer, 1961.
Born	(1903-03-11)March 11, 1903 Strasburg, North Dakota
Died	May 17, 1992(1992-05-17) (aged 89) Santa Monica, California
Occupation	Musician, accordionist, bandleader, and television impresario
Religion	Roman Catholic
Spouse	Fern Renner (m.1931-1992; his death)
Children	Shirley Welk, Donna Welk, Lawrence "Larry" Welk, Jr.
Website
Welk Musical Family

Lawrence Welk (March 11, 1903 – May 17, 1992) was an American musician, accordionist, bandleader, and television impresario, who hosted The Lawrence Welk Show from 1955 to 1982. His style came to be known to his large number of radio, television, and live-performance fans (and critics) as "champagne music".

In 1996, Welk was ranked #43 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time.^[1]

Early life[link]

Welk was born in the German-speaking community of Strasburg, North Dakota. He was sixth of the eight children of Ludwig and Christiana (Schwahn) Welk, ethnic Germans who emigrated to America in 1892 from Selz, Kutschurgan District, in the German-speaking area north of Odessa (now Odessa, Ukraine, but then in southwestern Russia).

The family lived on a homestead that today is a tourist attraction. They spent the cold North Dakota winter of their first year under an upturned wagon covered in sod.^{[citation needed]}

Welk decided on a career in music and persuaded his father to buy a mail-order accordion for $400 (equivalent to $4,641 as of 2012)^[2][3]. He promised his father that he would work on the farm until he was 21, in repayment for the accordion. Any money he made elsewhere during that time, doing farmwork or performing, would go to his family.

A common misconception is that Welk did not learn English until he was 21. In fact, he began learning English as soon as he started school. The part of North Dakota where he lived had been settled largely by Germans from Russia; even his teachers spoke English as a second language. Welk thus acquired his trademark accent, a combination of the Russian and German accents. He took elocution lessons in the 1950s and could speak almost accent-free, but he realized his public expected to hear him say: "A-one, an-a-two" and "Wunnerful, Wunnerful!" When he was asked about his ancestry, he would always reply "Alsace-Lorraine, Germany," from where his forebears had emigrated to Russia (and which, at the time of Welk's birth in 1903, had become part of the German Empire).

Early career[link]

On his 21st birthday, having fulfilled his promise to his father, Welk left the family farm to pursue a career in music, which he loved. During the 1920s, he performed with the Luke Witkowski, Lincoln Boulds, and George T. Kelly bands before starting his own orchestra. He led big bands in North Dakota and eastern South Dakota. These included the Hotsy Totsy Boys and later the Honolulu Fruit Gum Orchestra.^[4] His band was also the station band for popular radio station WNAX in Yankton, South Dakota. In 1927, he graduated from the MacPhail School of Music in Minneapolis, Minnesota.^[5]

Photo of Welk in Chicago, 1944.

Although many associate Welk's music with a style quite separate from jazz, he did record one notable song in a ragtime style in November 1928 for Indiana-based Gennett Records. "Spiked Beer" featured Welk and his Novelty Orchestra.

During the 1930s, Welk led a traveling big band that specialized in dance tunes and "sweet" music. Initially, the band traveled around the country by car. They were too poor to rent rooms, so they usually slept and changed clothes in their cars. The term "Champagne Music" was derived from an engagement at the William Penn Hotel in Pittsburgh, when a dancer referred to his band's sound as "light and bubbly as champagne." The hotel also lays claim to the original "bubble machine," a prop left over from a 1920s movie premiere. Welk described his band's sound, saying "We still play music with the champagne style, which means light and rhythmic. We place the stress on melody; the chords are played pretty much the way the composer wrote them. We play with a steady beat so that dancers can follow it."^[6]

Welk's big band performed across the country but particularly in the Chicago and Milwaukee areas. In the early 1940s, the band began a 10-year stint at the Trianon Ballroom in Chicago, regularly drawing crowds of nearly 7,000. His orchestra also performed frequently at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City during the late 1940s. In 1944 and 1945, Welk led his orchestra in many motion picture "Soundies," considered to be the early pioneers of music videos.^{[citation needed]} Welk collaborated with Western artist Red Foley to record a version of Spade Cooley's "Shame on You" in 1945. The record (Decca 18698) was #4 to Cooley's #5 on Billboard's September 15 "Most Played Juke Box Folk Records" listing.^[7] From 1949 through 1951, the band had its own national radio program on ABC, sponsored by "The Champagne of Bottle Beer" Miller High Life.

Recordings[link]

In addition to the above mentioned "Spiked Beer", Welk's territory band made occasional trips to Richmond, Indiana and to Grafton, Wisconsin to record a handful of sessions for the Gennett and Paramount companies. In November, 1928, he recorded 4 sides for Gennett spread over two days (1 side was rejected) and in 1931, he recorded 8 sides for Paramount (during two sessions) that were issued on the Broadway and Lyric labels. These records are quite rare and highly valued.

From 1938 to 1940, he recorded frequently in New York and Chicago for the Vocalion label. He signed with Decca in 1941, recorded for Mercury and Coral before moving to Dot in the early 1950s.

[edit] The Lawrence Welk Show

In 1951, Welk settled in Los Angeles. The same year, he began producing The Lawrence Welk Show on KTLA in Los Angeles, where it was broadcast from the Aragon Ballroom in Venice Beach. The show became a local hit and was picked up by ABC in June 1955.

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 soap bubbles across the bandstand. 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.

Since Welk's show targeted an audience of mature, middle-aged viewers, the band would rarely play tunes from the current charts except strictly as novelty numbers. On December 8, 1956, two examples on the same broadcast were "Nuttin' for Christmas," which became a vehicle for Rocky Rockwell dressed in a child's outfit, and Elvis Presley's "Don't Be Cruel," which was sung by violinist Bob Lido, wearing fake Presley-style sideburns. This stood in comparison to the contemporary American Bandstand, which catered to a youth audience and played new music.

Welk never lost his affection for the jazz numbers he had played in the 1920s, and when a Dixieland tune was scheduled, he enthusiastically led the band.

Befitting the target audience, the type of music on The Lawrence Welk Show was almost always conservative, concentrating on popular music standards, polkas, and novelty songs, delivered in a smooth, calm, good-humored easy listening style and "family-oriented" manner. Although described by one critic as "the squarest music this side of Euclid,"^{[cite this quote]}, this strategy proved commercially successful and the show remained on the air for 31 years.

Much of the show's appeal was Welk himself. His unusual accent appealed to the audience. While Welk's English was passable, he never did grasp the English "idiom" completely and was thus famous for his "Welk-isms," such as "George, I want to see you when you have a minute, right now" and "Now for my accordion solo; Myron, will you join me?" His TV show was recorded as if it were a live performance, and it was sometimes quite free-wheeling. Another famous "Welk-ism" was his trademark count-off, "A one and a two . . . ," which was immortalized on his California automobile license plate that read "A1ANA2." This plate is visible on the front of a Model A Ford in one of the shows from 1980.

Musical satirist Stan Freberg and his frequent collaborator, arranger Billy May, recorded a scathing 1957 parody of the Welk TV show titled "Wun'erful! Wun'erful!" featuring Freberg, voice actor Daws Butler and members of Jud Conlon's Rhythmairs, mocking the show's corny nature, the band's more predictable arrangements and Welk's own mediocre accordion work. Studio musicians on the session included top Hollywood jazz players, many of whom scorned Welk's music and eagerly participated in the parody. After several "performances" and frequent asides from Freberg of "turn off the bubble machine," the machine spun out of control, sending the Aragon Ballroom floating out to sea. Welk was not pleased with Freberg's parody (a hit single that year) and denied he ever used the phrase "Wunnerful! Wunnerful!" though it later became the title of his autobiography.

He often took women from the audience for a turn around the dance floor. During one show, Welk brought a cameraman out to dance with one of the women and took over the camera himself.

Welk's musicians were always top quality, including accordionist Myron Floren, concert violinist Dick Kesner, guitarist Buddy Merrill, and New Orleans Dixieland clarinetist Pete Fountain. Though Welk was occasionally rumored to be very tight with a dollar, he paid his regular band members top scale - a very good living for a working musician. Long tenure was very common among the regulars. For example, Floren was the band's assistant conductor throughout the show's run. He was noted for spotlighting individual members of his band and show. His band was well disciplined and had excellent arrangements in all styles.^{[citation needed]} One notable showcase was his album with the noted jazz saxophonist Johnny Hodges.

Welk had a number of instrumental hits, including a cover of the song "Yellow Bird." His highest charting record was "Calcutta", which achieved hit status in 1961.^[8] Welk himself was indifferent to the tune, but his musical director, George Cates, said that if Welk did not wish to record the song, he (Cates) would. Welk replied, "Well, if it's good enough for you, George, I guess it's good enough for me."^{[cite this quote]} Despite the emergence of rock and roll, "Calcutta" reached number 1 on the U.S. pop charts in 1961; it was recorded in only one take.^{[citation needed]} The tune knocked the Shirelles' "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" out of the #1 position, and it kept the Miracles' "Shop Around" from becoming the group's first #1 hit, holding their recording at #2. It sold more than one million copies and was awarded a gold disc.^[9] The album "Calcutta" also achieved number-one status. The albums "Last Date," "Yellow Bird," "Moon River," "Young World" and "Baby Elephant Walk and Theme from the Brothers Grimm," produced in the early 60s, were in Billboard's top ten; nine more albums produced between 1956 and 1963 were in the top twenty. His albums continued to chart through 1973.^[8]

Welk's insistence on wholesome entertainment led him to be a somewhat stern taskmaster at times. For example, he fired Alice Lon, at the time the show's "Champagne Lady," because he believed she was showing too much leg.^[10] Welk told the audience that he would not tolerate such "cheesecake" performances on his show; he later tried unsuccessfully to rehire the singer after fan mail indicated overwhelmingly that viewers disagreed with her dismissal. He then had a series of short-term "Champagne Ladies" before Norma Zimmer filled that spot on a permanent basis. Highly involved with his stars' personal lives, he often arbitrated their marriage disputes.^[10]

Despite its staid reputation, The Lawrence Welk Show nonetheless did keep up with the times and never limited itself strictly to big-band era music. During the 1960s and 1970s, for instance, the show incorporated material by the contemporary sources The Beatles, Burt Bacharach and Hal David, The Everly Brothers and Paul Williams and so on, all redone in a format that was digestible to older viewers. Originally produced in black and white, in 1957 the show began being recorded on videotape, and it switched to color for the fall 1965 season. In time, it featured synthesized music and, toward the end of its run, early chroma key technology added a new dimension to the story settings sometimes used for the musical numbers. Welk referred to his blue-screen effect in one episode as "the magic of television."^{[citation needed]}

During its network run, The Lawrence Welk Show aired on ABC on Saturday nights at 9 p.m. (Eastern Time), moving up a half-hour to 8:30 p.m. in the fall of 1963. In fact, Welk headlined two weekly prime-time shows on ABC for three years. From 1956 to 1958, he hosted a show titled Top Tunes and New Talent, which aired on Monday nights. The series moved to Wednesdays in Fall 1958 and was renamed The Plymouth Show, which ended in May 1959. During that time, the Saturday show was also known as The Dodge Dancing Party. ABC dropped the show in 1971 on the grounds that its audience was mostly over the age of 45 and they couldn't advertise products targeted at youth on it. Welk thanked ABC and the sponsors at the end of the last network show. The Lawrence Welk Show continued on as a first-run syndicated show on 250 stations across the country until the final original show was produced in 1982.

Personal life[link]

Welk was married for 61 years, until his death, to Fern Renner (August 26, 1903 - February 13, 2002), with whom he had three children. One of his sons, Lawrence Welk Jr., married fellow Lawrence Welk Show performer Tanya Falan; they later divorced. Welk had many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. One of them, grandson Lawrence Welk III, who usually goes by "Larry Welk," is a reporter and helicopter traffic pilot for KCAL-TV and KCBS-TV in Los Angeles. One of the great-grandchildren, Nate Fredricks, reportedly enjoys the same love for music as his great-grandfather did and plays guitar in a band.

Known as an excellent businessman, Welk had investments in real estate and music publishing. Welk was the general partner in a commercial real estate development located at 100 Wilshire Blvd in Santa Monica, California. The 21-story tall white tower is the tallest building in Santa Monica and is located on the bluffs overlooking Santa Monica Bay. It was informally named "The Lawrence Welk Champagne Tower."

Welk enjoyed playing golf, which he first took up in the late 1950s, and was often a regular at many celebrity pro-ams such as the Bob Hope Desert Classic.

A devout, life-long Roman Catholic, Welk was a daily communicant, which is corroborated in numerous biographies, by his autobiography and by his family and his many staff, friends and associates throughout the years^[11]

Later years[link]

Welk's grave at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California

After retiring from his show and from the road in 1982, Welk continued to air reruns of his shows, which were repackaged first for syndication and, starting in 1986, for public television. He also starred in and produced a pair of Christmas specials in 1984 and 1985.

Welk died from pneumonia in Santa Monica, California, in 1992 at age 89 and was buried in Culver City's Holy Cross Cemetery.

Singles[link]

• "Moritat (A Theme from 'The Three Penny Opera')" (US #17, March 1956)
• "The Poor People of Paris" (US #17, April 1956)
• "On the Street Where You Live" (US #96, June 1956)
• "Weary Blues" (US #32, August 1956)
• "In the Alps" (US #63, August 1956)
• "Tonight You Belong to Me" featuring The Lennon Sisters (US #15, November 1956)
• "When the White Lilacs Bloom Again" (US #70, November 1956)
• "Liechtenstein Polka" (US #48, December 1957)
• "Last Date" (US #21, December 1960)
• "Calcutta" (US #1, February 1961)
• "Theme From My Three Sons" (US #55, April 1961)
• "Yellow Bird" (US #71, July 1961)
• "Riders in the Sky" (US #87, October 1961)
• "One A-Two A-Cha Cha Cha" (US #117, December 1961)
• "Runaway" (US #56, May 1962)
• "Baby Elephant Walk" (US #48, September 1962, AC #10, 1962)
• "Zero-Zero" (US #98, December 1962)
• "Scarlett O'Hara" (US #89, June 1963)
• "Breakwater" (US #100, June 1963)
• "Blue Velvet" (US #103, October 1963)
• "Fiesta" (US #106, October 1963)
• "Stockholm" (US #91, March 1964)
• "Apples and Bananas" (US #75, April 1965, AC #17, 1965)
• "The Beat Goes On" (US #104, April 1967)
• "Green Tambourine" (AC #27, March 1968)
• "Southtown U.S.A." (AC #37, February 1970)

Sources: Billboard Top Pop Singles 1955-2006, Billboard Top Adult Songs 1961-2006, Billboard Bubbling Under the Hot 100 1959-2004

Honors[link]

In 1961, he was inducted as a charter member of the Rough Rider Award from his native North Dakota.

He served as the Grand Marshal for the Rose Bowl's Tournament of Roses parade in 1972.

In 1994, he was inducted into the International Polka Music Hall Of Fame.

He has a star for Recording on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located at 6613½ Hollywood Blvd. He has a second star at 1601 Vine Street for Television.

In 2007, he became a charter member of the Gennett Records Walk of Fame in Richmond, Indiana.

Legacy[link]

Welk's band continues to appear in a dedicated theater in Branson, Missouri. In addition, the television show has been repackaged for broadcast on PBS stations, with updates from show performers appearing as wraparounds where commercial breaks were during the original shows. The repackaged shows are broadcast at roughly the same Saturday-night time slot as the original ABC shows, and special longer Welk show rebroadcasts are often shown during individual stations' fund-raising periods. These repackaged shows are produced by the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority.^[12]

A resort community developed by Welk and promoted heavily by him on the show is named for him. Formerly known as "Lawrence Welk Village," the Welk Resort and Champagne Village are just off Interstate 15 north of Escondido, California, about 38 miles north of downtown San Diego. Lawrence Welk Village was where Welk actually lived in a rather affluent "cottage." The resort is open to the public and contains two golf courses, dozens of upscale timeshares, and a theater that contains a museum of Welk's life. The Welk Resort Theatre performs live Broadway musicals year round.

His organization, The Welk Group, consists of: his resort communities in Branson and Escondido; Welk Syndication, which broadcasts the show on public television; and the Welk Music Group, which operates record labels Sugar Hill, Vanguard and Ranwood. From the late 1950s to the mid-1980s, the Welk Group was known as "Teleklew," in which tele stood for television and klew was Welk spelled backwards.

The "Live Lawrence Welk Show" makes annual concert tours across the United States and Canada, featuring stars from the television series, including Ralna English, Mary Lou Metzger, Jack Imel, Gail Farrell, Anacani and Big Tiny Little.

Welk's variety show has been parodied in a recurring 2000s sketch on Saturday Night Live, in which he is portrayed by Fred Armisen.

See also[link]

• The Lennon Sisters - mainstay singers for Welk from 1955 to 1968
• Aragon Ballroom (Ocean Park)

Books[link]

All books written with Bernice McGeehan and published by Prentice Hall (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.), except where indicated:

• Wunnerful, Wunnerful: The Autobiography of Lawrence Welk, 1971, ISBN 0-13-971515-0
• Ah-One, Ah-Two! Life with My Musical Family, 1974, ISBN 0-13-020990-2
• My America, Your America, 1976, ISBN 0-13-608414-1
• Lawrence Welk's Musical Family Album, 1977, ISBN 0-13-526624-6
• Welk with McGeehan, illustrated by Carol Bryan, Lawrence Welk's Bunny Rabbit Concert, Indianapolis: Youth Publications/Saturday Evening Post Co., 1977, ISBN 0-89387-501-5 (children's book)
• This I Believe, 1979, ISBN 0-13-919092-9
• You're Never Too Young, 1981, ISBN 0-13-977181-6

References[link]

External links[link]

• Lawrence Welk at the Internet Movie Database
• Lawrence Welk's recordings in the 1920s and 1930s, along with other info
• "Spiked Beer," from the aforementioned website
• Lawrence Welk's Best Kept Secret
• Welk Musical Family website
• WelkNotes fansite
• "Old Fans Still Bubble Along to Lawrence Welk" article (The New York Times)
• Welk Musical Family blog
• Lawrence Welk at Find a Grave
• Lawrence Welk Collection at North Dakota State University

Tracy Lawrence
Background information
Born	(1968-01-27) January 27, 1968 (age 44) Atlanta, Texas[1]
Origin	Foreman, Arkansas, U.S.[2]
Genres	Country
Occupations	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals Acoustic guitar
Years active	1991–present
Labels	Atlantic Warner Bros. DreamWorks Nashville Mercury Nashville Rocky Comfort BamaJam
Associated acts	Flip Anderson, Larry Boone, Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw, James Stroud, Elbert West
Website	http://www.tracylawrence.com

Tracy Lawrence (born January 27, 1968) is an American country music artist. He started at a country music restaurant called "Live At Libby's" where owner Libby Knight would help local talent find their way into country music. Lawerence signed to Atlantic Records in 1991, Lawrence debuted that year with the album Sticks and Stones, which produced his first chart single and first Number One hit in its title track.^[2] Five more studio albums, as well as a live album and a compilation album, followed throughout the 1990s and into 2000 on Atlantic before the label's country division was closed in 2001. Afterward, he recorded for Warner Bros. Records, DreamWorks Records, Mercury Records Nashville and his own label, Rocky Comfort Records.

Lawrence has released nine studio albums, three compilations, a live album, and a Christmas album. His studio albums have accounted for more than thirty singles on the Billboard country music charts. Of these, eight have reached number one: "Sticks and Stones" (1991), "Alibis", "Can't Break It to My Heart", "My Second Home"(all 1993), "If the Good Die Young" (1994), "Texas Tornado" (1995), "Time Marches On" (1996) and "Find Out Who Your Friends Are" (2006).^[2]

Biography[link]

Tracy Lawrence was born in Atlanta, Texas, and lived most of his early life in Foreman, Arkansas. He played in his first band at the age of sixteen and later attended Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia, Arkansas, where he was a member of the Epsilon Kappa chapter of Sigma Pi Fraternity. In 1990 Lawrence left Arkansas for Nashville, Tennessee where he planned to find success as a recording artist.^[1]

Lawrence worked as an ironworker and in phone sales while he tried to break into the music business. He began participating in talent shows and earned enough money to live on. He began working with Wanda Collier, a music publisher, doing some shows and co-writing some songs, while learning his way around the music scene in Nashville. He had a gig at the Bluebird Cafe and met Wayne Edwards who became his manager.

Musical career[link]

[edit] 1991-1993: Sticks and Stones and robbery

With Edwards' assistance, Lawrence signed with Atlantic Records and began recording his first album Sticks and Stones. On May 31, 1991, before the album's release, Lawrence walked his former girlfriend to the door of her hotel room and was confronted by three armed men. The men robbed them and attempted to force Lawrence and his friend into her motel room. Lawrence resisted and was shot four times, allowing his friend to escape. Two of the wounds were major and necessitated surgery. One of the bullets remains embedded in Lawrence's pelvis.^[1]

Sticks and Stones, upon its late-1991 release, accounted for four singles on the Billboard country charts. First was the album's title track, which spent a week at Number One in January 1992.^[2] Following it were, in order: "Today's Lonely Fool", "Runnin' Behind" and "Somebody Paints the Wall."^[2] Sticks and Stones was also certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipments of one million copies. In 1992, he was also named by Billboard as Top New Male Vocalist.

[edit] 1993-1994: Alibis

His second album, Alibis, also produced four singles. The first of these, which was the title track, was his second number-one, as well as his first entry on the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at number 72. After this song came "Can't Break It to My Heart", "My Second Home" and "If the Good Die Young", all of which went to number-one.^[1] The album was certified 2× Multi-Platinum by the RIAA. In 1994, he contributed the song "Renegades, Rebels, and Rogues" to the soundtrack of the film Maverick.^[1] This song became a Top Ten hit for him as well, and in 1993, he was awarded as Top New Male Vocalist by the Academy of Country Music.

[edit] 1994-1995: I See It Now

Lawrence's third album, the platinum-certified I See It Now, produced two consecutive number 2 hits in its title track and "As Any Fool Can See", the former of which was a number 84 on the Hot 100. The Bobby Braddock-penned "Texas Tornado" became his sixth number-one hit in mid-1995, followed by another number 2 in "If the World Had a Front Porch".^[2] Later in 1995, he released a live acoustic album, Tracy Lawrence Live and Unplugged.^[1]

[edit] 1995-1997: Time Marches On

Time Marches On, his fourth album, was released in 1996. Its lead-off single was "If You Loved Me", which reached a peak of number 4 in early 1996.^[2] Following this song was Lawrence's longest-lasting number-one hit, "Time Marches On", also written by Braddock.^[2] After this song came "Stars over Texas" and "Is That a Tear", both peaking at number 2.^[2] Time Marches On was certified double platinum by the RIAA.

[edit] 1997-1998: The Coast Is Clear and charges

Lawrence's fifth studio album, The Coast Is Clear, was issued in 1997. This album produced consecutive Top Five hits in the #2 "Better Man, Better Off" and #4 "How a Cowgirl Says Goodbye".^[2] The title track, however, became the first single of his career to miss Top Ten, peaking at #26, and the final single, "While You Sleep", fell short of Top 40.^[2] Nonetheless, The Coast Is Clear was certified gold.

In March 1997, Lawrence married his 2nd wife Stacie Drew, a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader. By December she had filed charges against him. He was eventually convicted of misdemeanor battery and suspended by his record label until he got "his personal matters straight." He was ordered to pay a $500 fine to a women's shelter in Las Vegas.^[1][3]

[edit] 1999-2001: Lessons Learned

In late 1999-early 2000, Lawrence returned to the charts with "Lessons Learned".^[1] This was the title track to his sixth album, 2000's Lessons Learned. "Lessons Learned" was Lawrence's only Top 40 hit on the pop charts, peaking at number 40 there. Despite this single's success, however, the other singles from the album ("Lonely" and "Unforgiven") did not peak as highly, reaching number 18 and number 35 respectively.^[2] By the end of 2000, Atlantic closed its Nashville division, and several acts on its roster, including Lawrence, were transferred to Warner Bros. Records. His only release for that label, Tracy Lawrence, produced only two low-charting singles in "Life Don't Have to Be So Hard" and "What a Memory" before he exited the label.^[1]

[edit] 2003-2004: Strong

Lawrence did not chart again until late 2003 with the release of "Paint Me a Birmingham". This song, which had also been a number 53-peaking single for Ken Mellons earlier that year, went on to peak at number 4 for Lawrence in early 2004.^[2] It was the first release from Strong, his only album for DreamWorks Records.^[1] Following this song were "It's All How You Look at It" and "Sawdust on Her Halo", at number 36 and number 48 respectively.^[2]

[edit] 2005-2006: Label change and Then & Now: The Hits Collection

Lawrence transferred to Mercury Nashville in 2005, where he released the compilation Then & Now: The Hits Collection. His only release for the label, this album included fifteen of his previous hits, all of which (except "Paint Me a Birmingham") had to be newly recorded as the label did not own the rights to his Warner Bros. and Atlantic releases.^[4] Two new tracks were included as well: "Used to the Pain", previously a single in 1998 for its co-writer, Mark Nesler, and "If I Don't Make It Back". These two new songs were both issued as singles, but after the release of the latter, Lawrence exited Mercury's roster.

[edit] 2006-2008: Business ventures and For the Love

Lawrence signs an autograph for a sailor aboard the USS Enterprise (CVN-65), May 2007

In 2006, Lawrence started his own record label, Rocky Comfort Records. A partnership with his manager and brother, Laney, Rocky Comfort operates as a joint venture with CO5 Nashville. His first single for the label was "Find Out Who Your Friends Are", which was released in August 2006 from his album For the Love. This song did not enter Top 40 on the country charts until January 2007, when the album was released, and in June of the same year, it became his first Number One in eleven years.^[2][5] The song reached the top of the country charts in its forty-first week, setting a new record for the slowest-climbing Number One country single, and the second-slowest on any Billboard singles chart.^[5] It was also the first time that any artist had reached Number One with the first release from a self-owned label. The song's chart performance was aided by an alternate recording on the album which featured guest vocals from Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney, although only Lawrence was credited on the charts. The re-recorded version received Musical Event of the Year honors at the 2007 CMA Awards, Lawrence's first award from that association.^[6] Following this song was "Til I Was a Daddy Too" at #32, and "You Can't Hide Redneck", the third single.^[2] Shortly before the latter, Lawrence also issued a Christmas album entitled All Wrapped Up in Christmas, the title track of which peaked at #57 based on Christmas season airplay. Chad Brock and Zona Jones also signed to the Rocky Comfort label,^[7] although Brock never released anything for it.

[edit] 2009: The Rock

Lawrence released the single "Up to Him" in early 2009. This is the first single for a studio album entitled The Rock, which was released in June 2009. The album is composed entirely of Christian music and has been nominated for a Grammy in the best southern, country or bluegrass gospel album category.

[edit] 2011: The Singer

Lawrence released the single "The Singer" in 2011.

Discography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tracy Lawrence

• Tracy Lawrence Official Website
• Tracy Lawrence on Twitter
• Tracy Lawrence on Facebook
• Tracy Lawrence lyrics
• Tracy Lawrence Official YouTube Channel

Bill Engvall
Bill Engvall (2010)
Birth name	William Ray Engvall, Jr.
Born	(1957-07-27) July 27, 1957 (age 54) Galveston, Texas, U.S.
Medium	Stand-up, television, film
Nationality	American
Years active	1990–present
Genres	Country comedy, observational comedy, satire
Subject(s)	Culture of the Southern United States, everyday life, marriage, parenting, self-deprecation
Spouse	Mary Gail Watson (1982–present) 2 children
Notable works and roles	Blue Collar Comedy Tour Bill Pelton on The Jeff Foxworthy Show Host of Country Fried Home Videos Bill Little in Delta Farce Bill Pearson on The Bill Engvall Show Host of Lingo (2011 Run)
Website	www.billengvall.com

William Ray "Bill" Engvall, Jr. (born July 27, 1957)^[1] is an American comedian and actor best known for his work as a stand-up comic and as a member of the Blue Collar Comedy group.

Early life[link]

Bill Engvall was born in Galveston, Texas. Following graduation from Richardson High School in Richardson, Texas, Engvall attended Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, intending to earn a Bachelors degree and become a teacher.^[2] While at Southwestern he was a member of Xi Chapter of the Kappa Alpha Order. Engvall left college prior to earning his degree and worked a series of jobs, including tour guide at Inner Space Caverns, and disc jockey in a Dallas, Texas nightclub.^[3] It was while working as club DJ he first ventured into standup comedy at amateur and open mic nights around Dallas.

Career[link]

In 1990 Bill Engvall moved to southern California to dedicate full time to his comedy. Early notoriety came from hosting the cable show A Pair of Jokers with Rosie O'Donnell and an appearance on the The Golden Palace where he played Blanche's son Matthew, a stockbroker turned aspiring comic. Other early appearances included hosting A&E Networks An Evening at The Improv as well as stand-up routines on The Tonight Show and The Late Show with David Letterman.^[4]
A career breakthrough happened in 1992 when Engvall was named Best Male Standup at the American Comedy Awards. His first role as a series regular came soon after when he was cast in the ABC series Delta, starring Delta Burke. The show only lasted one season however, and Engvall returned to making the rounds of comedy clubs and the occasional television appearance until 1996 when he was cast with fellow comic and best friend Jeff Foxworthy in the NBC version of The Jeff Foxworthy Show. Signed by Warner Bros. Records in 1996, Engvall release the first of a series of highly successful comedy albums, Here's Your Sign, based on his signature stage bit. The album was certified Platinum and peaked at #5 on the Billboard Country album chart, thanks in part to the single and video of the same title on which he collaborated with Country star Travis Tritt.^[5] Eight more comedy albums followed including Dorkfish in 1998, and the most recent, 2009's Aged and Confused.

Blue Collar Comedy Tour[link]

Jeff Foxworthy and Engvall launched the first of six Blue Collar Comedy Tours in 2000.^[6] The tours also featured comedians Ron White and Larry the Cable Guy and were largely responsible for their breakout success. Each of the six years of the tour were very successful and spawned three movies, a satellite radio show, and a television show, Blue Collar TV on The WB Network.

Game show host[link]

On June 6, 2011, Bill Engvall began a new chapter in his career as he took over as host of the re-launched Lingo on GSN.^[7] According to an interview in American Profile magazine, Engvall said he jumped at the chance to host the show, citing the fun his friend Foxworthy had hosting Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?. Engvall had been a fan of Lingo when it aired a few years previously before ending in 2007, admitting that his wife always beat him to the answers. When asked if there were any plans to have buddies Foxworthy or Larry The Cable Guy appear on Lingo, he replied "You never know! I would love to have them on the show because it would be a blast. I would really dig that."^[8]

Personal life[link]

Bill and Gail Engvall (born August 1960) have been married since December 18, 1982. They have a daughter named Emily (born 1986), a 2008 graduate from the University of Puget Sound, as well as a son, Travis (born 1991), a rising senior at Northern Arizona University; both of whom are often mentioned during his routines. Engvall resides in southern California when not on tour and maintains a blog for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, of which he holds season tickets.^[9]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Singles[link]

Other charted songs[link]

Music videos[link]

List of works[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Just a Guy: Notes from a Blue Collar Life St. Martin's Press ISBN 0-312-36267-6 (2007)

Filmography[link]

• Blue Collar Comedy Tour: The Movie (2003)
• Blue Collar Comedy Tour Rides Again (2004)
• Blue Collar TV (2004)
• Mobile Home Disaster (2005)
• Country Fried Home Videos (Host) (2006–present)
• Blue Collar Comedy Tour: One For the Road (2006)
• The Bill Engvall Show (2007–2009)
• Delta Farce (2007)
• Bait Shop (2008)
• Country Fried Planet (2008)
• Celebrity Family Feud (2008)
• Strawberry Wine (2009)
• Leverage (2010) (guest star) as Duke Penzer
• Lingo (2011)
• Hawthorne (2011) (guest star) as Detective Jimmy Dupree (3 Episodes)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Bill Engvall

• Official website
• Bill Engvall at the Internet Movie Database
• Bill Engvall cast bio on The WB
• Bill Engvall interview on Golf & Other Fore-Letter Words (Vegas Video Network)