Big Tiny Little

Dudley "Big Tiny" Little, Jr. (August 31, 1930 – March 3, 2010) was an American musician who appeared on The Lawrence Welk Show from 1955 to 1959. His primary instrument was the piano.

Biography

Born in Worthington, Minnesota, and the son of Tiny Little Sr., a prominent musician and bandleader, Big Tiny first took up playing piano at the age of five, becoming both a honky-tonk, ragtime pianist and playing other instruments such as the organ, bass horn and bass fiddle. After playing in his father's band for a while, he joined the United States Air Force and did a tour in the Far East. He became a member of Lawrence Welk's famous "Champagne music makers" just one month after Welk's national TV debut in 1955. A regular feature of Welk's popular show, Tiny's outstanding keyboard artistry has earned him millions of fans from coast to coast.

After his tenure on the show (where he was replaced by Jo Ann Castle), he went solo again; recording over 45 albums and making guest appearances on several television programs over the years. More recently, he played with Mary Lou Metzger, Jack Imel, Ralna English, Ava Barber and Dick Dale in the touring Live Lawrence Welk Show. Little also performed at President Reagan's inaugural balls in 1985 and returned to television in the PBS special; Lawrence Welk: Milestones and Memories, which featured a reunion of stars from the Welk show.