MUSIC MAKER BIOS!
ANDRA WILLIS vocalist was born August 27, 1943 in Danville, VA. Around her hometown, she originally sang with her two sisters in talent shows, county fairs and on TV, and while appearing on Don McNeil's Breakfast Club on radio, she was hired by the Champagne Music Makers in 1967 and stayed on until 1969, singing either as a soloist or with Dick Dale. After leaving Welk, she married Larry Muhoberac, moved to Australia, and has pursued a career in songwriting and as a studio session singer. A few of the singers she has worked for has included, Henry Mancini, Elvis Presley and Neil Diamond. She also has a stepson, Matt Muhoberac, who works as a musician for several acts in Branson.
NATALIE NEVINS vocalist who hails from Philadelphia, PA; was born on May 15, 1925. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, she honed her craft as a singer before being invited by Lawrence Welk to join his show in 1965. As a soloist, her impressive voice won her legions of fans and proved to be mutil-talented by playing the flute and appearing in comedy bits with the likes of Larry Hooper and Jack Imel. After she was fired in 1969 for missing a concert in Spokane, WA, she made a go at a solo career. She then moved back to Philadelphia to care for her mother and to be near her brother John and family until she passed away on August 23, 2010
FRANK SCOTT piano and vox player was born on June 21, 1921 in Fargo, ND. After graduating from Fargo Central High and a short stint at North Dakota Agricultural College, he pursued a career in music, honing his skills at the piano, vox and harpsichord and as an arranger. While serving as musical director at WDAY radio in Fargo, he got the call from fellow North Dakotan Lawrence Welk to join his show in 1956, and Frank never looked back. From 1956 to 1969, he worked as the shows arranger and accompanist while playing the piano, and worked on the band's numerous studio albums. He also led his own orchestra featuring the likes of Art Depew, Don Shelton and Arnold Fishkind after his Welk days. He died in Southern California on October 5, 1995, having arranged a stunning 7,000 songs in his diverse musical career.
MICHAEL REDMAN singer and one-third of Gail, Ron & Michael was born on April 15, 1945 in Portland, OR. After graduating from the University of Southern California, he pursued a career in showbiz, appearing in numerous commercials, guest roles on TV shows such as Sonny & Cher, Donny & Marie and Happy Days and recorded in studio sessions with some of Hollywood's finest singers. He joined the Welk show in 1980, on a recommendation by Tom Netherton for the perfect guy in Gail Farrell's & Ron Anderson's new trio...and it worked too, becoming part of one of the most popular acts in the show's later years. After Welk, Michael remains busy in his career, such as going on the road with Welk alumni and with the trio. Married to Cinda Goold since 1968, she has co-wriiten Recipes For Rememberance, and the couple are the proud parents of two daughters.
RON ANDERSON singer and one-third of Gail, Ron & Michael was born October 18, 1945 in San Francisco, CA. After attending Bethany College in Santa Cruz, CA, he honed his talents as a performer throughout the USA and Canada and has served as a choir director in an Oakland church and as music director in a San Jose church. Moving to Southern California in the early 1970s, he expanded his portfolio as a stand in actor for numerous game shows and made bit appearnaces in several popular TV shows. He first met Gail Farrell in 1977 at an acting workshop class and the two were married two years later on December 7, 1979, and nine months later, joined the Welk show. In addition to twin daughters with Gail, he is also the father of two boys, Grant and Johnathan, from a previous marriage.
LYNN ANDERSON country vocalist was born on September 26, 1947 in Grand Forks, ND. The daughter of songwriter Liz Anderson, showbiz was in her blood when she joined Welk in 1967 as the original "Country Gal". After just two short, but brilliant and exhilarating years singing country solos and ingroup numbers, she left in 1969 to pursue a career in Nashville. In 1970, she scored the biggest hit record of her life with "Rose Garden" which became a worldwide blockbuster of a song, and continued that with several more hit songs and albums. She also recorded her most recent CD "Cowgirl" in 2006 with songs penned by Liz. In addition to performing, Lynn also pursues another succesful career, raising champion show horses on her New Mexico ranch.
STEVE SMITH vocalist and member of the Blenders hails from Los Angeles, CA. He first joined the Lawrence Welk show in 1965 with Westmount College classmates John Johnson, Bob Duncan and Greg Dixon as members of the singing foursome The Blenders. When the act disbanded two years later, Steve stayed on as a solo singer, mesmerizing the ladies with his smooth singing voice. After he left the fold in late 1969, Steve continued his career....active as an LA studio singer, sang lead in the Jimmy Dorsey orchestra, sung theme songs for several movies and worked on the Carol Burnett Show. Today, he now the lead singer for the Diamonds, a singing group he has been with since 1982. In addition, he and his wife, Hope, owns the Sierra Sky Lodge in California's Tahoe Valley.
CURT RAMSEY arranger, music librarian and vocalist was born October 1, 1916, spending his formative childhood years first in Grand Meadow, MN, then on the family farm in Lanesboro and later to Lacrosse, WI when he was eight. As a multi-talented musician, he played both the trumpet, alto horn and cello in high school, and later applied his craft at LaCrosse State Teachers College learning about harmony and orchestration. After a stint in the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago, Curt played with several bands such as Johnny Marlowe, Benny Strong and Sherman Hayes before joining Lawrence Welk in 1949 originally as a trumpet player and later as a singer with the Sparklers quartet. Married and the father of two children, he died on June 9, 1990 at the age of 73.
