Myron Floren died yesterday. He was, to many people, a symbol of a silly television program, a yokel, a joke. What he really was was something quite different -- an astonishingly skilled musician.
I didn't always have this opinion. I remember riding the wrestling or track bus to Webster or Groton, SD, going through tiny Roslyn. They had a sign up at the edge of town: "Welcome to Roslyn, home of Myron Floren." Everybody in the bus was just too cool to do anything but sneer. A guy from the Lawrence Welk Show! And he played accordion, too! We couldn't see why a town would admit it, much less boast about it.
Myron Floren joined Lawrence Welk's band in 1950. The story goes that he was out on the town with his wife, celebrating her birthday. He'd met Welk some time earlier, and the bandleader invited him up on stage to play. Once Welk heard what he could do, he offered him a job on the spot, essentially hiring Floren to replace himself as the accordionist in the band.
Twenty or so years later, when I was a boy, I watched the Welk show regularly. Seeing it now, in perpetual reruns, I have to say, yes, it was a little silly. The choice of material, the costumes, the musical arrangements were often corny. But many of the musicians, and Floren especially, were really quite amazing.
My sister happens to own three accordions, and she's promised to give me one some day. If I could be 1/10th as good as Floren, I'd be deliriously happy. Several years ago, sort of as a joke, I bought her a Floren CD. I listened to it a little, and boy was it good. Again, not really my cup of tea as far as style and selection, but it was impossible to miss the virtuosity.
Read the ABC news and LA Times obits.
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