He really had a #1 hit: "Calcutta" Lawrence Welk (1961)

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“Wunnerful wunnerful” For 28 years (1955-82), “The Lawrence Welk Show” was a Saturday night institution where the champagne maestro’s brand of old fashioned corn commanded a large and loyal older audience. To say Welk was the antithesis of rock and roll is an understatement. He loathed it. Some of us oldsters can remember groaning when parents and grandparents tuned into Welk. Oh, the schmaltz! PBS still reruns old Welk episodes and they are a hoot. Welk’s musical family was like amateur hour and could they ever butcher a contemporary song. There is a weird sense of campy nostalgia. “And now my friends, ‘Calcutta.’ Uh-one, uh-two...” Inexplicably Welk’s instrumental cover of “Calcutta” soared to #1 for two weeks as did the album of the same title. At the time, 57-year-old Welk was the oldest person to enjoy a #1 hit single. “Calcutta” was a German pop song composed by Heino Gaze in 1958 extolling the glories of the Indian city. Lyrics were added by Hans Bradtke. Welk somewhat loosened up on current music and decided to cut an album of up beat (for him anyway) covers of recent songs. “Calcutta” sounds unlike anything else Welk. No surprise there is accordion (Welk and his right hand man Myron Floren were both accordionists) but a harpsichord provides a distinct sound. “Calcutta” is a better than you think instrumental.