I've been a fan of the Lennon Sisters since I was a child, and once had a crush on Diane, the oldest.

When I launched the weekly radio show that's tied in with the magazine Julie and I publish, the Lennons were the first guests. It was at Christmas, a special half hour broadcast, carried on 52 stations across 10 states. I also interviewed them for our magazine, and they were so happy with the article, they shared it with the Catholic Digest, which ran a pic of them on the cover and used my article on the inside. It's a magazine with a circulation of 600,000!

People who know about the Lennons may know that Mr. Welk was home sick, sitting in a bath robe, when his son Larry, Jr. pestered his dad to listen to four young girls whom he had heard at a local concert. Lawrence reluctantly agreed, but was so astonished by the talent these young girls displayed, he immediately invited them to perform on his show. They captured the hearts of America.

We watched them grow up on the show.

Tragedy struck this large family (which included other brothers and sisters, besides the quartet), when a deranged stalker shot and killed their father on the golf course. He had fantasized about being in love with one of the girls and had been a pest for quite awhile. Finally he acted on his impulses and murdered their dad in cold blood, as witnessed by one the Lennon boys (who is a friend of Julie's and mine).

In recent years, they have performed in Branson, Missouri at the Welk theater there.

On the radio show I produce, they performed "What Child Is This?", which is based on the same melody as "Greensleeves." Click below to see and hear them perform as young girls live on the Welk show, singing this song.