The Palace Cultural Arts Association proudly presents “America’s Sweethearts of Song,” The Lennon Sisters at the Marion Palace Theatre on Sunday, October 7 at 3:00 pm.
The Lennon Sisters launched their careers on Christmas Eve 1955 when they appeared on the popular ABC musical variety series, “The Lawrence Welk Show.” The four girls from Venice – Dianne, Peggy, Kathy and Janet -ages 9 to 16, were an overnight phenomenon.
Their Christmas appearance on The Lawrence Welk Show was the beginning of a career that would see them sing for seven presidents, perform with nearly every major star in Hollywood, earn their own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and be welcomed into millions of homes across America every Saturday night.
They sang their way into America’s hearts with pure harmonies–Peggy singing the high notes, Kathy the low, and Dianne – known as Dee Dee – and Janet, in the middle. Their first hit, “Tonight, You Belong to Me,” came along in 1956. They continued to make a regular appearance on the Lawrence Welk series until 1968, and then in 1969 were invited to host their own ABC musical variety series, “Jimmy Durante Presents the Lennon Sisters.” They also appeared on “The Andy Williams Show,””The Ed Sullivan Show” and performed for years in Las Vegas.
They penned their autobiography, “Same Song, Separate Voices,” in 1985 and last year, a documentary of the same name aired on PBS and is available on the www.lennonsisters.com website. In the documentary, they discuss their experiences on the Welk series as well as the killing of their father, William Lennon, by a stalker who was infatuated with Peggy.
Today, Dee Dee, 72, and Peggy, 71, are retired, but the Lennon Sisters are still harmonizing. Since 1994, Kathy, Janet and younger sister Mimi, have been performing primarily at the Welk Resort Champagne Theatre in Branson, Missouri. The sisters are thrilled they now bring their gift of music to The Marion Palace Theatre 2012 Touring Artist Series, for a performance filled with their unmistakable harmonies, video highlights of their fabulous career, (which will surely bring back warm memories), stories that will bring some laughs, and the glamour, style and unique family blend that propelled them to fame with millions of fans.
The Lennons are surprised when they realize it’s been 56 years since the Welk premiere. “We have made all of our friends promise that if they see us up there and are thinking, ‘uh-oh,’ they will get a hook and pull us off,” said Kathy, laughing.
“The voices are still there, just like when we were tiny little kids, that hasn’t changed at all,” added Peggy.
Remaining tickets for The Lennon Sisters are on sale now for $40, $28 and $22. They may be purchased at the Palace box office, 276 W. Center St. in downtown Marion or by phone at 740/383-2101. Box office hours are 9:00am-5:00pm Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, and closed Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday.
Information for all shows and tickets are also online at www.marionpalace.org.
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