The Champagne Has a Little Less Fizz

On Tuesday 10 May Norma Zimmer passed away. While she wasn't the only female singer with Lawrence Welk to be called the "Champagne Lady" she was the one who held the title for the longest period, 22 years. She started on New Year's Eve 1960 & stayed with the show until Welk's retirement in 1982.

& while that is what she was best known for her time with Welk, she had a busy career long before that. She sang with famous groups like the Norman Luboff Choir & the Ken Darby Singers. She provided the singing voice for the White Rose in the 1951 Disney version of Alice In Wonderland. She also sang with a quartet called The Girlfriends. Among those they backed up were Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Perry Como & Nat King Cole. But the most successful record they performed on was as backup for Bing Crosby on White Christmas. Over the years she also sang at many of the Billy Graham Crusades.

There are way too many songs for me to do justice to her career. But here are a few from over the years that show the range of her talent:

The September Song



It's A Most Unusual Day



Summertime



3 Coins in the Fountain (with her regular partner Jimmy Roberts)



Always



Bless This House



His Eye Is On the Sparrow



God Loves You (From 1 of her appearances at the Billy Graham Crusades)



Ave Maria