Lawrence WelkTrumpeter
Recorded "Green Hornet" Theme Song
Al
Hirt ("Jumbo") was better known for his jazz
nightclub in New Orleans than he is for his
performances on the Lawrence Welk Show. However, it
was on the Welk Show where he got his start in show
business in 1957 playing alongside jazz clarinetist Pete Fountain.
Hirt grew up in New Orleans and attended the
Cincinnati Conservatory of Music from 1940 to 1943.
He then served in the Army until after World War II.
After the war, Hirt returned to New Orleans and
played with Pete Fountain, another Lawrence Welk
alumni. Fountain and Hirt both joined the Lawrence
Welk Show in 1957 and remained until 1959.
Life After Welk
After
Hirt left in 1959, he moved back to New Orleans
and
signed a contract with RCA records. He eventually
recorded a whopping 55 records over his entire
career. In 1965, he won a Grammy for his hit song,
"Java" and later won acclaim for his theme song for
the "Green Hornet." Other hits he recorded include
"Greatest Horn", "He's the King", "Bourbon Street",
and "Cotton Candy." In 1986, his longtime club in
New Orleans closed down after 22 years so he began
playing at his friend's club, Jelly Roll's down the
street.
In 1993, Hirt recoverd from gall
bladder surgery. Hirt died in 1999 of liver failure
leaving behind an artistic history of 50 albums and
a 1964 Grammy for the song "Java."
Al Hirt,
Jerry Hirt (Trombone) and Pee Wee Spitelera (clarinet) - 1962 Performing "I Love Paris" and "When The Saints Go
Marching In"