Above: Castle on the left with Lawrence Welk and Cissy King, 1969.
BIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS
Full Name: Jo Ann Zering
Description: Pianist, USA
Known For: Known for being the central ragtime performer on The Lawrence Welk Show
Instruments: Piano
Music Styles: Jazz, Ragtime
Location: United States of America
Date Born: 3rd September 1939
Location Born: Bakersfield
CONTACT DETAILS
Web Site: http://www.joanncastle.com/
Other Links: For other links about this entertainer click on the Links button above
YOUTUBE VIDEO
BIOGRAPHICAL PROFILE
Jo Ann Castle
An American ragtime pianist. She adopted the stage name “Castle” from a type of accordion, another instrument she played with great proficiency.
She was often referred to as “Queen of the Ragtime Pianists,” and was seen as the younger version of star ragtime pianist Del Wood.
Castle has released sixteen albums throughout her career. She is most known for being the central ragtime performer on The Lawrence Welk Show, on which she performed from 1959 to 1969.
Castle became a permanent member of the “Welk Family” just prior to her twentieth birthday, replacing the departing Big Tiny Little.
Castle was a close friend and colleague of Liberace and has since spoken fondly of him in various retrospectives since his death.
In the 1990s, Castle performed for fans at the Lawrence Welk-owned Champagne Theater in Branson, Missouri.