"Calcutta" might be the least remembered number one hit of the '60s; its brisk rhythm, hand claps, wordless chorus, and prominent melody add up to an infectious instrumental, but anything associated with the name
Lawrence Welk tends to be dismissed out of hand. But
Welk's early-'60s Dot albums, with their weirdly generic cover designs and crazy assortments of rock and pop tunes, were often quite good.
Welk, for a time, converged with other instrumental artists like
Bill Justis and
Billy Vaughn, whose music, too, was often on the periphery of rock & roll. On
Calcutta!,
Welk covers a number of recent hits, including "Perfidia" (with electric guitar inspired by
the Ventures' single) and "Corrine Corrina" (revived by "Ray Peterson"). "Ruby" is the kind of string-laden, easy listening music most listeners would expect from
Welk, but "Save the Last Dance for Me" -- performed with what sounds like a harpsichord on lead -- returns to rock & roll territory.
Calcutta! topped the charts for two weeks in 1961 and the album stayed at number one for nearly three months, so its success can't be written off as a mere fluke.