Thomas Harold Netherton Jr. (January 11, 1947 – January 7, 2018), was an American singer. He was known for his tenure on ''

The Lawrence Welk Show ''The Lawrence Welk Show'' is an American televised musical variety show hosted by big band leader Lawrence Welk. The series aired locally in Los Angeles for four years, from 1951 to 1955, then nationally for another 16 years on ABC from 1 ...

''.

Early life

Netherton was born on January 11, 1947, in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

, Germany while his father, a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

officer, was stationed there. The eldest of four children, Netherton and his family relocated frequently due to his father's Army career. The Nethertons permanently settled in Bloomington, Minnesota in 1961. After enlisting in the Army during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

, Netherton was stationed in Panama, serving as a 2nd Lieutenant. He had also decided to pursue a singing career and sang with Army and

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...

music ensembles. Netherton became a

born again Christian Born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelicalism, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is distinctly and sep ...

following a sermon he heard at a

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

church in Panama, spending a year at the Bethany Fellowship Missionary Training Center in Bloomington after his discharge from the Army. Faced with making a choice between missionary service and a career in entertainment, Netherton chose to follow the same path taken by his idol,

Pat Boone Patrick Charles Eugene Boone (born June 1, 1934) is an American singer and actor. He was a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He sold more than 45 million records, had 38 Top 40 hits, and appeared in mo ...

, and became a Christian singer.

Career

Netherton joined the

Lawrence Welk Lawrence Welk (March 11, 1903 – May 17, 1992) was an American accordionist, bandleader, and television impresario, who hosted the '' The Lawrence Welk Show'' from 1951 to 1982. His style came to be known as "champagne music" to his radio, te ...

show cast in 1973. His inclusion with Welk's group of entertainers came as a result of a recommendation to Welk by Harold and Sheila Schafer, owners of a North Dakota theater where Netherton had been performing. Netherton appeared regularly on the Lawrence Welk show from 1973 to 1982. In 1975 he appeared on "The Dating Game", choosing from three bachelorettes. In 1979, he wrote an autobiography titled "In The Morning of My Life". Apart from his long-time attachment to the Welk program, Netherton recorded both Christian and secular music albums while still on the program and after. His career post-Lawrence Welk included touring and performing around the United States as well as acting in stage musical productions of ''

Oklahoma! ''Oklahoma!'' is the first musical written by the duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, ''Green Grow the Lilacs''. Set in farm country outside the town of Claremore, Indian Territory, in 1906, it tell ...

'' and '' Carousel''. During the 1970s and 1980s he appeared on television commercials for Rose Milk skin care lotion and

Nabisco Nabisco (, abbreviated from the earlier name National Biscuit Company) is an American manufacturer of cookies and snacks headquartered in East Hanover, New Jersey. The company is a subsidiary of Illinois-based Mondelēz International. Nabisco's ...

's Triscuits crackers. Netherton was a guest on television shows such as

Pat Robertson Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson (born March 22, 1930) is an American media mogul, religious broadcaster, political commentator, former presidential candidate, and former Southern Baptist minister. Robertson advocates a conservative Christian ...

's ''

The 700 Club ''The 700 Club'' is the flagship television program of the Christian Broadcasting Network, airing each weekday in syndication in the United States and available worldwide on CBN.com. The news magazine program features live guests, daily news, co ...

'',

Robert Schuller Robert Harold Schuller (September 16, 1926 – April 2, 2015) was an American Christian televangelist, pastor, motivational speaker, and author. In his five decades of television, Schuller was principally known for the weekly ''Hour of Po ...

's '' The Hour of Power'' and would appear at

Billy Graham William Franklin Graham Jr. (November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American evangelist and an ordained Southern Baptist minister who became well known internationally in the late 1940s. He was a prominent evangelical Christi ...

religious crusades.

Personal life

As of late 2007, Netherton had been living in

Goshen, Indiana Goshen ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Elkhart County, Indiana, United States. It is the smaller of the two principal cities of the Elkhart-Goshen Metropolitan Statistical Area, which in turn is part of the South Bend-Elkhart-Mishawaka ...

where he performed for holiday programs and entertaining local senior citizens at Greencroft Senior Center. Netherton never married. On January 11, 2018, Netherton's younger brother, Brad Netherton, announced on his Facebook page that the singer had died from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

and the flu on January 7, 2018, at age 70. An obituary appeared on the Nashville Funeral and Cremation web site.

Discography

*1975: ''My Favorite Hymns'' *1975: ''What a Friend We Have in Jesus'' *1977: ''Love Songs'' *1978: ''Hem of His Garment'' *1979: ''The Lord's Prayer'' *1981: ''Reflection'' *1984: ''Scrap Book'' *1985: ''Songs of the Savior'' *1987: ''The Tom Netherton Christmas Album'' *1992: ''How Great Thou Art'' *1994: ''22 Great Songs Of Faith'' *1995: ''Gospel Favorites'' *1996: ''Just As I Am''

Books

*1979: ''In the Morning of My Life'', autobiography, Tyndale House, 1979.

References

External links

Lawrence Welk Show Website
*
Video biography from Welk Stars through the Years, 2009East Coast Entertainment
{{DEFAULTSORT:Netherton, Tom 1947 births 2018 deaths American performers of Christian music American male singers German emigrants to the United States People from Bloomington, Minnesota United States Army soldiers Lawrence Welk Deaths from pneumonia in Indiana