Ava Barber - The Lawrence Welk Show and Success As A Country Singer

The Lawrence Welk Show and Success As A Country Singer

Soon, Barber was hired as a regular on The Lawrence Welk Show, and found herself performing on his television series on the West Coast. At the same time, Barber was trying to get her country music career off the ground. Chart success didn't come initially, but she released her first charting single in 1977 with the song, "Waitin' At the End of Your Run", a truck-driving song. The song was only moderately successful, though, reaching only No. 70 on the country singles charts that year. Barber's 1978 release, "Bucket to the South", turned into a big country hit, peaking at No. 13 on the Hot Country Songs list in 1978, and reached No. 12 in Canada. Being a country singer brought her instant fame, and she soon appeared on many of its television shows, like Nashville Now, Crook & Chase, and made two appearances on the Grand Ole Opry as well.

Barber's success on the country charts lingered off after the success of "Bucket to the South". She never even had another Top 40 country hit. One song did come close though called "You're Gonna Love Love", which missed the Top 40, peaking at No. 44. She was soon off the country charts, until 1981, when she made a comeback with the single "I Think I Could Love You Better Than She Did". When The Lawrence Welk Show ended in 1982, Barber and her husband Roger returned to Knoxville, where they purchased their own bus and formed their own band, Sweet Apple. They toured the United States and Canada singing and performing.