Jo Ann Castle
Jo Ann Castle (née Zering; September 3, 1939 – May 8, 2026) was an American honky-tonk pianist who appeared on The Lawrence Welk Show. She adopted her stage name from the name of an accordion manufacturer, another instrument she played. She was often referred to as "Queen of the Honky-Tonk Piano" by Lawrence Welk.
Jo Ann Castle
ABC Television · eBay item photo front photo back · Public domain
- Name
- Jo Ann Castle
- Birth Name
- Jo Ann Zering
- Born
- 3 September 1939
- Birthplace
- Bakersfield, California, U.S.
- Died
- 8 May 2026
- Occupation
- Pianist
- Nationality
- United States
- Fields
- honky-tonk · boogie-woogie · ragtime
- Education
- Hollywood Professional School
- Languages
- English
Enciclopedia VALÉORINE
Il dossier documentario
Ogni enunciato è letto negli archivi di autorità delle istituzioni nominate. Scegliete «Prova» accanto a un enunciato per vedere la scheda da cui è tratto, il punto esatto e la data di lettura.
Jo Ann Castle fu musicista jazz e pianista; la nascita è registrata il 3 settembre 1939 a Bakersfield, California. e la morte l'8 maggio 2026.
Vita
Entrambi gli eventi sono registrati dalla Deutsche Nationalbibliothek.
Istituzioni citate
Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Non indicato dalle fonti citate: nazionalità
Catena di lettura completa (JSON)Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Jo Ann Castle. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q6204113 · wikipedia · Jo Ann Castle
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Jo Ann Castle • Birth Name — Jo Ann Zering • Born — 3 September 1939 • Birthplace — Bakersfield, California, U.S. • Died — 8 May 2026 • Genre — * Honky-tonk • Boogie-woogie • Ragtime • Occupation — Pianist • Instrument — * Piano • Accordion
Life and career
Life and career
Jo Ann was born to William George Zering (1904–1987), a railroad brakeman for the Santa Fe Railroad, and Dorothy Leona Easterly (1918–1996), a Harvey Girl, who worked as a hostess at the Bakersfield Harvey House restaurant. Castle started her career in Bakersfield, California. When she was 3 years old, she began singing, dancing and performing within her local community. Originally introduced to Welk by Joe Feeney in 1959, Castle became a permanent member of the Welk Family, replacing the departing Big Tiny Little. Shortly after joining the Show, Castle married cameraman Dean Hall. They divorced in 1966 after having a daughter. Castle married again in 1968 and had a son and a daughter. Castle left the Welk Show in 1969 and divorced in 1971. Her third marriage, in 1978, ended in 1986. In the 1990s, Castle performed at the Welk-owned Champagne Theater in Branson, Missouri, as well as making a guest appearance for a show with Jimmy Sturr and His Orchestra on RFD TV. On September 3, 2011, Castle married her fourth husband, Lin Biviano, who was a trumpet player from Boston. Castle died on May 8, 2026, at the age of 86, as announced by several of her Welk co-stars. She had been suffering from chronic pain for several years prior to her death.
Discography
List of albums, with Australian chart positions • Title — Album details — Peak chart positions • AUS • The Best Little Honky Tonk in Town — * Released: September 1983 * Format: LP * Label: J&B (JB 149) — 30
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Jo Ann Castle, revision 1365770322 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Newcombe, Bob. Vivacious Pianist Talks As Nimbly As She Plays. Eugene Register-Guard. Mar 7, 1963.
- 2.Bush, John. Jo Anne Castle. AllMusic.
- 3.Honky-tonk pianists Castle to entertain in Smyrna April 19. The News Journal.
- 4.Bebco, Joe. Jo Ann Castle (September 3, 1939 – May 8, 2026). The Syncopated Times. 31 May 2026.
- 5.Statement from the Lennon Sisters on the death of Jo Ann Castle, Facebook.com, retrieved May 8, 2026
- 6.Statement from Ralna English on the death of Jo Ann Castle, Facebook.com, retrieved May 8, 2026
- 7.Kent, David. Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book. 58. 1993. 0-646-11917-6.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 29 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Music memorabilia
44,045 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- JMT RecordsOrganisation
- Jnan Prakash GhoshPerson
- Jo AmarPerson
- Jo Ann CampbellPerson
- Jo Ann KellyPerson
- Jo BenchPerson
- Jo BlankenburgPerson
- Jo BogaertPerson
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by Jo Ann Castle?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.