Jo Ann Castle

Vocation

Family

American musician entertainer known for the honky-tonk, ragtime and jazz piano that she pounded weekly on the long-running Lawrence Welk show. Castle also played accordian in the same sassy manner and, with her perky manner, broad smile, and huge blond hair, had old-timers jumping and thumping their feet in time to her vibrant sounds. A performer since she was three, she joined the Tex Williams radio show as an accordianist and singer at age 15. Two years later, she made it onto TV and played piano and accordian for the likes of Arthur Godfrey and other then-well-known TV hosts. She formed her own band and issued a professional record album which captured the attention of Lawrence Welk. In August 1959 she became a regular on his show. She married Dean Hall when she was young and they divorced soon after. Their daughter Deana was born with cerebral palsy. Castle was a popular attraction for Welk's audience and stayed for 11 years. She had married again, this time to Bill Roeschlein. But in 1970, with her second marriage falling apart, she left the show to care for her three young children. Castle's other children were born exactly a year apart, on April 24, 1969 and 1970. Her oldest child, Deana, died at age 15 in 1978. In the '80s Castle returned once again to the entertainment scene, issuing many records, writing songs, and making special appearances in live concert and on TV specials. Link to Wikipedia biography