welk's big band performed across the country but mostly at ballrooms and hotels in the chicago and milwaukee areas. in the early 1940s, the band started to play at the trianon ballroom in chicago, where they played for 10 years. his orchestra also played at the roosevelt hotel in new york city during the late 1940s. welk recorded a version of spade cooley's "shame on you" with western artist red foley in 1945. the record (decca 18698) was #4 on billboard's september 15 "most played juke box folk records" listing. from 1949 through 1951, the band had its own national radio program on abc.