Johnny Zell joined The Lawrence Welk Show in 1968. He was a member of the North American Air Defense Command Band (NORAD) Welk invited Johnny onto the show to represent NORAD. After his performance Welk asked him how much time he had left in the service. Zell replied, “13 months.” Welk told him to come see him for a job once he was out. Lawrence kept his word and hired Zell.