The Lawrence Welk Show Singer Was 84

Singer Guy Hovis, who rose to fame performing alongside his former wife Ralna English on The Lawrence Welk Show, has died. He was 84.

English, 83, announced news of Hovis’s death on Facebook, writing that he’d died on Jan. 22 after spending the last few weeks in the hospital.

“As it has for me, this will come as a shock to many of you. Guy has been in the hospital for several weeks. I spoke briefly with him on Monday and was deeply concerned,” she wrote. “He took a turn for the worse and it hurts me to tell you , but he died peacefully last night. Needless to say, at this time we are all devastated and simply trying to cope with this tragic news. Thank you for your prayers for Julie and Sis and Guys entire family.”

The Lennon Sisters, who were also frequent performers on The Lawrence Welk Show, shared a tribute to Hovis on Facebook that called him “an amazing talented singer with a voice that was beyond perfection.”

“A very kind true loyal friend… And handsome on top of all that,” they wrote. “He will be truly missed and forever in our hearts.”

Hovis and English — who were married from 1969 to 1984 — first performed together on a 1969 Christmas episode of The Lawrence Welk Show, where English was already singing solo. Their duet was such a hit that Welk brought them back for more, and they stayed on the show for years to come.

“He got a ton of mail [after the Christmas duet]. He’d never had a husband/wife team on his show,” Hovis told WTVA in 2024. “So after, he tried to have me back one more time, just to make sure the mail wasn’t a fluke. He got the same amount of mail, so he asked me to join the show with [English], sing with her. In February of 1970, Guy and Ralna started their 12 years on the regular show… Total was 27 years.”

The couple had met at a club in Santa Monica in the late 1960s, and Hovis told WTVA that the only reason English wanted to audition for Welk was because her grandmother was a fan.

After their divorce, Hovis and English continued to perform together.

“Guy and I have a ball working together. We just love being on stage performing together,” English told the New Hampshire Union Leader in 2012.

Hovis recorded 15 albums over his career, which he started by singing in church at age 5. According to his biography, he graduated from the University of Mississippi with a degree in accounting and spent two years with the Army.

He briefly recorded with a friend as the duo Guy & David before linking up with English. In 1990, Hovis moved to his native Mississippi and worked for the U.S. Senate, but later retired and continued to perform and record music. In 2005, he sang “Let the Eagle Soar” at George W. Bush’s presidential inauguration.

Hovis married Sarah “Sis” Lundy in 2002, and was a father of three children and a grandfather of five.