If you’re a Saturday Night Live fan you’ve probably seen the Lawrence Welk skit with Fred Armisen as the venerable bandleader. The skits feature the fictional Meryl Sisters of the Finger Lakes, but they’re a nod and a wink to The Lennon Sisters…um, of the Pacific Ocean. Los Angeles. The Lennons, Diane, Peggy, Kathy and Janet were really sisters. That is, they are sisters…and they’re still performing, though Diane and Peggy have retired, and younger sister Mimi has filled in. In 2001, they were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame.
So how do they feel about the SNL skits? “It just cracks everybody up,” said Janet. “It’s hard for us to believe we’re kind of an American institution.” It’s a refreshingly-tolerant reaction. If you haven’t seen the skits, well, let’s just say you would understand if they’d been received poorly.
But, judge for yourself.