 He originally attended North Dakota Agricultural College after high school, but after a year he left when he decided to pursue a career in music.He was the music director at radio station WDAY in Fargo from 1944 to 1956 where he scored over 2,500 arrangements for the station while composing music for community theater groups and conducting local ice shows.In 1956, bandleader Lawrence Welk asked him to join his orchestra and his nationwide television show.