Wikipedia:Joey Schmidt

Joseph K. "Joey" Schmidt (August 13, 1959) is an american keyboardist, accordion player, and polka musican. He is best known for playing accordion duels with Lawrence Welk, including Myron Floren on The Lawrence Welk Show, keyboards for Joe Nichols, Vince Gill and Alan Jackson.

Early Life
Schmidt accordionist was born in Napoleon, North Dakota. Schmidt was first brought to the Maestro's attention by his friend Mike "Resident Accordionist Supreme of Strasburg" Dosch and his nephew Jimmy Schwab by giving him a cassette tape of his performance, which Lawrence Welk was very impressed by the squeezebox prodigy, Schmidt was hired first as a performer at Welk Resort Escondido before making his first appearance on the show in January 14, 1978, and which brought forth a huge positive reaction from the audience. Often performing with Myron Floren, and even Welk himself they even released the "Joey, Lawrence, Myron" album in 1981 on the Ranwood label. Today, Schmidt plays keyboard for country artist Joe Nichols, has performed with other country artists, and still performs solo on occasion as well.

Personal Life
Schmidt is currently resides in Hendersonville, Tennessee, and is married to the former Jessie Mayberry, he has two daughters, Savannah (April 10, 1995 - May 19, 2016), and Olivia.