From 1948 until 1982, Barney was an integral part of the Lawrence Welk Orchestra not only as first trombonist, but was also in charge of the band's luggage when the Music Makers went out on concert tours. He first joined the band back when they played regularly at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago, and made the move to Southern California in 1951 when Welk moved his organization out there on a permanent basis. That same year the Music Makers made their television debut on KTLA in Los Angeles and later made the transition to a nationwide audience on the ABC network in 1955 followed by syndication in 1971.