Music has always played an important part of Frank Borzymowski’s life. His first professional gig was at the ripe old age of 14 and it wasn’t long after that all of Baltimore’s Polonia wanted to book Joe and Anita’s boy for their functions. Frank’s high school and college years were filled with great memories playing polkas at Baltimore’s Polish Home, Blob’s Park and all the many Polish parishes through-out the east side of the…
John (Foo) Furmaniak (pictured at right with daughter Christy), was born on August 7, 1948 to Thaddeus (Ted) and LaVerne Furmaniak. He is the oldest of their five children. John became infatuated with the accordion at the young age of 10 when a representative of the Mort Herald Accordion School of Music appeared at his grade school and demonstrated the sound of the accordion. John came home from school that day and asked…
Tony Petkovsek was born August 21, 1941, in Cleveland, Ohio to parents of Slovenian descent. At age 20 he began what would become the longest running daily two hour polka program, self-produced with his own sponsors. That daily show aired six days a week from 1961 through 2011 and it now continues weekly every Saturday for three hours from noon to 3:00 p.m. Co-hosts currently include Joey Tomsick, Joe Valencia (bilingual also in Slovenian),…
In his youth, Jan Cyman was an avid boy scout in his home-town of Buffalo, New York. He also was first music chair at his high school. The year was 1965, Buffalo, New York. Fifteen-year-old Jan Cyman played the trumpet in school. A couple of good friends, Larry Trojak and Whitey Ryniec, wanted to start a polka band, but Cyman had no idea what polka music was. They brought him to see…