Don Jodlowski was born on August 30, 1940 into a musical family that lived on the southwest side of Chicago, il. His family’s love for polka music inspired him to take drum lessons at a young age. Don developed his skills so that by the 1960’s he was drumming with bands that included Joe “Pat” Paterek, Johnny Bomba, Li’l Richard Towalski, Li’l wally Jagiello, the Ampol Aires, and Frankie Yankovic. He was the regular drummer…
Richard Midura was born on August 12, 1935, in Chicopee, Ma. Known as “the pioneer of polka clarinet improvisation” by his peers, he lent his smooth clarinet and saxophone mastery to the live performances and recordings of the most prominent eastern style polka bands of his day. Richard’s unique playing style influenced generations of polka clarinetists. Over his career, he toured with Ed Swierand’s Aristocrats, Al Soyka, and Gene Wisniewski, and performed and recorded with…
Dean Hansen was born in Ithaca, Ne in April of 1933 into a farming family of German ancestry. He was stricken with polio at the age of four and suffered paralysis of his right leg. Fearing his condition would prevent dean from ever farming, his parents introduced him to music by buying him an accordion. After several surgeries, he was able to walk and take music lessons from various teachers including Fritz Poppe, who influenced…
Carl Finch was born in Texarkana, Tx on November 29, 1951. He began performing at the early age of 4 years old by singing in church choirs and later spent his high school years forming and playing in rock bands in northeast Texas. Carl minored in music at the University of North Texas and formed Brave Combo in Denton, TX in 1979. This began a 35-year legacy of playing original and innovative arrangements of…
Stanley “Stas” Golonka was born in 1944 into a polish family in Chicago. He was raised in a Polish neighborhood, attended a Polish school, and listened regularly to Polish radio programs. Inspired by the music of Li’l wally, Stas developed his vocal and drumming skills and formed his first band, the Polka Diamonds, in the late 1950s. After his return from service in the U.S. Army in 1967, Stas resumed his musical career and performed…