Donald R. Gralak was born on August 19, 1952, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His father bought him his first concertina at the age of six, and he was taught by local Milwaukee virtuoso Stan Nowicki. By the age of nine, he had performed publicly on radio and made several television appearances…
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,…
John Gora was born on July 27, 1959, in Poland and emigrated to Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, with his parents in 1974. He learned to play clarinet and saxophone in 1977. John formed a musical group “Gorale” catering to “Continental” music crowds and they played their first polka…
Richie Gomulka was born on February 6, 1942, in Chicago, Illinois to first generation American-born parents, Ted and Mary (Owca) Gomulka. Richie is the oldest of four children. He has two sisters, Angie Gomulka and Dianne (Steve) Paliga, and one brother Lenny (Estelle) Gomulka. Richie is…
Ed Guca was born on August 7, 1944 to a very musical Polish family in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. His uncle played clarinet in a popular wedding band and was of particular influence in Ed’s love for Polka music. It was in his youth that Ed learned how to…
Back in California, where Hank was born, there was a family that played Mexican music called “Los Taconazos.” About 1970, Gus Guzevich, who was Hank’s father, realized that all of his kids adapted very easily to singing and playing music. Their style was different than everyone else,…
Frank Grybosh had been a polka musician for 18 years and led a 6-piece orchestra under the name of “Frankie Gee” before he was tragically killed on January 1, 1970. Frank Grybosh was born in Ludlow, Massachusetts on October 9, 1936, and was the only child of Wanda…
*Deceased in 2017* It all started when Jerry Goetsch was a small child, his dad played in a band in the area and his sister and brother also played musical instruments. At 12 or 13 years of age, he began to fall in love with the top polka bands…
The First Chet Gulinski Show was broadcast at 7:30 p.m., Sunday, November 5, 1955. Since that time, many thousand Chet Gulinski Shows were broadcast. Approaching its 43rd anniversary, The Chet Gulinski Show was broadcast Sundays at 9:30 a.m. and at 11 a.m. over WNDZ (750AM), a 5,000-watt station…
Lenny Gomulka at age 5 took an immediate interest in polka music. He especially liked the drums which he self-taught himself in spare time. His formal training began at age 11 when inspired by his mother to take trumpet instruction. Before organizing his own polka band, Lenny…
It was a long hard haul for Al Grebnick, Nebraska Polka King, (1978), who grew up in the “dirty thirties,” on a farm. With only an eighth grade education behind him, because the family could neither afford to board him out or buy him a car so…
Walt Groller was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania on February 12, 1931. His parents were Austrian immigrants. At four years of age, they bought him a small accordion. He was a self taught musician who picked up the Austrian folk songs his mother sang to him. …
Bernie Goydish has been an active member of the polka community for more than 28 years. He is a musician, bandleader, promoter, record manufacturer, distributor, and polka disc jockey. He introduced more young new polka bands to the field than anyone else. His Sunday polka radio show is the…
Roman (Romy) Gosz was born on August 2, 1910. He took his first piano lesson at age 7. At 11 he joined his father Paul, and his two brothers, George and Mike, in the Gosz family orchestra in 1921. In 1930 Romy took over the band. When he lost…
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