Joe Zalewski was born in Toledo, Ohio, on June 26, 1963, the oldest of five children born to Rosemary (Bullinger) and Stanley Zalewski. Joe’s first instrument is Drums, and he also plays Bass Guitar. Joe’s first band was called the Peanuts Polka Band and included his brothers Jim and John. In May 1978, Joe got his big break. At a wedding reception, Joe’s family was seated with IPA Hall of Famer Chet Zablocki. The next…
John Zelasko was born on March 22, 1967, at Fort Carson Army Base in Colorado Springs, CO. Within his first year, John’s parents John and Christine (Chris) moved back to Michigan once his father was honorably discharged. John was influenced by his father, who played accordion and was also the leader of the Polka Kavaliers (The Kavaliers) until the band retired in 2006. In 1977, he attended a dance in Detroit with his parents and…
Anthony W. Zebrowski was born June 12, 1925 in Bayonne, NJ. When he was 2 he and his family returned to their homeland, Białystok Poland. He lived there for the next 20 years. On April 1, 1945 Anthony and Zofia (Zosia) were married. In 1947 Anthony boarded a ship bound for the USA. He left behind his first child Sophie and his wife Zosia, who unknown to them at the time, was pregnant with their…
David M. Zychowski was born on October 9, 1953, to John and Catherine Zychowski of Ambridge, PA. His parents met at a Frank Wojnarowski dance in 1949 and later exposed their children to the rise of polka greats such as Li’l Wally, Marion Lush, and Eddie Blazonczyk. It was a given that their two sons, Jan and David, would learn to play polka music. At the age of six, David began taking saxophone lessons…
Fred Ziwich was born in Cleveland, Ohio on March 10, 1954. He began taking accordion lessons at the age of 5, and could read music before he could read English. Fred started taking clarinet lessons in the 4th grade, began playing the tenor sax in the 8th grade, and learned to play the button box by his senior year in high school. Upon his graduation from Indiana University in 1977, he formed Fred Ziwich…
Teresa Zapolska grew up in Jamaica, New York. During her early years in school, she was taught the piano by the nuns and played for all of the Polish shows held at the school. On the request of her mother, she also began singing and accordion lessons. At an early age, her polka career began with the Bernie Witkowski Orchestra for the grand opening of Polkas on Broadway at the Arcadia Ballroom,…
Eddie Zavaski was born in January 31, 1924 in Rocky Hill, Connecticut, (8 miles South of Hartford) to Stanley & Pauline Zavaski. While growing up as a child he was very much influenced by music. Since he was first generation American born, his mother Pauline was instrumental in encouraging him to continue his Polish culture through the arts. She encouraged him to take up an instrument too. But, as a youngster, Eddie was…
“Still going strong after 47 years,” best describes Chet Zablocki. His “Polish Festival” radio program is still in the same time slot on WTOD – 8:30 a.m. until 12:00 noon. In the late ’50s and early ’60s the show was heard seven days a week, and later changed to Sunday mornings. Chet was born in 1920, and at an early age he showed a love for music. At age 15 he started…
Born in Jaslo, Poland in 1911, Bruno Z. Zielinski came to this country with his mother, Anna, as a one- year-old boy. They joined his father Zygmunt, who had earlier settled in Chicago’s neighborhood of Bridgeport. After elementary education at St. Barbara Parish Catholic School, he attended Harrison High School graduating in 1926. Tremendously fascinated by the radio as a new media of communication and entertainment, in 1930 Bruno started spinning polka records…
Eddie Zima was born in 1923 in Chicago and began playing the concertina when he was 6 years old. His mother, Eleanor, upon noticing his eagerness and ability to play, signed him up for lessons. The concertina was too big for the boy to carry, so he hauled it to lessons in his little red wagon. He attended St. Helen’s grammar school in Chicago’s north side from which many polka musicians graduated. He…
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