Madison-area friends — come to Prost! on Saturday for their Somerfest party. I’m playing polka tunes from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. and DB Polka Express will play live starting at 4. It’s rain or shine, so come inside if it’s stormy.
Sing-A-Long: Frankie Yankovic’s Milwaukee Polka
This week’s sing-a-long is all about Milwaukee. The Milwaukee Polka was written by Frankie Yankovic, Johnny Pecon, Richard Adler and Joe Trolli, and released on April 20, 1957.
While I couldn’t find a video of Frankie Yankovic and his Yanks performing this song, here’s some footage of Yankovic’s band circa 1960 that should give you a feel of their style (and check out that bass player’s technique!).
Frankie must have had a very warm place in his heart for Milwaukee. Yankovic obtained the title of America's Polka King after beating Louis Bashell, Romy Gosz, Harold Loeffelmacher and the Six Fat Dutchmen, Whoopee John Wilfahrt, and Lawrence Duchow in a battle of the bands by a vote of 8000 fans in Milwaukee at City Auditorium on June 9, 1948.
According to Victor Greene, author of A Passion for Polka, “Yankovic’s crowning (in Milwaukee) was not only recognition of his leading place among polka band leaders but was also symbolic of the transformation of ethnic music over the previous century. As ethnic music bands changed from the military and concert bands of the nineteenth century to the specifically ethnic and then commercialized popular ensembles of the twentieth, Yankovic himself went through all those stages and actively helped create the culminating era of ethnic music in the late 1940s and early 1950s.”
Study up on the lyrics of the Milwaukee Polka and sing along when I play it on Polka Time on Sunday night.
Beer from Milwaukee
The very best in town
It makes you so talky
Drink it down, drink it down, drink it down
A toast to Milwaukee
so raise your glasses high
Then you'll chugalug until you’re dry
and raise your spirits to the sky
Beer from Milwaukee
The very best in town
Just don't be so talky
Buy a round, buy a round, buy a round
And drink to Milwaukee
so raise your glasses high
Then you'll chugalug until you’re dry
and raise your spirits to the sky
Here’s a bonus Milwaukee-inspired polka by Patti Page that will have you hitting the I-94 to get to Wisconsin’s largest city.
Polka Time: Where and when to listen
LIVE - June 23
Sunday, 7 p.m. - WVMO-FM 98.7 Monona
Streaming - last week’s episode’s rebroadcast
Saturday, 8 a.m. - WHYS-FM 96.3 Eau Claire - support WHYS
Saturday, 3 p.m. - WRJQ Goodtime Radio - support WRJQ
Saturday, 6 p.m. - WPCA-FM 93.1 Amery - support WPCA
Saturday, 7 p.m. - WVMO-FM 98.7 Monona - support WVMO
Sunday, 7 a.m. - WOJB-FM 88.9 Hayward - support WOJB
Sunday, 8 a.m. - WILW-FM 96.3 Waupaca
Sunday, 9 a.m. - WOCT-FM 101.9 Oshkosh
Sunday, 4 p.m. - WLSP-FM 103.5 Sun Prairie - support SPMC
Thanks to these community and volunteer-powered stations for keeping vintage polka on the air waves.
Events:
Saturday, June 22 — Prost! Sömerfest, Madison
It’s a Prost! Block Party! Madison’s best Munich-style bierhall is hosting a free party on Hancock Street to welcome summer with music and German food and drinks. DJ Shotski plays polka tunes from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. before DB Polka Express takes over at 4 p.m. Free party, tip your servers. In the event of rain, we will move the block party inside.
September 19-22 — Green County Cheese Days, Monroe
Cheese Days is set to break the world record in the number of people dancing the polka at this year’s festival. And DJ Shotski is providing the polka tunes! Can you be a part of this exciting event? Mark your calendar and register with Cheese Days for details.
Readers like you keep the Shotski Lodge open
The Shotski Lodge is a reader-supported publication. Support from subscribers like you gives me the confidence to pursue my mission to get more people to listen to vintage polka and vinyl records, including through this free e-newsletter.
Become a Shotski Lodge member - Substack offers paid subscriptions for people who want to be patrons of the Lodge’s mission.
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Hire me for a gig! - your community needs a polka party. Email me at djshotski@gmail.com if you have a venue or an event that needs a vinyl DJ.
Donate records - the answer to free records is always “yes.” I’ll give your records a good home (or I’ll distribute them to my vinyl buddies). Email me at djshotski@gmail.com if grandpa’s records need to get out of the basement.