Lester Schuft: It’s Polka Time
If it’s classic Minnesota polka you want, Lester Schuft has what you need.
Mr. Schuft was a dentist, a family man, and he loved his cars. Many of his album covers included a photo of him with his trumpet and a beer stein while sitting on or standing near a sick whip. His band was based in Hutchinson, a sister city to New Ulm when it came to being an epicenter of that classic Minnesota polka sound.
This week we will play Schuft’s version of one of my favorite polka tunes, and we’ll roll out the barrel to get warmed up for the Wisconsin state dance anniversary.
Listen to this week’s episode of Polka Time with DJ Shotski to hear the “Rainbow Valley Polka” and the “Beer Barrel Polka” by Lester Schuft and the Country Dutchmen, along with songs from other bands that recorded on the Red Rose Records and Little Crow Recording Company labels. The show will air LIVE on 98.7 FM WVMO on Sunday, March 10. Tune in on your terrestrial dial in Monona or on Madison’s east side, or stream it online. The show will rebroadcast on participating stations the following weekend.
All stations stream on the web at the links below. All times CST.
Polka Time: Where and when to listen
LIVE
Sunday, 7 p.m. - WVMO-FM 98.7 Monona
Streaming
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-powered stations for keeping vintage polka on the air waves.