Eddie Blazonczyk, Sr. (July 12, 1941 – May 21, 2012) was a

Grammy award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

-winning

polka Polka is a dance and genre of dance music originating in nineteenth-century Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. Though associated with Czech culture, polka is popular throughout Europe and the Americas. History Etymology The term ...

musician and founder of the band The Versatones. He was inducted into the International

Polka Hall of Fame The National Cleveland-Style Polka Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum in Euclid, Ohio, United States. It traces the history of the Cleveland-style polka, from its Slovenian roots from the 19th century, through American factory and mining towns w ...

in 1970, and was a 1998

National Heritage Fellowship The National Heritage Fellowship is a lifetime honor presented to master folk and traditional artists by the National Endowment for the Arts. Similar to Japan's Living National Treasure award, the Fellowship is the United States government's h ...

recipient. He has been called "one of the most important figures in the creation of the contemporary Polish-American polka sound." He released more than 60 albums.

History

Eddie Blazonczyk was born in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

to Polish immigrant parents of

Goral The gorals are four species in the genus ''Naemorhedus''. They are small ungulates with a goat-like or antelope-like appearance. Until recently, this genus also contained the serow species (now in genus '' Capricornis''). Etymology The original ...

heritage. Before becoming a

artist, and founding

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

-based Bel-Aire Records in 1963, Eddie Blazonczyk recorded under the name Eddy Bell for

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is ...

, Versa Records, and Lucky Four Records, all three labels based in Chicago. During this period Blazonczyk toured with

Buddy Holly Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer and songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texas ...

Gene Vincent Vincent Eugene Craddock (February 11, 1935 – October 12, 1971), known as Gene Vincent, was an American musician who pioneered the styles of rockabilly and rock and roll. His 1956 top ten hit with his backing band the Blue Caps, " Be-Bop-a-Lula ...

and

Brenda Lee Brenda Mae Tarpley (born December 11, 1944), known professionally as Brenda Lee, is an American singer. Performing rockabilly, pop and country music, she had 47 US chart hits during the 1960s and is ranked fourth in that decade, surpassed only ...

. The

records A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, ...

he made for these labels were

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...

sides, and

novelty songs A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and w ...

. "The Great Great Pumpkin", released on Lucky Four #1012, is probably the most noteworthy of these recordings. This recording is still occasionally heard around

Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...

and is highly sought by record collectors.

Lenny LaCour Lenny LaCour (born Leonard James LaCour Sr., April 27, 1932, Bayou Brevelle, Louisiana, United States) is an American record producer, songwriter and performer, particularly active from the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s.Dik De Heer, with Gary Meyers a ...

, the owner of Lucky Four Records, encouraged Blazonczyk, at the age of 22, to specialize in polka music, rather than to continue as a rockabilly singer. Blazonczyk has said, "I took his advice, and never regretted it." He is credited with inventing the rhythmic polka subgenre known as "Chicago push," although ironically the name given to the style comes from bands who came after and were inspired by Blazonczyk, notably the Chicago Push. Musicologist Norm Cohen wrote that "in his illustrious career, Blazonczyk and his Versatones were the primary ambassadors of Polish-American polka, touring constantly and playing well over 200 road gigs per year." The Versatones played a mix of both traditional and original tunes, with Blazonczyk singing in both

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

and English. The band consisted of a fiddler and

concertina A concertina is a free-reed musical instrument, like the various accordions and the harmonica. It consists of expanding and contracting bellows, with buttons (or keys) usually on both ends, unlike accordion buttons, which are on the front. The ...

player, two trumpeter/clarinetists, a drummer and Blazonczyk himself on vocals and electric bass. Though his focus remained on the polka genre, Blazonczyk was a fan of

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

, bluegrass and

Cajun The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the U.S. state of Louisiana. While Cajuns are usually described as ...

music and liked to incorporate those styles into his music when he felt it was appropriate. Blazonczyk retired from performing in 2002. At that time, he turned over responsibility for his band, The Versatones, to his son, Eddie Blazonczyk Jr. The Versatones played their last performance on New Year's Eve, 2011.

Death

Blazonczyk died of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome on May 21, 2012.

Awards and honors

Blazonczyk was nominated for 11 Grammy Awards, and his album ''

Another Polka Celebration ''Another Polka Celebration'' is an album by Eddie Blazonczyk. In 1986, the album won Blazonczyk the Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the Uni ...

'' won the 1986 Grammy for

Best Polka Recording The Grammy Award for Best Polka Album was an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality polka albums. Honors in several categories are ...

. He was a recipient of the 1998

awarded by the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

, which is the highest honor in the folk and traditional arts in the United States.

Discography

*''Live and Kickin' '' 2001 *''Another Day At The Office'' 2000 *''Smokin' Polkas'' 1999 *''Shakin' not Stirred'' 1998 *''Holiday Favorites'' 1997 *''Greatest Hits-Vol 2'' 1997 *''Music, Music, Music'' 1996 *''Polkatime-20 Of The Greatest Hits'' 1996 *''Better Than Ever'' 1995 *''Always, Forever And A Day'' 1994 *''A New Batch Of Polkas'' 1993 *''All American Polkas'' 1992 *''All Around The World'' 1991 *''Everybody Polka'' 1990 *''Good Ol' Days'' 1989 *''25th Anniversary Album'' 1988 *''Let's Celebrate Again'' 1987 *''

'' 1985 (1986 Grammy Winner) *''Polka Fireworks'' 1984 *''Polka Thriller'' 1983 *''Custom Made Polkas'' 1982 *''Polka Medley Album'' 1982 *''Polka Music's Here To Stay'' 1981 *''Polka Festival'' 1981 *''Hawaiian Polka Tour'' 1980 *''Polka Cruise'' 1980 *''More Honky Style Polkas Vol 3'' 1979 *''Roaring Polkas'' 1978 *''Wide World Of Polkas'' 1977 *''Award Winning Polkas'' 1977 *''Polka Jamboree'' 1976 *''We Were Made For Each Other'' 1976 *''Polka Spotlite'' 1976 *''A Polka Christmas'' 1975 *''Polka Concert'' 1975 *''More Honky Style Polkas Vol 2'' 1974 *''More Country Flavored Polkas Vol 2'' 1974 *''Polka Hits'' 1973 *''Langer Sisters Meet Eddie Blazonczyk's Versatones'' 1972 *''Country Flavored Polkas'' 1972 *''Honkey Style Polkas'' 1971 *''Polka Music Hall Of Fame'' 1971 *''Something A Little Bit Different'' 1970 *''America's Most Wanted Polka Band'' 1969 *''Polkas A Plenty'' 1969 *''Poland European Tour'' 1968 *''Let's Hear A Polka'' 1967 *''Polish Party'' 1967 *''Christmas Time'' 1966 *''Happy Polka Music'' 1966 *''Po Staro Krajsku- Old Country Style Vol 2'' 1966 *''Polka Tour'' 1965 *''Musically Yours'' 1965 *''Po Staro Krajsku- Old Country Style'' 1964 *''Something New Just For You'' 1964 *''Here Come The Versatones'' 1963 *''Polka Parade'' 1963

References

External links

Eddie Blazonczyk's Versatones
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blazonczyk, Eddie Polka musicians American people of Polish descent Grammy Award winners Musicians from Chicago 1941 births 2012 deaths National Heritage Fellowship winners