Pawlo Humeniuk ( uk, Павло Гуменюк, anglicized as Paul Homenick, and polonized as Paweł Humeniak) June 18, 1883 – January 24, 1965) was a

Ukrainian American Ukrainian Americans ( uk, Українські американці, Ukrayins'ki amerykantsi) are Americans who are of Ukrainian ancestry. According to U.S. census estimates, in 2021 there were 1,017,586 Americans of Ukrainian descent represen ...

fiddler from the early 20th century who became one of the biggest stars of the era's ethnic music.

Biography

Humeniuk was born in June 18, 1883Immigration application for Paul Humeniuk; ''New York, Naturalization Records, 1882-1944'' in

Pidvolochysk Pidvolochysk ( uk, Підволочиськ, pl, Podwołoczyska, yi, Podvolitchisk, , russian: Подволочиск) is an urban-type settlement in Ternopil, Ternopil Oblast (province) of western Ukraine. It is situated on the right side of t ...

, a village that was then known as Podwołoczyska, Austria-Hungary, and is now in

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

. His native languages were

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

and

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

.''1930 United States Federal Census'' He arrived in the United States on December 8, 1908, where he found work as a violin maker. He performed at various celebrations, such as

wedding A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vo ...

s, in the

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

area. Humeniuk was signed to Okeh Records in 1925, and began recording on December 3 of that year. His early records sold well, and included kolomyjkas,

kozachok Kozachok ( uk, кoзачо́к) or Kazachok (russian: казачо́к) is a traditional Ukrainians, Ukrainian folk dance originating with the Cossacks in the 16th century. In the 17th and 18th centuries it was performed throughout contemporary U ...

s and polkas. He was the undisputed king of Ukrainian American popular music, until Columbia Records began promoting Ewgen Zukowsky. The two occasionally worked together, such as on "Ukrainske Wesilia", which is said to have sold more than 100,000 copies (though reliable records are not available from this era). After 1926, Humeniuk began recording traditional Polish music under the name Paweł Humeniak. His influence in this field is important, as he helped develop the genre of American polka and inspired future bandleaders like Edward Krolikowski and Ignacy Podgorski. His 1928 "Kanarek" was the best-selling polka of the era, and set the standard for eastern-style polka. Humeniuk's last recording was in 1940. He was married to Antoinetta Szeponias. They had three children: Walter (born 1914), Mitchell (1916) and Lucy (1925).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Humeniuk, Pawlo 1883 births 1965 deaths Austro-Hungarian emigrants to the United States American fiddlers Ukrainian violinists Polish violinists Male violinists American people of Polish descent American people of Ukrainian descent 20th-century American violinists 20th-century American male musicians