West Virginia Music Hall of Fame – Class of 2008
West Virginia Native, Bootlegger’s Son, & America’s Polka King
The name Frankie Yankovic has become synonymous with polka music in the 20th century. He is known throughout the world as America’s Polka King. Yankovic, a West Virginia native, did more to popularize polka music than any other single performer. His long list of firsts include being the first polka artist to have a million selling single, the first polka artist to perform on national television, and he was the winner of the first Grammy ever awarded in the Polka Category.
When he died in 1998 at the age of 83, the New York Times obituary headline read: “Frankie Yankovic, Long-Reigning Polka King is Dead.” It continued:
“The hard working singer and accordionist was crowned the Polka King at a contest in Milwaukee in 1948 and was known by that title through five subsequent decades of performing and recording.”
In his adopted hometown of Cleveland, OH, the state’s largest newspaper, the Plain Dealer led their story of Yankovic’s death with:
“God plays a squeezebox, but he’s got some serious competition now. Polka King Frankie Yankovic, who kept Americans bouncing on the dance floor for decades, played life’s last stanza yesterday. The bandleader, also described as a Frank Sinatra with an accordion died yesterday at his home in Florida.”
In his wake, he left behind more than 200 recordings, two million-selling singles, a Grammy, one of the busiest touring schedules in music history and the adulation of a generations of Americans.
And as Cleveland.com adds; “He also left behind two ex-wives, a widow, 10 children, a long-gone steakhouse and bar, and even a World War II Purple Heart.” His was a colorful and productive life.
Frankie Yankovic’s Slovenian immigrant parents both came to Tucker County, West Virginia in 1908, and settled in the little town of Davis, but they arrived separately. They met in 1909 when they both had jobs in the same lumber camp. His mother, Rose, was a cook, supervising a kitchen staff that made meals for seventy-five lumberjacks. His father, Andy, was a blacksmith who supplemented his income by bootlegging whiskey, beer, and wine for the workers. He and Rose married in 1910. The bride was twenty-four and the groom thirty one. Their first three children, Josephine, Rose, and Mary, were all born at the camp. The couple was overjoyed when they had a son, Frankie, who came along on July 28, 1915.
The story goes that Yankovic came into the world only a few steps away from where his father was cooking whiskey in the West Virginia woods. However, before Frankie’s first birthday, Andy’s bootlegging caught the attention of the local authorities and he fled to Cleveland to avoid prosecution. Rose and the children soon followed.
The family settled in the Collinwood neighborhood which included a large Slovenian population. For extra income, the Yankovic’s took in borders. It was one of these borders that brought the accordion into Frankie’s life. He started taking lessons at the age of nine. He was fascinated by the instrument and by the way everybody paid attention to the guy with the accordion playing the polka music.
Modern polka music, as explained by the Times in Yankovic’s obituary, evolved from a Bohemian dance dating from the 1830’s. After the great wave of Polish immigration to the US in the early 20th century, different styles of the two-beat dance music emerged: mainly the East Coast, Chicago, and Cleveland-Slovenian Style.
Frankie started out playing what is officially called the diatonic accordion. It is also called a cheesebox, and later a button box. According to his biography, America’s Polka King, the cheesebox was the easiest accordion to learn, since it was like playing only the white keys on the piano. It had a charming, tinny sound and was perfect for playing most Slovenian songs.
Generally, after learning to play the cheesebox, serious accordionists would graduate to the chromatic or piano versions of the accordion. Frankie’s father wasn’t a fan of the accordion. He saw no future in it for his son. Young Frank appealed to his mother who surprised him one day in 1927 by giving him a piano accordion that had cost her $500. The deal was he couldn’t tell his father about it, so he had to practice whenever his father was away.
At first he struggled learning the new instrument and finally told his mom he couldn’t do it. She reminded him what she paid for the instrument, and that if Mr. Yankovic found out how much she had spent, they’d both be in a jam. He persevered and finally got the hang of how to master the “Stomach Steinway”, as he jokingly called the contraption, and 3 months later he had put together his first band.
Yankovic’s super power was his charisma. He was among the first polka accordionists to stand while playing. He copied the style of Cleveland box master, Jackie Zorc, always smiling and beaming as he performed. He bounced around the stage and sang. Yankovic’s voice was no threat to Frank Sinatra, but he was extremely effective. “Singing is 75 percent personality,” he said. He felt the same about playing the accordion.
His first band began building a reputation in 1932 and made their radio debut on the Cleveland, “Sunday Slovenian” radio program. They were a hit and asked to come back every Sunday for a slot in the show. Their popularity grew and people were asking Frankie to make a record.
He approached Columbia and RCA Records in 1938. They both turned him down. He decided to cut two records on his own under the name of the “The Slovene Folk Orchestra”. The records were an instant hit.
Yankovic married in 1940 and he and wife June began raising a family. Frank and his band continued to draw record crowds wherever they played.
On December 6, 1941, the Saturday night before the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Frank opened a tavern, with a small stage. called the “Yankovic Bar”. The establishment quickly became a hangout for musicians and fans of polka music.
By the spring of 1943, twenty seven year old Frank Yankovic, who had not received a call from his draft board, volunteered to join the army. After basic training in Kentucky, Frankie had a two week leave before leaving for Europe. He wanted to make some records, so he got his band together and cut 32 songs on 16 records. Like his previous recordings, these too were instant hits. They also served to keep his name and music in the public eye while he was serving his country in WWII.
Yankovic fought in the Battle of the Bulge and received a Purple Heart for his injuries of frostbitten hands and feet. He made a miraculous recovery and playing the accordion was a valuable part of his rehabilitation.
After the war Frankie Yankovic & the Yanks signed with Columbia Records. He initially signed a 2 year recording contract with the label, and stayed on Columbia for another 26 years.
On December 31, 1947, Yankovic recorded a song he was certain would be a big hit. Columbia Records wasn’t so sure. The song was the catchy dance number “Just Because”. The label hadn’t even wanted him to record it, but Frank believed in the tune so much he pledged to buy the first 10,000 copies. He knew he could take those singles to his shows and sell them from the bandstand. The song caught on nationwide. “Just Because” was accepted in popular music venues as well as polka which skyrocketed Frankie Yankovic and the Yanks to stardom.
Less than a year later, they did it again with the 1948 million seller “Blue Skirt Waltz”. The boys were on their way to Hollywood where they played packed houses and made five short videos for universal pictures. They also cut three successful records with singer and movie star Doris Day. Yankovic was suddenly in the big time.
Also in 1948 Frankie Yankovic earned the title he wore for over five decades, America’s Polka King. In June of that year, Yankovic won that title before a crowd of eight thousand in Milwaukee’s City Auditorium. The contest was promoted by the major recording companies, who each had their top polka band represented. The other contestants included Louie Bashell, Sammy Madden, and the Six Fat Dutchmen, headed by tuba-thumping Harold Loefflemacher.
The Yanks were already riding the fame of “Just Because”, and when they took the stage, the crowd surged in their direction. They played the “Three Yanks” polka, and then played their big hit. When the votes were counted, Yankovic and the band won by an eight to one margin.
As the years went by Frankie appeared with superstars such as Bob Hope, Johnny Carson, Arthur Godfrey, Phil Donahue, Jackie Gleason, Kate Smith, and Lawrence Welk. In fact on the Phil Donahue Show, Lawrence Welk and Frankie were both guests when Welk told the audience, “Nobody plays polkas as well as Frankie Yankovic. Nobody!”
Yankovic was inducted into the International Polka Association’s Hall of Fame in 1969.
He was the recipient of the very first Grammy Award for Best Polka Album of the Year in 1986 for the album 70 Years of Hits.
Frankie Yankovic became a member of the West Virgina Hall of Fame in 2008.
Frankie Yankovic-Random Notes:
Despite the rumors, “Weird Al” Yankovic and Frank Yankovic are not related, but they have performed together a few times. “Weird Al” has jokingly hypothesized that he was given accordion lessons as a child because his parents thought that “there should be at least one more accordion-playing Yankovic in the world”.
Yankovic died in October of 1998 of heart failure. Hundreds of friends, family, his loyal fans and fellow musicians attended his memorial service. It still stands as Cleveland’s largest funeral for an entertainer. At his peak Yankovic traveled extensively and performed 325 shows a year. He sold 30 million records during his lifetime.
Though he lived elsewhere for most of his life, Frankie Yankovic often returned to West Virginia to perform at the Vandalia Gatherings in Charleston and various ethnic and music festivals in Wheeling, Weirton and Morgantown. This writer saw him perform three times in the 1970’s and each time he told the crowd he was proud to be from the Mountain State.
Authors Note:
Sources:
America’s Polka King: The Real Story of Frankie Yankovic and his Music.
Bob Dolgan. 2006.
International Polka Hall of Fame.
Cleveland.com.
Photo sources: redbubble.com and cleveland.com
RECOMMENDED LISTENING – by the author
An Oktoberfest 6-pack of Frankie Yankovic Music.
- “Just Because”. Recorded in late 1947, this song went on to become the first polka record to sell over a million copies. This bouncy two-step was not just a polka smash hit, but it crossed over and became a jukebox favorite, played in jazz joints, country honky tonks, and rhythm and blues clubs. Just Because (youtube.com)
- “Blue Skirt Waltz”. This song became his all-time favorite with people of all ages. It sold over 2 million copies. The label read: “Frankie Yankovic & the Yanks” “with/ The Marlin Sisters.” Blue Skirt Waltz (youtube.com)
- “Pumpernickel” -1950- Here Frankie and the boys back up singer and movie star Doris Day. There’s something about Doris Day singing “pumpernickel” over and over again that always makes me laugh. Pumpernickel (1950) – Doris Day (youtube.com)
- “In Heaven There Is No Beer”. This version comes from his 1965 Lp Polkas & Waltzes Just For Fun. In Heaven There Is No Beer – YouTube
- “Pennsylvania Polka”. Here are Frank and the Yanks performing on a TV show in Cleveland. Frank Yankovic & His Yanks – Pennsylvania Polka – Sunday Varieties TV Show (youtube.com
- “Who Stole the Kishka?” Frankie Yankovic and Weird Al Yankovic. Here are the two Yankovic’s on a polka classic. Though not related, they did share an enthusiasm for the accordion. Who Stole the Kishka (youtube.com)
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