Lifetime Achievement Award Recipients

DEL SINCHAK

1935

              Polka fans know accordionist Del Sinchak as one of Youngstown's top bandleaders for the past 60 years. He's also one of the few polka musicians to cross over into rock and roll.

              Of all the songs he has written, Del's best-known polka is "Roseann," a standard with many Cleveland-Style bands.  He has eight CDs with Peppermint Records and has been the label's promotions director. Del hosted polka shows on WKTX, Cortland, Ohio, and WSOM in Youngstown. He has led polka tours from Las Vegas and Branson to Myrtle Beach and Frankenmuth, along with regular visits to the Seven Springs Polka Festival.

              Del's versatile band had a fling with rock and roll, playing back-up for the Edsels on their 1961 doo-wop hit, “Rama Lama Ding Dong." Del's also known for his comic side --he and his players once posed as an all-girl polka band.

              He received two Grammy nominations in the polka category. Members of the National Cleveland-Style Polka Hall of Fame honored the Del Sinchak Orchestra with Band of the Year in 1996 and 1997 and Best Album of 1996. Del served many years as President of both the American Federation of Musicians in Youngstown and the Penn-Ohio Polka Pals.