Pittsburgh's

National Cleveland-Style Polka Hall of Fame and Museum

605 East 222nd Street
Euclid, OH 44123

USA

 

E-mail: Polkashop@aol.com

Phone: 216-261-3263

Toll Free: 1-866-66POLKA

Fax: 216-261-4134

 

 

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Four to Enter Polka Hall of Fame at Awards Show Saturday, November 25

Two polka musicians, a deejay and a recording engineer will be inducted into the National Cleveland-Style Polka Hall of Fame at the annual awards show on Saturday, November 25, 2023. Bandleader Al Battistelli, vocalist and radio host Dale Bucar, studio technician Gary Rhamy, and the late accordionist Joe Mlakar were voted for their lifetime achievements in Cleveland-Style polka music by Hall of Fame members and trustees. The announcement was made at the September 20 membership meeting of the American Slovenian Polka Foundation.

 

Accordionist Al Battistelli has led a popular Lorain, Ohio, polka band since 1962. Dale Bucar has hosted a polka radio broadcast for nearly fifty years, currently on WINT in the Cleveland, Ohio area. He is also a popular vocalist and recording artist. Gary Rhamy has engineered 200 polka albums out of the 500 recorded at his Peppermint Studios in Youngstown, Ohio, including five Grammy winners. The late Joe Mlakar operated one of southern California’s top polka spots, The Elbow Room in Fontana. He organized the Fontana Slovenian Button Box Club, which brought together amateur accordionists.

Two all-time Cleveland-Style hits were chosen by voters. “The Keystone Polka” was written and first recorded by Clevelanders Georgie Cook and Jim Kozel in 1953. Barberton, Ohio, bandleader Frank Spetich composed and released “The Pony Tail Polka” in 1958.

 

The Board of Trustees added five names to the Polka Hall of Fame Honor Roll. The Singing Slovenes band and chorus entertain in Minnesota and throughout the Midwest. The Haughville Slickers were the leading Cleveland-Style Polka band in Indianapolis. The Lipa Park Button Box Club was made up of accordion enthusiasts from St. Catharines, Ontario, and Canada’s Niagara peninsula. Fritz Scherz Jr. leads New York State’s best-known Cleveland-Style polka orchestra. Wayne Tomsic and his orchestra are popular across the Cleveland area.

 

The 33th annual National Cleveland-Style Polka Hall of Fame awards ceremony takes place on Saturday afternoon, November 25, 2023, 1:00, in the Grand Ballroom of the Holiday Inn Cleveland South in Independence, Ohio. This year's all-star show features Canada’s Polka King Walter Ostanek, Joey Miskulin from Riders in the Sky, and World Diatonic Accordion Champion Denis Novato arriving from Europe. The stage orchestra is directed by Tom Mroczka. The Polka Mass follows.