Sun 7/5 @ 2PM
In the years immediately following World War II, Cleveland was booming. Men returned from war and started families and Cleveland’s manufacturing plants were still operating in full swing, providing lots of jobs by day, while dozens of small bars provided spots to unwind and spend paychecks at night.
It was during those years that polka flourished in the area as people, still close enough to their European roots to appreciate its folk-based sound, lapped up what some called “the happiest music on earth.” And no musician was more revered than Cleveland’s own Frankie Yankovic, who returned from the war at age 30 to pack the clubs with his lively music and big, inviting smile. By the end of the ’40s he was a national star with two million-selling hits, national tours and TV appearances.
“Cleveland-style polka music is happy, wholesome music that is easy to dance to and listen to,” says Joe Valencic, president of the National Cleveland-Style Polka Hall of Fame in Euclid. “If you’re looking for good time music, something simply you can sing, dance or listen along to Cleveland polka style music is the sound. With Frankie, he personified the joy behind the music. He was very charismatic on stage; he always looked like he was having good time.”
Although polka’s popularity dimmed by the ’60s, Yankovic’s smile never did. He remained on the road and popular at polka dances and festivals, continuing to play almost until his death in 1998 at the age 83, and was known simply as “The Polka King.”
Yankovic would have been 100 on July 28 if he had lived, and the Slovenian SNPJ Farm in Kirtland is throwing a birthday bash.
“He was the very first band to play there when it opened in 1939,” says Valencic. “One of the last really big dances they had at the farm was in early 1998, the year he passed away. The Polka Hall of Fame did a Frankie Yankovic tribute there and I think there were a few thousand people there.”
An ethnic meal featuring roast beef or smoked Slovenian sausage will be served starting at 2pm. Pennsylvania’s Mikey Dee Band takes the stage from 3-7pm to play Yankovic’s most popular tunes including his two big hits “Just Because” and “The Blue Skirt Waltz,” and the dance floor will be open for some fancy footwork.
“Some of his family members will be there,” says Valencic. “At 5 o’clock were going to do a tribute to him and there’ll be a traveling exhibit from the polka hall of fame. Bobby Yankovic will be there; he performed with his father, playing banjo.”
Admission is $7, under 18 free. For more information, call 440-951-6906.
Kirtland, OH 44094
SNPJ Farm is located at 10946 Heath Road in Kirtland, Ohio,