[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 151 (Wednesday, October 21, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2278]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      IN MEMORY OF THE POLKA KING

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. DENNIS J. KUCINICH

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 20, 1998

  Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remember Frank Yankovic, 
America's Polka King. The story of Yankovic's rise from a hard scrabble 
youth on the streets of Cleveland, Ohio to the country's best selling 
Polka music artist deserves recognition.
  In a recording career that spanned 60 years, two gold single records, 
thirty million records sold, and the first Grammy Award in the category 
of Polka music, Frank Yankovic's ``Cleveland-Style Polka'' has been 
widely credited with catapulting an Eastern European art form into a 
mainstay of American music culture. Tinkering with orchestrations and 
translating lyrics into English, Yankovic proved that Polka music could 
appeal to millions of Americans and become a vehicle for mass 
entertainment. His millions of record sales are a testament to this 
vision.
  An inductee of Chicago's International Polka Association Hall of Fame 
and the ``Cleveland-Style'' Polka Hall of Fame, in addition to the 
Wisconsin and Michigan Polka Halls of Fame, Yankovic collaborated with 
an eclectic group of artists, ranging from Duke Ellington to Doris Day 
to Chet Atkins to Drew Carey. Yankovic was featured with his own float 
in the 1996 Presidential Inaugural Parade. The ``Frank Yankovic Band'' 
has performed to enthusiastic crowds across the country and around the 
world and made its Kennedy Center debut in 1998.
  My fellow colleagues, Frank Yankovic was indeed an inspiration. He 
will be greatly missed, but his enormous contribution to American music 
culture will never be forgotten.

                          Final Goodbye Polka

                         (By William F. Miller)

       They had come to mourn his death, but the Polka King's 
     rollicking music worked its magic one more time.
       As faint strains of Frankie Yankovic's ``Blue Skirt Waltz'' 
     and ``Just Because'' drifted through St. Mary Church 
     yesterday from accordionists warming up outside, people at 
     the solemn funeral Mass looked up in recognition.
       Then they began to smile.
       A few minutes later, they stood outside and sang along.
       ``The music seemed like it was coming from heaven,'' 
     remarked a woman wearing a babushka.
       ``It looked like rain, but did you notice the skies turned 
     to blue when the accordionists played the `Blue Skirt 
     Waltz'?'' said August Pust, special assistant for 
     multicultural affairs to Gov. George V. Voinovich.
       ``I'm speechless and so happy for the music they are 
     playing for my father,'' Yankovic's daughter, Andrea 
     McKinnie, said through her tears. ``That is exactly--yes, 
     exactly--the way he would have wanted it, and thankfully they 
     knew to do it. God bless them all.''
       An estimated 800 people attended the church service for 
     Yankovic, a Cleveland native who won the first Grammy ever 
     given for polka music and whose tireless touring brought 
     Cleveland Slovenian-style polka to the top of the music 
     charts. Yankovic, 83, died last Wednesday in New Port Richey, 
     Fla.
       Police officers blocked traffic along the route from St. 
     Mary to Calvary Cemetery as the funeral cortege passed.
       A delay in the hearse's departure from the church created 
     the opportunity for a miniconcert outside. Eight of 
     Yankovic's musician friends had brought their accordions, 
     planning to play as Yankovic's casket was taken to the 
     hearse.
       They ended up repeatedly playing ``Blue Skirt Waltz'' and 
     ``Just Because,'' Yankovic's biggest hits from the 1940s, the 
     only two polka songs ever to sell more than a million copies 
     each.
       Many of the mourners, especially older ones, began singing 
     along when the impromptu band broke out some old-fashioned 
     folk Slovenian songs. The musical scene was repeated at 
     Calvary Cemetery, where an estimated 250 people bid their 
     polka hero farewell.
       During the funeral Mass, members of Yankovic's family went 
     to the altar to express their love for him, calling him a 
     loving and caring husband, father and grandfather. The Rev. 
     John Kumse, pastor of St. Mary, said everyone benefited from 
     and can be thankful for Yankovic's gifts as an entertainer.
       Yankovic's loyal followers, many in their 70s and 80s, 
     attended the service.
       Emma Yudovich, 70, traveled from El Paso, Texas.
       ``He would tour in those early days and we would travel 
     hours to see him to concert or at a dance, wherever he was, 
     because we loved his polka music,'' she said. ``We are sad, 
     of course, but we cannot be too sad for him because he lived 
     one of the fullest lives one could live.''
       Cleveland Councilman Michael D. Polensek, who grew up in 
     Collinwood, Yankovic's old neighborhood, said the Polka King 
     ``was a hero in the neighborhood.''
       He said that as a councilman he was constantly asked to get 
     a council resolution honoring Yankovic on his retirement. ``I 
     think I must have produced 10 of them over the years, and 
     then Yankovic would change his mind and continue playing,'' 
     Polensek said.

     

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