[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 151 (Wednesday, October 21, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S12909]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           TRIBUTE TO FRANKIE YANKOVIC, AMERICA'S POLKA KING

  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, on October 15th, America lost it's 
reigning Polka King, and Wisconsin lost a beloved friend: Frankie 
Yankovic.
  From the day he debuted in the Milwaukee area at Bert Phillips 
Ballroom in Menomonee Falls, Frankie Yankovic has had a special place 
among Wisconsin's polka fans. Wisconsinites loves to polka, so much so 
that it's our state's official dance. And no polka musician has won 
more accolades, had more devoted fans, or taught more Americans to love 
that simple dance than Frankie Yankovic.
  While he was born in West Virginia and was a long-time resident of 
Cleveland, Frankie Yankovic felt a special connection to Milwaukee. ``I 
should have come here and made Milwaukee my hometown,'' he once said. 
There is nothing we'd have liked better, but Wisconsinites were lucky 
for the many chances we've had to enjoy Yankovic's music, and to pay 
tribute to his myriad achievements in the music world.
  In fact, it was in Milwaukee that Yankovic was crowned as America's 
Polka King in 1948. Just one year later, his ``Blue Skirt Waltz'' hit 
number two on Columbia Records' bestseller list, just behind Gene 
Autry's ``Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,'' one of the best-selling 
records of all time. He was the first inductee to both the Polka Hall 
of Fame in Minnesota in 1988 and the Wisconsin Polka Hall of Fame in 
1996.
  Yankovic didn't just contribute to popular music, he revolutionized 
it by infusing traditional polka music with a smoother style, and 
introducing new instruments, such as the bass fiddle, to polka 
arrangements.
  Throughout his career, Yankovic's singular style energized audiences. 
His compositions were legendary, including such Wisconsin-inspired 
tunes as the ``Kringleville Polka,'' about Racine, and ``There's No Joy 
Left Now in Milwaukee,'' about the Braves leaving for Atlanta.
  Yankovic was a man who made audiences roar and floors shake as he 
brought capacity crowds to their feet to do that simple step that just, 
as Yankovic put it, ``makes people happy.'' He often rallied audiences 
by asking ``What do you think this is, a concert? Let's get up and 
dance!''
  Milwaukeeans know that Frankie Yankovic was loved coast to coast, 
appearing on Johnny Carson and performing with the likes of Milton 
Berle and Doris Day. And we know that Cleveland was his permanent 
address. But in Wisconsin, we proudly count him as one of our own. ``I 
love Milwaukee,'' he often said, and Milwaukee loved him back. On 
behalf of the people of Wisconsin, I thank Frankie Yankovic for the 
happiness he brought to Wisconsin's polka fans over the years, and I 
pay tribute to his memory.

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