Hall of Fame

One of the best-loved American Slovenian performers on the button accordion was Matt Arko Hoyer, the "granddaddy" of the button accordion players and pioneer performer of Slovenian polka and waltz music.  Matt was born in Slovenia in 1891.  He came to the U.S. in 1911 and settled in Cleveland. As he learned to build, repair and tune accordions while in Slovenia, he continued this work in America.  He formed the Hoyer Trio, which enjoyed immense popularity in northeast Ohio and western Pennsylvania.  They recorded for Victor Talking Machine Co. in 1919, following to the Columbia Gramophone Co. and then for Okeh Records.  In 1925, Victor introduced the new electrical process of making records and Columbia followed.  One of the Hoyer Trio's biggest selling discs was "Dunaj Ostane Dunaj," taken from the German-Austrian march "Vienna Forever."

Few can equal the contributions made by Eddie Korosa in popularizing polka music. Eddie has left his mark across the entertainment spectrum, inspiring new generations of polka lovers along the way. Eddie Korosa was born in the Southwest side of Chicago in 1918; a first generation American of Polish and Slovenian heritage, and 1 of 7 children. He attended St. Blaze's grade school in Summit, and Argo High School. His father, Joseph, an accordion player, purchased Eddie's first button-box accordion and taught him to play at the tender age of 8. With his first song, Over the Waves, Eddie's musical destiny was in sight.