Hall of Fame

Kenny Bass (Peter Bastasic, Jr.) was considered one of the all time polka greats that made Cleveland the great polka center that it is.  Since 1948 he had hosted radio programs on local area stations including former WSRS, WJMO, WBKC, WELW, WLYT and currently on the Chardon station.

Billy Belina has spent a major part of his life playing and promoting polka music. Born in New Bedford, Massachusetts in 1947, Billy has his parents to thank for much of his success in the polka industry. In his early years, Billy often joined his parents on the two-hour drive to Connecticut to watch the local polka bands. He endeared himself to accordion greats such as Ray Henry and Al Soyka and soon desired to try the instrument on his own. At the age of eight, Billy convinced his parents to buy him his first accordion and sign him up for lessons. By his mid-teens, Billy's practice and dedication began to pay off as he started a band of his own, known as the BelAirs.

Michael "Mitch" Biskup born in Montreal Canada, joined a new polka band back in 1969 called the Golden Brass, which soon became one of the top five polka bands in the nation and in 1971 captured the "Triple Crown" by winning the IPA Awards for Best LP, "Let The Sunshine In," Best Instrumental Group and Best Single Recording.

Eddie Blazonczyk was a native Chicagoan, son of Fred and Antoinette Blazonczyk, who for years operated the Pulaski Village Ballroom and later the Club Antoinette in Chicago. Eddie started playing polkas in the early fifties with a four-piece combo known as "Happy Eddie and his Polka Jesters." They performed at many Polish weddings, anniversaries and other engagements in Chicagoland.

Wally Dombrowski's journey into music began when he started taking trumpet lessons at five years of age. Once he got the basics of the instrument down, it was evident that he could play by ear and would play along with recordings at home without the aid of any written music. His perfect pitch assisted him in teaching himself how to play concertina at the age of six. At the age of nine, Wally's brother Rich organized the Polka Country Musicians and the band started performing at local functions around Connecticut in September, 1977.

David "Nigel" Alan Kurdziel was born on May 2, 1963, in Buffalo, NY. He was first exposed to polka music at church picnics and from polka shows. Nigel's cousin, Gino Kurdziel, played for the renowned G Notes. His older brother Mike was a drummer, and his younger brother Kevin played accordion. Nigel started playing guitar at the age of 11 and joined his first band, The Melody Men, at age 12, playing bass with his brother on drums. In 1981, he graduated from the Buffalo Academy of Visual and Performing Arts, where he took music theory and performance classes, played coronet and piano, and auditioned to play upright bass with the orchestra. Nigel considers Vinny Horoschok, Vinnie Bozzarelli, Eddie Blazonczyk Sr, Stas Mikruit, and Joe Dudek to be among his polka music influences.

Michael T. Matousek was born in 1956 into what would become one of Baltimore's most prominent polka families. His father Al was regarded as one of Maryland's most celebrated polka accordionists, and his mother, Connie, was recognized as one of the noted polka dance instructors who helped bring the "polka hop" to Charm City. Because of their influence, at the age of eight Mike was already singing in Polish and dancing the polka along with his sister Ellen and brother Stephen. The young trio often entertained at church functions and ethnic events to share their Polish culture.

Joe Zalewski was born in Toledo, Ohio, on June 26, 1963, the oldest of five children born to Rosemary (Bullinger) and Stanley Zalewski. Joe's first instrument is Drums, and he also plays Bass Guitar. Joe's first band was called the Peanuts Polka Band and included his brothers Jim and John. In May 1978, Joe got his big break. At a wedding reception, Joe's family was seated with IPA Hall of Famer Chet Zablocki. The next day Chet announced on his radio show that a young drummer was looking to play in a band. By that afternoon, Joe received a call from Dale Zielinski's Golden Eagles. Joe joined the band and performed with the Golden Eagles from 1978 to 1980.