Hall of Fame

Tommy was born and raised on the north side of Chicago near Humboldt Park. He attended Bernard Moos Grade School and Lane Technical High School. Shortly after graduating from high school, he served an apprenticeship in the lithography trade, became a journeyman and spent most of his adult life employed in that field.

Eddie was born in Toledo, Ohio to a musical family.  Mother Gina is a trained clarinetist and vocalist while father, Dionysius "Danny" Biegaj played trumpet and sang.  With the help of "Busia" Helen (his maternal grandmother) at a young age Eddie started his love for polka and Polish culture and heritage by singing along to the 78 RPMs and 45's of such greats as Frank Wojnarowski, the "Connecticut Twins" and "The Naturals".  He started formal training on drums in 2nd grade.

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.

Gary Brueggen was born in the small farming community of Cashton, Wi, where at the young age of two he became captivated by polka music he heard on the radio. Recognizing his potential, Gary's parents bought him his first set of drums at five years old, and by the time he was nine, he played his first job with the Ridgeland Dutchmen

Stanley "Stas" Bulanda's love for polka music started at a very early age while listening to the music of his fathers' and uncles' polka band. They would let him sit on the stage and started his musical education. After a few years, they even allowed him to sit in on the drums at some of their engagements. It was in high school that he teamed up with a few of his friends and they started a small polka band. They mainly played at house parties, small installation dances and a few parish carnivals.

John Check was born near Rosholt, Wisconsin.  When he was 14, he had saved a total of $15 from picking cucumbers on his father's farm and used this money to purchase his first single reed concertina.  Within several days he had learned to play several simple melodies.  Buying additional concertina music from the Vitak-Elsnic Company, he learned to play these new selections with the usual pattern of reading numbers instead of notes.  Within a short while it became obvious to him that playing the concertina by numbers was not an adequate approach to becoming versatile on the instrument.  Without the aid of an instructor, he mastered reading musical notes and transferring these to the music he had in his possession.

Bill Czerniak was born on June 20th, 1946, to Martha and Joe Czerniak--Joe is a 1989 inductee to the Polka Hall of Fame--of Duluth, Minnesota. At the age of six, Bill began taking concertina lessons from his father. Within a couple of years, Bill was making appearances with his dad and brother at local talent shows, wedding receptions, and parties. In addition, Bill and his younger brother Greg, made numerous appearances on a local Polka television show. By age twelve, he had joined his dad's band, "The Polka Dots", performing throughout the Midwest.

Joseph F. Czerniak of Duluth, Minnesota, was elected to the polka Music Hall of Fame in the Pioneer category.  Joe was inducted along with other inductees, on Saturday, August 5, during the annual International Polka Association Convention and Festival, at the Ramada O'Hare Hotel, in Chicago. Joe Czerniak has been long acknowledged as a Pioneer in many aspects of the polka industry.  Joe, 65 years young at the time of his induction, was born to Polish immigrant parents in Duluth, and lived his entire life there.  He began professionally at age 14, and formed his own band the Duluth polka Dots in 1939, at age 15.  In addition to concertina, the band used banjo and drums.  They played Polish, Scandinavian, Slovenian, and German styles of old time music.  The band played every weekend until Joe was drafted into the Air Force in 1942.

Jerry M. Darlak has devoted his whole life to the promotion of polka music. In his many years as a working musician, he has performed and recorded with the nation's most prestigious polka orchestras. His love of polka music is indisputable. He continued this tradition with his own band and work as a promoter. All too often, musicians like Jerry Darlak are overlooked for honors that are bestowed upon the industry's most identifiable names. However, Jerry has been much more than a professional sideman; for over 25 years his sole occupation was that of a polka musician, an achievement that warrants the attention of both his peers and those who have enjoyed the contributions. Jerry has made a contribution to the polka industry.

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.