Before becoming the king of Chicago polka, Eddie Blazonczyk was first recording rockabilly and comedy songs under the pseudonym Eddy Bell. He would ultimately become, “one of the most important figures in the creation of the contemporary Polish-American polka sound,” a rhythmic polka subgenre that became known as “Chicago push.”
After switching his focus to polka music, with his group The Versatones they would release more than 60 polka albums, many having Blazonczyk singing in both England and Polish. And he provided an outlet for Polish polka music with his three record labels – Ampol, Bel-Aire and Versa – along with recording studio and record pressing plant.
Having grown up in Chicago, in the early ‘60s rockabilly was in vogue. As Eddy Bell, he would go on to record singles for the Mercury and Lucky Four labels and tour with the likes of Buddy Holly, Gene Vincent and Brenda Lee.
Still in his early 20’s when he was doing sides for Lucky Four, label owner encouraged Blazonczyk to focus on polka music.
“When I was fading out in rock ‘n’ roll Lenny said, ‘You ought to go back to polka music. Your mom has a place (the Pulaski Village Ballroom), and you can play there,” he told Dave Hoekstra in a story for the Chicago Reader. “I was 22 years old. I took his advice and never regretted it.”
With his band The Versatones, they became the flagwavers for polka in the United States, playing over 200 gigs a year from coast to coast. They recorded some 60 albums in their time, even after Eddie retired and turning over the reins to his son Eddie Jr., continuing to perform through 2011. He was nominated for 11 Grammy Awards, pulling down one in 1986 for Best Polka Recording. He was inducted into the International Polka Hall of Fame in 1970. And in 1998 he was a recipient of the National Heritage Fellowship Award from the National Endowment for the Arts, the hightest honor in the folk and traditional arts category in the United States.
Sadly, the polka world lost Eddie in 2012 at the age of 70.
EDDY BELL AND THE BEL-AIRES
1960 The Masked Man (Hi You Silver) b/w Anytime (Mercury 71677)
1961 Knock, Knock, Knock (Knocking on My Door) b/w Wear My Class Ring on a Ribbon (Mercury 71763)
1961 Johnny Be-Goode is in Hollywood b/w I’m All Alone (Lucky Four 45-1005)
1961 The Great Pumpkin b/w I’m Still in Love with You (Lucky Four 45-1012)
1962 Few More Days b/w He’s a Square (Bel-Aire 956)
1962 Rock ‘n’ Roll USA b/w Have I Stayed Away Too Long (Lucky Four 45-5001)
THE BELVEDERES
1961 He’s a Sqaure b/w Wage Assignment Blues (Lucky Four 45-1003)
EDDY BELL AND THE VERSATONES
1965 Twinkletoes b/w Because It’s Christmas (Versa 101)
1967 Let’s Hear a Polka (Bel-Aire 3011)
1969 Polkas a Plenty (Bel-Aire 3013)
1979 Polka Cruise (Bel-Aire 3031)