Eddie Blazonczyk, Sr. was a Grammy award-winning polka musician and founder of the band The Versatones. He was inducted into the InternationalPolka Hall of Fame in 1970, and was a 1998 National Heritage Fellowship recipient. He has been called "one of the most important figures in the creation of the contemporary Polish-American polka sound." He released more than 60 albums.
History
Eddie Blazonczyk was born in Chicago, Illinois to Polish immigrant parents of Goral heritage. Before becoming a polka artist, and founding Chicago-based Bel-Aire Records in 1963, Eddie Blazonczyk recorded under the name Eddy Bell for Mercury Records, Versa Records, and Lucky Four Records, all three labels based in Chicago. During this period Blazonczyk toured with Buddy Holly, Gene Vincent and Brenda Lee. The records he made for these labels were rockabilly sides, and novelty songs. "The Great Great Pumpkin", released on Lucky Four #1012, is probably the most noteworthy of these recordings. This recording is still occasionally heard around Halloween and is highly sought by record collectors. Lenny LaCour, the owner of Lucky Four Records, encouraged Blazonczyk, at the age of 22, to specialize in polka music, rather than to continue as a rockabilly singer. Blazonczyk has said, "I took his advice, and never regretted it." He is credited with inventing the rhythmic polka subgenre known as "Chicago push," although ironically the name given to the style comes from bands who came after and were inspired by Blazonczyk, notably the Chicago Push. Musicologist Norm Cohen wrote that "in his illustrious career, Blazonczyk and his Versatones were the primary ambassadors of Polish-American polka, touring constantly and playing well over 200 road gigs per year." The Versatones played a mix of both traditional and original tunes, with Blazonczyk singing in both Polish and English. The band consisted of a fiddler and concertina player, two trumpeter/clarinetists, a drummer and Blazonczyk himself on vocals and electric bass. Though his focus remained on the polka genre, Blazonczyk was a fan of rock, country, bluegrass and Cajun music and liked to incorporate those styles into his music when he felt it was appropriate. Blazonczyk retired from performing in 2002. At that time, he turned over responsibility for his band, The Versatones, to his son, Eddie Blazonczyk Jr. The Versatones played their last performance on New Year's Eve, 2011.
Blazonczyk was nominated for 11 Grammy Awards, and his album Another Polka Celebration won the 1986 Grammy for Best Polka Recording. He was a recipient of the 1998 National Heritage Fellowship awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts, which is the highest honor in the folk and traditional arts in the United States.
