Polish-American Polka Music in Poland

Read Polonius's posts about repeating it enough times for people to begin liking it.

Like I said, some great folk bands out there not playing ummpa music :)

The only polka-time tune (aside from the Lato z Radiem Clarinet Polka) that became a hit in Poland a number of years ago was Bobby Vinton's 'Moja droga ja cię kocham'.

I wasn't trying to indoctrinate anyone, but that Dupadomine bloke kept missing the point (probably deliberately) that repetition is the key. Even something with limited mass appeal will catch on at least with a niche audience if played over and over. And that's the only reason Polonian polka music is not listened to in Poland because nobody is repetitively playing it.

No, it's because it's shite and as has been explained no-one here wants to hear it.

there are too many alternatives for the listening public. if u pollute my radio i'll turn to my mp4.

There is a lot of excellent American Music that you can dance a Polka to. This style of music can be enjoyed by anyone anywhere in the world. Here are a few current examples. The music has evolved. It doesn't matter where the "Polka Dance" was created. These examples were all recorded fairly recently:

youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=En-_zEU-fnE

youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=acneUS7fQqg

youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=dN2UROsqrQU

youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=fNeD7T8V4As

You don't get it. There is similar sounding kind of music in Poland and it's called "piosenka biesiadna". I will be played at some parties or picnics and weddings, especially in small towns or villages. It is very simple and the lyrics are crude. It is usually enjoyed by elderly people from small towns, with rather lower education.

...

Don't confuse education with intelligence.

I've known some very smart people who didn't get past high school and some phd's who were so stupid (in everything but their very narrow field) they couldn't pour **** out of a boot with instructions printed on the bottom.

The gratuitous insulting of people with 'rather lower education' is one of the least attractive national characteristics of Polish people.

But in all fairness, someone from a village in Eastern Poland is likely to be of low intelligence and badly educated.

hey, that's the song I like to sing when driving long distance and getting sleepy!
(but only if I'm driving alone...)

my take on it can't be much worse than this... could I make a career in the US?

oh, and I can sing Szła dzieweczka do laseczka too!

Obviously, it happens, but not as a rule.
By "lower education" I mean rather below high school.

Anyway, the thread is about music, not about my social views :D

Perhapsless educated but I'd object to the rest. In fact, I think I'll show that post to some country bumpkins I know who are lawyers...


maybe you're just in the wrong company.

youtube.com/watch?v=qiBrETDm8eg

I used to work with Teatr Wiejski Węgajty, near Olsztyn and we had a number of guests playing traditional stuff, younger bands and musicians as well as older guys.

youtube.com/watch?v=o7EUGlGkX8
(OK, not a polka tune but they do play them. The girl singing used to sing with Piotr Rubik's group. The guy with the beard is Jacek Hałas, plays a lot of stuff.

Visit some of the Afro-neighbourhoods off Detroit's Woodward Ave, Grand River, Livernois, Van Dyke, Gratiot, etc., and suddenly the villagers from eastern Poland will look like Einsteins. And yet that doesn't stop many copycat Poels from listening to and actually fancying rap.

Neither of those are Polkas. They are folk, and like I've posted, There are a lot of great Polish folk groups that deserve much more attention than their getting.

Does your definition of "Polka" also encompass other styles?

Sorry, I didn't realise "polka" was actually a genre, I was thinking more of bands which played traditional polkas in their repertoire (OK, those tunes weren't but I do know they play them). Would I be correct in thinking it's a bit like the difference between a Scots traditional band and a ceilidh band?

MY wife plays traditional music (she won't call it 'folk' as she see's that as too much like Mazowsze-style 'folk-lore')

Of course, plenty of Scots/Irish/Cajun bands also play polkas, so I suppose I could stretch it.

Yup, polka is played in a particular time, which I'm not a big fan of, reminds me of oompa bands in beer halls. I am however a fan of, lets call it, traditional Polish music :)

Trevek, the video of Orkiestra Sw Mikolaja can be considered to be a polka. I'm not a musician so I can't talk about the beat in those terms, but I am an avid dancer and a polka is a dance which takes a first step followed by two quick half-steps.

Your video would be considered "Eastern" style polka in America which was the original style developed by the Polish immigrants. In the 1960's the "Chicago" style developed which was a much slower pace than Eastern and is very popular today.

The Hej Sokoly video I posted is Chicago style.
The Brave Combo video posted by polkasunited is Eastern style.

To those that say Trevek's video is not a polka, what dance would people do to it?

This Polish group calls this a polka.

That is indeed a Polka.

With regards to the other videos, why couldn't you dance anything else that uses 2/4 or 4/4 time? Do the Irish dance Polka?

So hopefully we now have a fairly broad definition of what constitutes a polka.

For other posters who have referred to the rural roots of polkas, here's a band from Krakow that seems to include polkas in their repertoire.

Thanks. I thought it was but wasn't sure.musically. having danced in some bizarre places in little villages off the map, I thought it was a polka rythym.


Here's an of Irish shanty to ANSWER to answer the question

youtube.com/watch?v=Q8HD9GWc_P4&feature=related

youtube.com/watch?v=x67j_aWFqxk

Kerry is well known as a Polka place, musically.

Here's a Cajun polka but all the band members seem to have Polish names.

youtube.com/watch?v=-CB2UPIImbI

Apparently everything that you can dance to. one one two one one two one one two....

When did Polka make its way to Ireland? Is dance of the mirlitons Polka?

youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=C0MuG6Ca16o

Filipino polka?

youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Q6IRoSCb-94

Billy Boy Polka?
..

Probably around the time the Schottische made it's way to Europe.

Probably it was popular amongst sailors or American Irish.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polka

Trevek, the Cajun polka you linked is by Eddie Biegaj & Crusade, and this was one of his big hits in the US. They are unfortunately no longer together as a group but this is a fine example of Polish-American polkas. It is also interesting to note that Eddie Biegaj is a classically trained opera singer.

convex, if I heard the Dance of the Mirlitons, I wouldn't dance to it at all.
To the Leron Sinta and Billy Boy, I would do the country-western triple two step.

American "Polish-style" polka bands occasionally record a song borrowed or inspired by the music of our cajun neighbors, but this is exceptional: The repertoire of this Polish-American group was overwhelmingly Polish and this is virtually the only cajun style song they played.

Here's my Christmas present to all polka fans in Poland.
youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=fnc076s4jt4

What is Rap is this what the person uses only words with no melody and blows trough his nose and spits and makes crazy sounds !!! instead of using musical instruments .What a futur God save us all.

I as a 1st generation do not consider any ties with Poland or their music. I am a Polish American and I do things they way that I grew up with. Some where along the line our Immigrant parents started doing things their way. Even our Polish language is a lot different than in Poland. Maybe it was because our (uneducated Eastern Polish parents{

LOL! had trouble learning the English language that they used a lot of slang words. We kids did the same as we learned the Polish language.. We danced to our own music. I have no trouble speaking Polish to a Polish American, but have a lot of trouble with people from Poland. The same with our music and dances.. We do the Polka hop.. Even on an Oberek.. Chech you tube on a polish American wedding and then check on a wedding in Polands.. They look like a bunch of hicks

youtube.com/watch?v=vK20sdJdYCQ&feature=related

youtube.com/watch?v=h0slCrB_GWc

I dont know Polish or American like Russian music but I think this guy is the best,I understand why he is legend,Im turkish and Im fan of Vladimir Visotski songs. Listen this . does he better than Elvis?

[Moved from]: Polka and Waltz Music

youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=HCbgTD8rGN0

youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=5ab3uztaqPg
youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=efwR-zSeCA4
youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=DFiqytHO4hw

Red Wine Polka by The Dujka Brothers
youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=9Id1aOq4kxU

Band from Radawie (Radau) near Zebowice (Zembowitz) in Upper Silesia.
youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=FZkIcQc1ToA

Black Gypsy Waltz by: The Dujka Brothers
youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=eXYBbIoOxkA

Incredible.... a descendant of polish speaking ślązaki and names himself with a german name ... O tempora, o mores!

Hills of Shiner Polka by: The Czechaholics
youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Xfy8AVO9ouU

Haymaking Waltz by: The Dancehall Boys
youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=9ZhLjgI8zrg

can we see some discussion, please.

Merged: Typical Polish-American extravaganza

Polka music is a broad term which covers not only the polka but also obereks, waltzes, Rheinlanders and other folk music. It is a major feature of Polish-American entertainment scene whcih incldues picnics, weddings, polka parties and festivals of various type. Many events kick off with a polka mass -- the familair Catholic liturgy set to a polka beat. To sample of bit of that PolAm ambience here are the performers at a forthcoming polka event:

POLKA FIREWORKS IS JUNE 1, 2015!

Detailed Daily Band Schedule Now Available

polkafireworks.com

Polka Family (PA)
Lenny Gomulka & Chicago Push (MA)
Ray Jay & the Carousels (PA)
Henny & the Versa J's (PA)
Knewz (NY)
DynaBrass (MI)
Buffalo Concertina All Stars (NY)
Tony Blazonczyk's New Phaze (IL)
Box On (MI)
John Gora & Gorale (Canada)
Eddie Forman Orchestra (MA)
New Brass Express