Eddie Blazonczyk
Eddy Bell ( born July 12, 1941 in Chicago, Illinois, † 21 May, 2012 Chicago), also known as Eddy Blazonczyk, was an American rockabilly, rock and roll and polka musician. After he played in the 1950s and early 1960s, rock and roll as Eddy Bell, he was in 1963 under his real name of one of the most famous polka musicians in the United States.
- 2.1 Singles
- 2.2 albums
Life
Childhood and youth
Eddy Bell was born in 1941 in Chicago. His parents came from the region of the Tatra Mountains in southern Poland, but emigrated to the United States. Bells parents both played in traditional polka groups and Bell was strongly influenced by the music of Lil ' Wally, Steve Adamczyks, Eddie Zima, Marion Lushs and Frank Yankovic. He himself learned as a child accordion.
Career as a rock and rollers
While Bell in the 1950s, attended a high school in Wisconsin, he devoted himself to rock'n'roll. He began to play with the Bel- Aires and received the opportunity to work with stars such as Buddy Holly, Gene Vincent and Brenda Lee to go on tour. In 1960 he was taken from Mercury Records and his first single was released in the same year with The Masked Man (Hi Yo Silver ) / Anytime. The A-side was a remake of the Western classic Hi Yo Silver, who was made from stars like Roy Rogers famous.
The single sold well and Bell was invited to a guest appearance on Dick Clark's TV show American Bandstand. This period was the high point in Bell's rock'n'roll career, as he reached a high popularity in the northern United States. This was followed by another single in 1961 for the Mercury label, Knock, Knock, Knock, and then a contract with Lucky Four Records. There appeared three more singles, including Johnny Be Goode - Is in Hollywood and The Great Great Pumpkin. Bells last rock'n'roll single was released with He 's a Square / Few More Days at Bel -Aire Records, which probably belonged to him.
Career as Polka musicians
1963 Bell was asked by his friend Chet, whose new polka band, the Versatones join. That same year, the first album in Bel -Aire was recorded. The music was a mixture of 1950s rock and roll, country music, Cajun music and polka, so that a completely new dance music was created.
The popularity, especially the live performances, grew more and more in the coming years. Bell then played again under his real name and received an award in 1967 as The Nation's # 1 polka band. Success and fame continued to rise, so that over time many albums were recorded. 1970 Eddy Blazonczyk was inducted into the Polka Hall of Fame and in 1986 won the Versatones for their album Another Polka Celebration won a Grammy.
In 1989, Blazonczyks son Eddy Blazonczyk, Jr. in the band and in 1997 took over the management of the Versatones. Blazonczyk himself retired in 2002 from the music scene due to health problems back. A year later the Versatones have been nominated for the 14th time for the Grammy. 21 May 2012 Eddy Blazonczyk died in a hospital in Palos Heights ( Chicago).
Discography
Singles
Albums
All albums were recorded for Bel -Aire Records. Albums from 2002 were recorded without Eddy Blazonczyk.