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Way back in the early 1950's there was a very popular band called the Eddie Zima Orchestra which was comprised of Eddie Zima, concertina, Andy Dziagwa (Day), trumpet, Wally Glowicki and Roman Truskolaski (Travers), clarinet and sax, Frank Barwig, piano and Rudy Sienkowski, drums. The boys had their parting of the ways with Eddie Zima in 1954 and thus the Ampol Aires were born. Tom Kula, concertina, clarinet and sax, was added to the group to make the band complete. Dick Ziembicki (Zimber) joined the group a couple of years later.. For those who wonder how the name "Ampol Aires" came about, the Am in Ampol Aires stands for American, and the pol stands for Polish, the Aires simply stands for exactly what it means, aires or melodies. Since the band played such beautiful American or ballroom music as well as Polkas, the name was very fitting indeed. The band then went on to gain popularity by playing on the weekly Lee Edwards Polka radio show. This led to the Ampol Aires regular appearances on the Ron Terry TV show in the late 50's and early 60's.
Jerry Rajewski joined the band in 1961 following the death of Frank Barwig. The boys felt that maybe it might be a good idea to get some youth into the band. The band just might last a little longer that way. The Ampol Aires were known for their regular weekly appearance on the three-hour Chet Gulinski Radio Show which aired every Sunday from 10:00AM till 1:00PM. This was a regular Sunday event for many people in the Chicagoland area. Later that year Ampol Records was established and now the Ampol Aires could record on their own label. One thing led to another and the boys started doing a little traveling out of town. No fancy buses, they simply packed all seven guys and their equipment into three cars and off they went.
Cities such as Hamtramck, Detroit, Owasso, Saginaw,Utica, Jackson, MI. got their first glimpse of 'that band from Chicago'. Then the Ampol Aires ventured farther East to Pittsburgh, Greensburg, Mt. Pleasant, Champion, PA, Wheeling, WV. Then even farther East to Rockville, CT, Webster, Taunton, MA., Elizabeth, Dover, NJ, Buffalo, Albany, NY. Since the band traveled with the very same musicians who recorded on the albums, the fans were amazed how much they sounded exactly like the recording. (hmmm, what an interesting concept?)
During those traveling days most of the out of town dates were in the summer time when everybody could take their vacations at the same times. The Ampol Aires played for the first time in places such as The Polish Century Club, Kobal Hall, Warsaw Park, Warsaw Inn, Club Ludwig, Polish Falcons Hall, Hunter's Mountain, Polanka, Kennywood Park, Idora Park, PNA College, Jacktown Hotel, Hardee's Pub, Fiedors Grove, Seven Springs Resort. The list goes on and on. While this was going on a rather limited basis throughout the year the band's popularity in Chicago continued to grow.
Then it was time for another injection of 'youth'. Wayne Sienkowski joined the. band in 1975, replacing his dad, Rudy who had health problems. And the band continued on. Many of the polka organizations such as the IPA and UPA were sure to have the Ampol Aires perform at their very first conventions. Over the many years the band has gone on to record over 200 tunes.
On New Years Day of 1992 the older members of the band retired leaving it to Tom Kula, Jerry Rajewski and Wayne Sienkowski to carry on the tradition. That they did by bringing on Max Kawa, Dennis Krason and Wally Pacura. The new version of the Ampol went on to make three more recordings, 'Life is Short' in 1993,'Ampol Aires Pull Out Some Old Time Favorites' in 1994 and finally 'Ampol Aires Keep Going and Going in 1996. Dave Matera and Greg Novak joined the band in 1998 replacing Dennis Krason and Tom Kula.
The Ampol Aires continued on until New Year's Eve of 1999 when the second retirement occurred. That lasted until January 2002 when Tom Kula, Jerry Rajewski, Wayne Sienkowski and Wally Pacura along with new members Bill Gula and John Fornek brings us to the present time.
Song Title Information:
 01. Twinkle-Twinkle
Polka
02. Lollypop Polka
03. Young Lovers Waltz
04. Fireman Polka
05. Trouble Maker
Polka
06. Cookie Hop Oberek
07. Sat on a Bull
Polka
08. Black Derby Polka
09. Headache Polka
10. Kiss Me Polka
11. Itchy Feet Oberek
12. Grey Hare Polka
13. Outer Drive Polka
14. Carol Ann Polka
15. Love Talk Oberek
16. Unita Polka
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Features
- Compact Disc
- 16 Selections
- Total Time 36:00
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