Educational

Frank Yankovic�s Voice of America Interview

Translated by Chuck Debevec

The Voice of America (VOA) is an agency of our government that is charged with bringing unbiased current news and information to countries throughout the world that are believed important to our foreign policy interests. In the post-World War II era, and continuing until quite recently, Slovenia and other republics in former Communist Yugoslavia were thought to be denied an unbiased view of events in the world, and particularly those in America. Thus, as a matter of our foreign policy, regular radio broadcasts, most emanating from America, were broadcast. Since America had a large number of people of Slovenian heritage living here, many of whom had ties to family still living in Slovenia, it was believed that the latter group would have interest in, and be sympathetic to programming from America. It is likely that there was also a hope that such programming might fan the flames of a potential democracy movement in Slovenia.

The VOA programs were constructed and carefully monitored to assure that news about America was balanced, including news favorable and unfavorable. Events such as the riots in Washington, DC, and Watts were included, just as were American accomplishments in space. A special objective among the persons who prepared the broadcasts was to include news and other culturally pertinent items about persons of Slovenian heritage in America. Thus coverage of Slovenians such as Frank Lausche were considered of high interest. An interview involved America�s budding �Polka King,� Frank Yankovic.

In going through the archives of former VOA Slovenian Service broadcaster Conrad Mejac, a set of yellow notebook paper sheets, handwritten in Slovenian, was recently found from a 1956 or 1957 interview conducted by Mr. Mejac with Frank Yankovic. The interview probably took place in Chicago and the notes, hurriedly written, may have been transcribed from a tape recording. Edits, mainly in the form of stricken passages, were made, which may have been for the purpose of editing the tape before it was broadcast. The stricken passages are shown here in italics.

An interesting sideline is the usage of Slovenicized English words by Yankovic, spelled phonetically according to the Slovenian alphabet and modified according to the rules of Slovenian grammar. Some examples are �bodo lajkali� (they will like), �borderjev� (boarders), and �familija� (family.) We also find a German word, �spiel� (which was used in Slovenia,) in the form �je �pilal� (he played.)

A couple of notes regarding the text: In Yankovic�s response to question no. 6, he names his father�s birthplace in Slovenia, but unfortunately the handwritten transcription of it is mostly undecipherable. In the book The Polka King: The Life of Frankie Yankovic (Cleveland: Dillon-Liederbach, Inc., 1977) by Bob Dolgan, Yankovic gives Kal as his father�s birthplace. The closest to the transcribed name I could find in Atlas Slovenije (Ljubljana: Mladinska knjiga, 1985) is the tiny village of Sv. O�bolt, which is near Kal, so that is what I used in the translation. Secondly, in the response to question no. 8, he mentions an uncle, Joe Jankovič, living in Slovenia. In The Polka King, Yankovic mentions that this uncle lived and worked in the United States for 20 years, then retired, returned to his family in Slovenia, and died a year later.

The historical importance of this interview led me to attempt this translation. I would like to thank my friend and colleague Richard Terselic for providing the handwritten original and for his assistance with this introduction.

Original Text

1. Q: G. Jankovič, brez dvoma je v glavnem va�a zasluga, da ji danes toliko slovenskih melodij in napevov znanih �irom Amerike. Kak ko ste pri�li na to idejo, da ste se začeli udejstvovati na tem polju?

A: Tisto vzame precej let nazaj ko sem ene �e majhen otrok. Doma kjer sem bil sta imela oče in mati dosti slovenskih �borderjev.� Tam zvečer so pri�li iz �sihto� pa so zmeraj en par zapeli tam. Zvečer doma tam. Jaz sem pa harmonike imel te majčkene pa sem dostkrat za njih igral. Jaz sem tiste melodije zmeraj �likal.� Dostikrat ja sem zmeraj v glavo pri�el da zakaj ne bi na�e slovenske melodije da bi tle v Ameriki vsi sli�ali. Jaz mislem da bodo zmeraj dobre in na�i ljudi tle v Ameriki bodo zmeraj �lajkali� na�i slovenske melodije.

2. Q: Ali nam g. Jankovič, lahko pokazite kak�en praktičen primer kako ste Vi slovensko melodijo priredili v ameri�ki tempo?

A: Tle je ene imam glih tle eno plo�če k� smo vsi naredili. Je prav slovenske melodije: �Moje dekle je �e mlada.� Tle boste vi sli�ali moje orkestra in tud bo bom jaz pa en boys z mene bomo pa prav ko slovenski zapeli to pesem. Tle je te plosče �Moje dekle je �e mlado�

[Music]

Moje dekle je �e mlado

"

"

Komaj stara 16 let

�e 4 lete jo bom čakal jo

"

"

Da bo star 20-ti let

Kadar bo� ti vandrat �el

Pridi mi povedat

Da ti bom pomagala

Punkeljček zavezat

Punkeljček zavezala bom

Milo se jokala bom

Ker te ne bodo videl več

Moji oči

[Music]

3. Q: Na to pesem se pa da prav lepi plesat, kajne gospod Jankovič?

A: Jaz, mi smo zmeraj na�e slov. pesmi tako uredili da bo prav tempo imeli da bi človek ne samo poslu�al in tudi naredili, da je plesa easy na tak�en.

4. Q: Kdo pa poje na tej plo�či?

A: Well, na tej plo�či prvič jaz sam. Jaz pojem, potlej pa sva dve skup, moj prijatelj Johnny Piče in sem jaz sva skup pojemo: �Kadar bo� ti vandrat �el.�

5. Q: Odkod ste pa doma gospod Jankovič?

A: Jaz sem doma prav iz�Sem bil rojen v Davies, West Virginia. Pa jaz sem bil �e komaj 15 mescev star ko sem �el v Cleveland, Ohio. Pa sem zmeraj tam in jaz pa zdaj zmeraj reče�jaz sem iz Clevelanda.

6. Q: In Va�i star�i, odkod so oni pri�li?

A: Moj oče je prav iz St O[...] tam na Krasu. Mama pa je pri�la prav iz Cerknice tam v Ljubljani.

7. Q: Bili �e obadva �ivila?

A: No�ravni oče je umrl 49-tega leta, mati pa �e �ivi. Mati se je pisala v starem kraju Mele.

8. Q: Ali imate �e koga v starem kraju?

A: Jaz imam v starem kraju mojega strica Joe Jankovič in teta in tri �tiri bratranece in sestrične tudi tam.

9. Q: Po vsej Ameriki si poznan va�i nastopi na televiziji in vi imela tudi svoj lasten program v Čikagu. Katere pesmi pa igrate na tej programih?

A: Mi imamo precej na�ih prav domače slovenskih pesmi. Imamo Jaz pa ti pa �idana marela, Moje dekle v Tirole vandrov, Daj daj srček nazaj, Kadar bo� ti vandrat �el in tak je laci tak�nih na�i prav pa domače pesem. In tukaj imam ene da bi jaz lajkal, imam plo�či tukaj, da bi jo jaz lajkal zaigrati. Je prav domača pesem, jaz vem, da vsi to poznajo ta pesmo in tu je �Oj Marička peglaj.�

[Music]

Second Part

10. Q: G. Yankovič, kdaj ste pa začeli svojim orkestrom?

A: Tisto je vzame precej dolgo let nazaj. Ko sem bil je otrok devet let star bil sem prvič začel se na prav domače nem�ke harmonike. Potlej čez en par let sem bil okrog 15 let star sem pa dobil na�e prav amerikanske harmonike piano accordion. Ko sem prav začel jaz sem sam okol tam doma igral. Potlej sem za svoje drustva tam v Clevelandu. So imeli meetinge. Pri meetingih sem malo igral za njih. Potlej [nej] bilo dolgo sem pa en�ga boysa z meni �pilal; je �pilal bend�o, pa smo harmoniko pa bend�o smo skup �pilala. Potlej čez en par leto so pa glavi pr�li. Dostkrat ljudi so pri�li meni, pa dostkrat so pisali, zakaj ne bi jaz pr�ov po njih igrat za ples. Potlej sem pa naredil veliki orkestra. Sem dobil pa pet boysim. �tiri pa sebe. Pot jaz sem harmonike �pilal, pa eden je bend�o �pilal, eden je basefidl �pilal, eden je pa piano �pilal. Tist je blo ko sem bil �e okrog 18 let star takrat. Od takrat ko sem to orkestra nar�dili, od takrat smo kar naprej zmeraj �li. Od takrat smo v Clev. �pilali, pot smo �li v Detroit, pot od Detroit smo �li v Pittsburgh, Pa., potlej Čicago. Pot smo povsod dobili pismo, je kdaj bi mi pri�li za njih �pilal. Potlej sem �el k vojakom, potlej ko sem �el v vojake ven, sem pa �el Columbia Records, pa takrat sem začel plo�če delat.

11. Q: S katerim pesmimi ste pa do�iveli najvecji uspeh?

A: Največji uspeh je bila ene pesme, prav česka. Je Cervena Cuknica, mi smo naredili pa tud je prav po amerikanski zaigrali. pa jaz jo klical �The Blue Skirt Waltz�

[Music]

12. Q: Omenite ste, da ste s to plo�čo do�iveli velik uspeh. Koliko plo�č je bilo pa prodanih?

A: The Blue Skirt Waltz�Crvena Cuknica prodali malo več kot en miljon plo�č.

13. Q: Ali ste �e s katero drugo do�ivela več uspeha?

A: Ja, smo precej dosti, pa smo dobili tak�no pesem kot Neapolitan Nights, Village Inn Polka, By by bayby, in tiste prav bo�icam pesem, Beer Barrel Polka, Hop the do, June Waltz, Wirl Away Waltz, Emilia Polka. Pa tle je ena smo tudi malo več kot en milijon prodali. Je tud� ene velika na�a polka. Je bila ta prva to velika za nas. Je pa Just Because.

[Music]

14. Q: g. Jankovič, ali bi nam hoteli povedati je nekaj v va�ih bodočih načrtih?

A: Je tist je prav easy. Mi bomo �e tukaj tle v Chicagi na svoji televisionu. Potlej prav na koncev tedna mi grem zmeraj v druge mesta, 200, 300 mil od tle. Potlej gremo prav tam�Hollywood. Tam zaigrat, imamo laci svoji Slov. ljudi tam in plo�če bomo zmeraj novo plo�če delali in drug television program bomo kmal imeli, pa morda �e tam v Cleveland, Ohio.

15. Q: Kako pa je va�a dru�ina s tem zadovoljna? Saj imate dru�ina.

A: Jaz sem bil poročen zdaj 16 let �e in imam jaz 8 otrok. Imam dve hčeri in 6 boysov tam v doma Clevelandu.

16. Q: Oni �ivijo v Clevelandu?

A: Vse v Clevelandu.

17. Q: Ne potejujo vedno z vami.

A: No, kak� večkrat poleti pa spomladi ko ni �ola pa gredo za z men za mescev, dva tedno, potlej pa nazaj domov gresta.

18. Q: Sicer pa vas imajo priliko videli na televiziji.

A: Ha...sestre pa imam tudi, imam tri sestre, so vse poročene, tudi v Clevelandu �ivijo. Brate pa nimam nobenega brata...

19. Q: G. Jankovič, ali bi �eli ob zaključke �e kaj posebnega povedat poslu�alcem Glas Amerike?

A: Jaz bi lajkal sam pozdravit mojo tete tam v starem kraju in mojega strica Jo Jankovič in vso �lathi tam, in vse prijatle tam, ki ste tam v starem kraju. Hvala lepa.

20. Q: Hvala lepa Vam g. Jankovič! Prepričan sem, da bo na�e poslu�alce zanimivalo če zaigrate ob zaključko njim �e katero iz va�ega bogatega programa.

A: Ja imam pa tle plo�č. Tle imam eno, ki jo zna cele familije. Pa moje �enski in moje hči pevajo skup z mene. Je Tic Toc Polka in also mam tle tudi My Girl Friend Julie da bi lajkal za vas enkrat zaigrat.

[Music]

Translation

1. Q: Mr. Yankovic, without a doubt it is mainly thanks to you that today so many Slovenian melodies and tunes are known across America. How did you come onto this idea, that you began to take part in this field?

A: This took hold many years ago, when I was still a small child. In the home where I was, my father and mother had many Slovenian boarders there. In the evening they came from their shifts. A couple of them always sang there in the home, in the evening. I had an accordion, a small one, and I would often play for them. I always liked those melodies. It often came into my head, why wouldn�t everybody here in America listen to our Slovenian melodies? I think that it will always be good and all our people here in America will always like our Slovenian melodies.

2. Q: Can you show us some practical example of how you arrange Slovenian melodies in American tempo?

A: Here is one, I have here a record we all made. It is a true Slovenian melody: �Moje dekle je �e mlado.� You�ll hear my orchestra and also when the boys and I sing this song in Slovenian. Here is the record �Moje dekle je �e mlado.�

[Music]

Moje dekle je �e mlado [My girl is still young]

"

"

Komaj stara 16 let [barely 16 years old]

�e 4 lete jo bom čakal jo [I�ll wait four years for her]

"

"

Da bo star 20-ti let [so she�ll be 20]

Kadar bo� ti vandrat �el [When you go wandering]

Pridi mi povedat [Come to tell me]

Da ti bom pomagala [So I can help you]

Punkeljček zavezat [Pack your bag]

Punkeljček zavezala bom [I�ll pack your bag]

Milo se jokala bom [I�ll be crying softly]

Ker te ne bodo videl več

Moji oči [Because my eyes won�t see you again]

[Music]

3. Q: That song is really nice to dance to, isn�t it Mr. Yankovic?

A: I�we always arrange our Slovenian songs so they will have the proper tempo so people don�t only listen and we also make it easy to dance to.

4. Q: Who sings on this record?

A: Well, on this record, at first I sing alone. After that, my friend Johnny Pecon and I sing together �Kadar bo� ti vandrat �el.�

5. Q: Where are you from, Mr. Yankovic?

A: I am direct from�I was born in Davis, West Virginia, but when I was barely 15 months old I went to Cleveland, Ohio. I was always there and now I always say that I am from Cleveland.

6. Q: And your parents, where did they come from?

A: My father is from Sv. O�bolt in the Karst Alps, and my mother came from Cerknica in Ljubljana.

7. Q: Are they both still living?

A: No, only my father died, in 1949. My mother is still living. Mother�s surname in the old country was Mele.

8. Q: Do you still have anyone in the old country?

A: I have in the old country my uncle Joe Jankovič and an aunt, and also three or four cousins there.

9. Q: Your television appearances are known throughout all of America and you also have your own program in Chicago. Which songs do you play on those programs?

A: We have many of our traditional Slovenian songs. We have: Jaz pa ti pa �idana marela, Moje dekle v Tirole vandrov, Daj daj srček nazaj, Kadar bo� ti vandrat �el, and a lot of those kinds of our traditional songs. And here I have one that I would like�I have a record here that I would like to play. It is a traditional song. I know that everybody knows this song and here is �Oj Marička peglaj.�

[Music]

Second Part

10. Q: When did you start your orchestra, Mr. Yankovic?

A: That was many long years ago. When I was a child, nine years old, I first started on a German folk accordion. Then after a few years, when I was about 15 years old, I got an American accordion�a piano accordion. When I was starting out, I played all by myself around home. After that, for my society in Cleveland. They had meetings. At the meetings I would play for a little while. Not long after that, one of the boys played with me; he played banjo and we played accordion and banjo together. Then, after a year or two, it came into my head. Many times people would come to me and many times they would write, why couldn�t I come to play for their dance? Then I organized a large orchestra. I got five boys, four and myself. Then I played accordion, one played banjo, one played bass fiddle, and one played piano. This was when I was still about 18 years old. From that time, when I organized that orchestra, from that time we always went forward. From that time we played in Cleveland, then we travelled to Detroit, then from Detroit we went to Pittsburgh, Pennyslvania, after that Chicago. We got letters from all over: When could we come to play for them? After that, I went into the army, then when I got out of the army, I went to Columbia Records and at that time I began making records.

11. Q: With which song did you have your greatest success?

A: The most successful was actually a Czech song. It is Crvena cuknica. We arranged and played it in the American style and I call it �The Blue Skirt Waltz.�

[Music]

12. Q: You mentioned that with that record you had your great success. How many records were sold?

A: The Blue Skirt Waltz�Crvena cuknica sold just over a million records.

13. Q: Did you have others that were successful?

A: Yes, we had several, we had such songs as Neapolitan Nights, Village Inn Polka, Bye Bye Baby, and that Christmas song, Beer Barrel Polka, Hoop Dee Doo, June Waltz, Whirlaway Waltz, Emilia Polka. Here is one more which also sold a little more than a million. It is also one of our great polkas, the first that was big for us. It is �Just Because.�

[Music]

14. Q: Mr. Yankovic, would you like to tell us something about your future plans?

A: That is very easy. We will still be here in Chicago on television. After that, on weekends we always go to another town, 200 or 300 miles from here. Then we go to Hollywood to play there. We have lots of our Slovenian people there. And records, we will always make new records and we will soon have another television program, possibly in Cleveland, Ohio.

15. Q: How does your family like this? You do have a family.

A: I have now been married 16 years already and I have eight children. I have two daughters and six boys at home in Cleveland.

16. Q: They live in Cleveland?

A: All in Cleveland.

17. Q: They never travel with you.

A: No, sometimes in summer or spring, when there is no school they go with me for a month or two weeks. After that, they go back home.

18. Q: Of course, they have a chance to see you on television.

A: Ha�I also have sisters. I have three sisters. They are all married, they also live in Cleveland. I don�t have a brother, no brother.

19. Q: Mr. Yankovic, would you like, in closing, to say anything else to the listeners of Voice of America?

A: I would like to greet my aunt in the old country and my uncle Joe Jankovič and all my relatives there and my friends there, who are in the old country.

Many thanks.

20. Q: Many thanks to you, Mr. Yankovic! I am sure that our listeners would be interested if in closing you played something from your rich program.

A: I have here a record. Here I have one which my whole family knows and my wife and daughter sing along with me. It is �Tic Tock Polka� and I also have �My Girl Friend Julayda� that I would like to play for you.

[Music]

Slovenian Catholic Center