Russ Feingold: “on October 15th, America lost it's reigning Polka King, and Wisconsin lost a beloved friend: Frankie Yankovic. From the…”

“on October 15th, America lost it's reigning Polka King, and Wisconsin lost a beloved friend: Frankie Yankovic. From the day he debuted in the Milwaukee area at Bert Phillips Ballroom in Menomonee Falls, Frankie Yankovic has had a special place among Wisconsin's polka fans. Wisconsinites loves to polka, so much so that it's our state's official dance. And no polka musician has won more accolades, had more devoted fans, or taught more Americans to love that simple dance than Frankie Yankovic. While he was born in West Virginia and was a long-time resident of Cleveland, Frankie Yankovic felt a special connection to Milwaukee. ``I should have come here and made Milwaukee my hometown,'' he once said. There is nothing we'd have liked better, but Wisconsinites were lucky for the many chances we've had to enjoy Yankovic's music, and to pay tribute to his myriad achievements in the music world. In fact, it was in Milwaukee that Yankovic was crowned as America's Polka King in 1948. Just one year later, his ``Blue Skirt Waltz'' hit number two on Columbia Records' bestseller list, just behind Gene Autry's ``Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,'' one of the best-selling records of all time. He was the first inductee to both the Polka Hall of Fame in Minnesota in 1988 and the Wisconsin Polka Hall of Fame in 1996.…”