Brosch releases last polka CD

Polka musician Jimmy Brosch calls his new album "My Very Last CD."

The 83-year-old has been making polka fans happy since the early 1950's.

He'll play with his Happy Country Boys at the Big Joe's Polka Show Festival Feb. 22 at The Big Red Barn Event Center between Round Top and Carmine.

The first nine of the 24 tracks were recorded last year in a Houston studio.

They include "Little Boys Polka, "On The Green Meadow Waltz," "When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again," "Harmonica Polka," "Beyond The Water Waltz," "May You Never Be Alone Like Me," "Low And Lowely," "Heartaches By The Number" and "Just My Baby And Me."

The remaining 15 tracks were recorded on the old Guide Records label and were on vinyl records.

Some of them included "Huntsman Waltz," "Wooden Heart," "Little Goose Polka," "Green Meadow Waltz," "Heartless Waltz," "Cross In The Field,'' "Corina, Corina," "I Won't Be Here," "Where Is Our Daughter?" "Snow Deer," "Calvery Soldier," "Since I Met You Baby" and "Pride."

Brosch and the Happy Country Boys are a part of Texas music history.

He received two Texas Polka Music Awards, one in 1994 for "An Early Texas Polka Band," and a second in 1996 for "The Corn Cockle Polka," recognized by TPMA as an All Time Favorite Song.

Brosch's story begins in and around Praha, the small farming community near Moulton settled by Czech immigrants.

Much of the musical entertainment for the early Czechs comprised family bands with accordion, guitar, fiddle and harmonica.

The music was performed at house dances, and the occasional wedding.

Some of the early bands included brass and wind instruments.

These were the fine orchestras of the time and some of the music has been preserved on early recordings.

Brosch wanted to play the fiddle.

He began at age 12. To get his first fiddle, he rode horseback from Praha to Moravia, bargaining with Joe Holub for an instrument with an asking price of $3. Jimmy got the fiddle for $2.50, which sounded like a bargain until his Uncle Henry Brosch told him "Jimmy, you paid $2 too much!"

Undeterred, Brosch began to play the fiddle, taking it with him into the Air Force in WWII, playing on ship and at the base while doing his job as a P-51 airplane mechanic.

After returning from service, Brosch and His Playboys came into being in 1946.

The band rehearsed all the early Czech songs and played their first job for the Praha CYO.

Brosch put the band on the road by late 1946, performing in the Lavaca and Fayette county areas.

Brosch recalls that the hottest jobs were in the Shiner and Gonzales areas, with the band earning about $50 for a typical performance.

That usually meant $9 per musician and $5 travel expenses.

They had some good nights and some rough nights in the early days.

Frequent gigs included Needville, Cotton Grove, Swiss Alp, Kovar, Freyburg, and of course, weddings.

They also did some early polka radio every Sunday morning from KCTI Gonzales, hosted by Texas Frankie Sembera and Sonny Seiversas.

But things change. Brosch moved to Houston, attending the University of Houston for a year, supporting himself as a door-to-door salesman.

Brosch then made his living working as a switchman for Southern Pacific.

Along the way, he raised a family of four.

The band kept on playing, but the name was changed in the 50's to "Jimmy Brosch and the Happy Country Boys."

They played the Bill Mraz Ballroom regularly for over 18 years, and the American Legion in Crosby for 11 years.