National Cleveland Style Polka Hall of Fame and Museum
605 East 222nd Street
Euclid, OH 44123
USA
E-mail: Polkashop@aol.com
Phone: 216-261-3263
Toll Free: 1-800-66POLKA
Fax: 216-261-4134
At the top of his form at the peak of Cleveland- Style Polka popularity, Pete Sokach
teamed with Eddie Habat to lead the Sokach-Habat Tunemixers, one of Cleveland's hottest
bands. Picking up his older brother's discarded accordion, Pete learned to play and
became a bandleader in 1935. Along with Habat, Kenny Bass, and Al Tercek, Pete formed
the Tunemixers in 1948, signed with Decca, and landed a weekly radio show with Howie
Lund. The Tunemixers' 1949 recording of "Blue Skirt Waltz" sold over 700,000 copies,
dueling valiantly with Frank Yankovic's Columbia version. Other hit Sokach-Habat
recordings include "Tell Me a Story," "Uncle Nick's Polka," and "Socialaires Polka."
Leading his own orchestra through the mid-1960s, Pete appeared on radio and television
and remained a major Cleveland-Style figure coast to coast.
Inducted in 1995
www.polkafame.com © National Cleveland Style Polka Hall of Fame and Museum, 605
East 222nd Street, Euclid, OH 44123, USA.
