Johnnie Bomba
Living Category – Inducted 1980
Johnnie was born in Chicago. While in the 4th
grade at Sacred Heart School. He started playing clarinet with the
school band. In 7th grade he already played with local dance
bands, and in 8th grade formed his own group. In De La Salle
High School he was the first chair alto clarinetist in the concert
band. He formed a 15-piece dance band and played dance halls,
ballrooms, and hotels.
During World War II, Johnnie was with the 30th
Division Special Services where he led the band drum and bugle corps,
and helped put on stage and USO shows. He also worked on in
counter-intelligence, landed in France on D-Day plus 2, and was in six
major battles.
After his discharge he returned to the band, and it
was then he became really devoted to polka music. In 1948 his band
played live WGES radio broadcasts on Sundays, and later, also on
Thursday evenings. It was then that Walter Dana contacted Johnny to
record. His band was the first Midwestern band to record, introducing
his Chicago style to Polka lovers in the East.
In 1951 he was named Midwest Polka King by ballroom
proprietors and record distributors. His band played steady weekly
engagements at the Aragon and Trianon Ballrooms for two years. With
television coming into its own, Johnnie Bomba’s Orchestra was featured
on the Howard Moto’s Polka Parade weekly on WGN-TV. Appearances
followed on Rudy Orisek’s International Café, the Ron Terry Show, and
other television programs. He also had his own radio show on stations
WOPA in Oak Park, Illinois.
In 1978, his band had a featured a role in the movie
“F.I.S.T.” starring Sylvester Stallone, playing Hungarian and Lithuanian
music.
Johnnie felt that his life in the music field was
blessed. He met and made friends with many wonderful people. That
was made possible through the love, understanding, and encouragement of
his wife Janice, and children John Jr., Linda, Bernard, and Richard.
In 2005 he was reported as living in Oak Forest, Illinois. |
