Al Soyka
Living Category – Inducted 1979
Al Soyka was born May 6, 1922 in Rockville,
Connecticut. At the early age of thirteen the Soyka Trio was formed
with Al on the accordion, brother Ray on vocals and cousin Ed on the
violin. The group entered a local talent show and won first prize,
which was a trip to radio stations in Boston, Massachusetts.
A polka band was formed with Al’s three brother,
Ray, Stanley and Edwin, and also his cousin Ed. This group later
enlarger to a nine piece orchestra which became known as the Al Soyka
Orchestra. In 1950 their first polka hit, “The Jolly Caballero” was
recorded on the Dana label. Another hit on the Dana label was the
“U.S.A.” Oberek with music and words by Al’s mother, who contributed
greatly to many songs used in their recordings.
He recorded on the RCA Victor label with hits as
“My Favorite Polka” featuring Al on the Accordion.
Later he formed his own record labels of Jan and
Glo. One of the greatest hits on the Glo label was “Trip to Poland”
with music and lyrics by Janek Lewandowski. All of his recordings were
made at his own studio on Main Street, Somers, Connecticut. The studio
was used to record many other polka bands with Al as engineer.
Gene Pitney, nationally known rock star from
Rockville, Connecticut, was interested in recording the band on the
Musicor label. Al recorded such hits as "Holly Dolly" (a single) which
was played on the 50,000 watt WTIC station in Hartford, Connecticut.
Then a "Hello Dolly" album was released. A second album by Musicor,
"The 51 Polka Favorites," with Ray Soyka on the vocals has been the best
hit of his career.
In 1967 Al moved to Hollywood, Florida and sold his
Glo label to Request Records, who are distributing his records
nationally today.
In 1973 Al was awarded a Public Service Citation
from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Occasionally Al plays for the Hollywood Polish
American Club which opened a new hall on January 1, 1979.
Al is married and has a son, Dr. Richard Soyka who
lives in San Leandro, California, and a daughter, Nancy, who is with VA
Administration in Miami, Florida. At present Al is a registered real
estate broker at 2640 Hollywood Blvd., Suite 209, Hollywood, Florida,
33020. |
