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Li’l Richard
Towalski
Deceased Category - Inducted
2005
Li’l Richard Towalski was born in 1942 in Chicago, Illinois. When
he was four years old, grandma began taking him to picnics at
Caldwell Woods. At age ten, he formed a polka band and started his
musical career playing in local clubs, at carnivals, wedding and
anniversary parties. All the while, grandma helped him with the
Polish lyrics. He recorded his first 45 rpm single on the Ampol
label at age fourteen. At age eighteen, he made his first LP album
on Chicago Polkas. His radio
 career
began at age fifteen with a polka show on WOPA in Oak Park,
Illinois. Both careers as a musician and DJ were interrupted by
Uncle Sam who called him for a hitch in the Army. During his stay in
the service, he was assigned to the 2nd Division Band in Korea.
Upon his return, he started where he left off, with a polka show
on WTAQ in LaGrange, Illinois. He then expanded to WONX and WEAW in
Evanston, Illinois, WVFW in Dundee, Illinois and many other stations
in the Chicagoland area.
In March of 1969, during an appearance in Milwaukee, Wisconsin,
Li’l Richard was presented with a four-star flag and portrait of
President Eisenhower and proclaimed “Polka General” by patriotic and
loyal polka fans of Milwaukee and Chicago. “Li’l Richard Day” was
designated as November 9, 1969, by a proclamation from the Mayor of
Chicago, Richard J. Daley. In May of 1970 his band was selected as
the first polka band to perform on the campus of Notre Dame
University in Indiana. He changed the name of his band to the “Polka
All Stars” and made appearances in Missouri, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio,
Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey and Canada.
Li’l Richard made his living as a full time musician and radio
host. He recorded 28 LP albums and CDs on four different labels. His
best seller, the “Polish Wedding Album” recorded in 1968, is still
selling today. After recording his last CD, “Li’l Richard Sings,” he
died on March 28, 2001. |
