“Whoopee John”
Wilfahrt
Deceased Category – Inducted 1976
John Anthony Wilfahrt was born in 1893 on a farm
near New Ulm, Minnesota. His grandparents migrated from the Austria
Black Forest near Switzerland. At age 11 he received a $1.50 accordion
from his mother for Christmas and one of the first songs he learned was
a song that his mother hummed as she did the housework. It was the
“Mariechen Waltz”, that later became the theme song for his band. At
age 19, he, his brother on clarinet, and a neighbor on trumpet formed a
trio, the first known polka band, and played at weddings, dances, and
socials. At first they had to walk five miles to play a dance. They
would tie their instruments to a broom handle and carry the stick to
ease the load. Later they used a wagon. In 1914 he moved from the farm
and got married. He formed a band of 10 or 11 pieces, and also added
the Swiss type “Whoo. Whoo. Whoo.” as a trademark.
In Swedish communities the band played Swedish
tuned; around New Ulm and Mankato it was German and Austrian; at Green
Isle, Irish music was played; around Cumberland, Wisconsin they played
Italian music.
In 1924 the band became a regular on several radio
stations in the Twin Cities. They moved to St. Paul and played Saturday
nights at the American House in St. Paul for twenty-two years and for
nine of the same years played Monday nights at the Marigold Ballroom in
Minneapolis.
By 1926 they had recorded on Okey, Columbia and
Brunswick. In 1934 the Kapp brothers, Dave and Jack, formed Decca. The
first one signed up was Bing Crosby, the second was “Whoopee John”.
John recorded about 200 for Decca. The best sellers on Decca were
“Mariechen Waltz” and “Clarinet Polka”. He carried a library of over
1000 special arrangements which ran into the $50,000 bracket. In all he
recorded about 1000 records.
In 1954 and 1955 he reigned as leading polka band
in the nation by Downbeat Poll from the National Ballroom Operators
Association. “Whoopee John” is considered the founder of the New Ulm
school of old time music. When he died of a heart attack at age 68 in
1961, this ended his life, but not the memories of “Whoopee John”
Wilfahrt and his band. |
