“Whoopee John”
Wilfahrt
Deceased Category – Inducted 1976
John Anthony Wilfahrt, better known
as "Whoopee John" Wilfahrt, was born in 1893 on a farm
near New Ulm, Minnesota. His grandparents, Joseph Wilfahrt and
Franzeska Hauser, migrated to America in March, 1867, with three of
their children and settled on a farm in Sigel Township, a few
miles from New Ulm. The family came from the small village of Swarzach
located in the Bohemian Forest of western Bohemia., then part of
Austria. Whoopee's father was born in 1871 in Sigel, eventually marrying
Barbara Portner, whose family also originated in the
Böhmerwald, for whom Whoopee named his well known "Barbara Polka." It
was his mother who taught him the folksong that later became his famous
theme song, the "Mariechen Waltz."
Whoopee was born on the farm in
Sigel, just as his father before him, in 1893. When he was 10 years old,
his mother purchased a small accordion for Christmas at a cost of $1.50
and he began practicing his music in the family's grain bin. His first
job was solo performed for a party, after which he played for
weddings and anniversaries.
At
age 18, he, his brother, Eddie, on clarinet, and a cousin, Edwin Kretsch on trumpet formed a
trio, called the Böhmish Dorf Kapelle [Bohemian
Village 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. His earliest bands
were almost exclusively composed of extended family members.
In 1914 he moved from the farm
and married. He formed a band of 10 or 11 pieces. 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.
There are many stories as to how he received his
nickname. The most probable is that John often added to the spirit of the music
by shouting “Whoo, Whoo, Whoo," a practice carried on by bands and dance
groups in Austria and Bohemia to this day.
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. |
