Ed Guca has been entertaining at dances, weddings, parties, festivals, etc. for the last 50 years. Ed started playing weddings & dances in high school but a meeting with Polka King Li'l Wally resulted in tours throughout the U.S.A. The Polish Canadians performed in Poland in 1977 at the 1st. World Polka Festival in Warsaw, Krakow, Poznan and performed at a festival in Katowice along with actress Stephanie Powers.
Ed Guca & the Polish Canadians were one of the most celebrated Polka bands of the 1970s and 1980s, performing at all the leading Polka festivals of the time. Ed has also hosted a show called "The All Night Friday Night Polka Party" on CHIN-FM radio in Toronto. He established RAM Records to record Canadian Polka talent. In the 1990s, Ed formed a Polish pop band called Major Music, but soon reunited The Polish Canadians by popular demand from his fans. With a desire to record his music once again, he created a modern digital studio and started POLANCA Records. Ed Guca is still performing, recording, and was recently inducted (in 2009) into the Polka Music Hall of Fame.
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Joe Banel: Drums, Percussion, Vocals
Henry Szarota: Accordion, Keyboard, Bass
Brian Tos: Trumpet, Vocals
Ed Humeniuk: [retired] Violin, Drums, Guitar, Vocals
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Ed has recorded over a dozen LPs on the RAM, Jay Jay, PolkaTone and Bel-Aire labels and four CDs on the POLANCA label. Ed’s biggest hit was "Ej Mamusiu Moja,". This song has been covered by several other Polka bands. The CD "Tribute To Li'l Wally" released in 2007 was in the number one polka seller on the internet for 11 months.
Review by Rob Savickis: bestpolkabands
In an earlier review I had done I had said that John Gora's Polka Playin' Fool should go down as a polka classic, and indeed it did win the 2010 PAC Award for Best Original Song.
Well, this year, I think a very strong condender for the award should be Ed Guca's Raise Your Glasses, with vocals and lyrics by band member Joe Banel, and which is track 3 on this album. I have now listened to this track probably over 50 times, and each time I listen I enjoy it more.
Celebrating more than 50 years in the polka arena, 2009 International Polka Assiciation Polka Hall of Fame Inductee Ed Guca released an incredible cd this past Decemeber, his 15th recording with the Polish Canadians. The cd offers 13 excellently produced and thoroughly enjoyable tracks, mostly with vocals in Polish but with a few English tracks as well.
Niech Sie Gra , the first track on the cd, and one of 4 Guca originals, starts the cd off with a bang. And this is a bang that continues throughout the whole cd. Guca also presents excellent arrangements of many traditional songs such as Z Tamtej Strony, Rano Rano, Tylko We Lwowie, Czarne Oczy, Na Polskiej Zabawie, Pod Mostem Niebieskie Oczy and White Table, and does a great cover of Li'l Wally's classic Night After Night. Once you get to the end of the cd, all you want to do is start over, and over and over again.
The graphics on this cd must also be commended and the liner notes provide very good background information on all the members that contributed to this great musical work. It must also be noted that Jerzy Krzeminski, leader of the famous Polish rock band, No To Co contributes greatly on guitar and vocals.
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The picture below is from 1977.
The Polish Canadians are ready to record an LP at Belaire Studios in Chicago.
Below are a number of pictures from the archives of Ed Guca and his bands. Click on the picture to get an enlargement.
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Ed Guca History in Pictures
Ed Guca & Polish Canadians perform with Li'l Wally in Buffalo (circa 1966) From L to R - Eddie Oles, Ed Guca, Ed Grzesik, Li'l Wally, Ed Humeniuk.
Ed Guca & Polish Canadians perform with Li'l Wally in Detroit
Ed with Happy Louie & Julcia in Poland in 1977.
Eddie Blazonczyk, Wanda Guca, Ed Guca at Canadian Polka Carnival 1971
L'il Wally's studio in Florida where "America's Greatest Polka Band" Vol. 1 & 2 on Jay Jay records was recorded in the 1970's
Celebrating after finishing 3 days of recording at L'il Wally's studio in Florida. L to R - Marion Lush, Whitey Ryniec, L'il Wally Jagiello, Ron Marcirsuk, Ed Guca
At L'il Wally's Florida studio, L to R - Ed Guca, Lil Wally, Paul Stanczyk
Musicians recording the new CD "Raise Your Glasses-Niech Sie Gra" [Ed Humeniuk, Henry S., Brian T., Joe B., Ed Guca, Jerzy Krzemin
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