Music & Dance Music-Dance News Sept-Oct '19 | Page 13

Music & Dance News changed its name to re- flect the attire. It’s been the Polka Dots ever since. Ray was asked to join the Polka Dots after Fitch and Manton Steberg, the drummer, came to the Sands’ farm in fall 1949, to hear him play. “I was 19 at the time, so I played and sang a few songs, and they hired me on the spot,” Sands recalled. Playing by ear More amazing than playing with one group for seven decades is the fact Ray doesn’t read music. “Everything I play is by ear, and always has been,” he explained. “My brother, Wilbur, who played guitar, was the same way, and my sister, Doris, was too, al- though she received pia- no instruction and could read music.” Ray said he can hear a new song two or three times on the saxophone, pick up the melody, and after a few run-throughs, have it down pat on the accordion. After he’s played it through, “it’s locked in my memory bank, up here,” he said, pointing to his head. “I can probably play close to a thousand songs from memory.” Favorite songs The band’s signature song and most requested 17th Annual Duncanfest Duncanfest Community Ballroom in Duncan, Iowa Located On Hwy 18 Between Garner & Britt, IA Saturday, Sept. 14 Malek’s Fishermen Band • 12-1:30 & 3-4 pm Adam & The Jolly Jammers • 1:30-3 & 4:30-6 pm Leo Lonnie Orchestra • 6-9 pm Sunday, Sept. 15 Polka Mass, Malek’s Fishermen Band, St. Wenceslaus Church • 8 am Breakfast buffet at ballroom • 9-10:15 am Leo Lonnie Orchestra • 12-1:30 & 3-4:30 Brian & The Mississippi Valley Dutchmen • 1:30-3 & 4:30-6 Saturday • $15 Sunday • $12 2-day pass • $25 18 & under free with adult admission Garner, IA Garner Inn/Suites [phone] Clear Lake, IA Best Western [phone] Microtel Inn [phone] Americinn [phone] Super 8 [phone] Air Conditioned Ballroom Hardwood Dance Floor Free Booths/Car Parking Full Bar & Meals Camping Forest City, IA The Lodge [phone] Super 8 [phone] Algona, IA Americinn [phone] Super 8 [phone] Brookstone Lodge/Suites [phone] For more info: Eric [phone] • Bob [phone] • Ballroom [phone] • [email protected] • www.duncanballroom.com September/October 2019 Page 13 Ray Sands continued tune is “The Ping Pong Polka,” written by Ray’s friend, Earl McNelius, who played in a Wiscon- sin band called Cousin Fuzzy and his Fuzy Cousins. “He told me the song came to him one evening as he was driving home, so he wrote it down and sent it to me, and we’ve been playing it for more than 50 years,” Ray said. Other frequently-re- quested tunes include “Blue Skirt Waltz,” “I Love Little Willy,” “Roll Out the Barrel,” and “The Baby Doll Polka.” First gigs As a teenager, Ray per- formed with his brother, Wilbur, and sister, Do- ris, for the Hader Hops dance group in Wana- mingo and other com- munities. “I earned $2 a night for playing a few hours, and that was a lot of money,” said Ray. “I was used to trapping gophers for 5 cents a piece, and making way less than a dollar a week, so get- ting paid three times that for a few hours of play- ing was a real step up.” He perfected his ac- cordion skills by prac- ticing nearly every night after milking cows on the family farm. “There wasn’t enter- tainment competition, because we didn’t have electricity until the early 1940s, so we didn’t have television or radio. Play- ing music, playing cards, or reading was it.” The early years As the band’s popular- ity grew, they often trav- eled 100 miles or more, one way, for a gig. “It was a busy time, almost a blur, because I was also farming with my dad, milking cows, and raising 6,000 tur- keys,” he explained. The business struc- ture of the Polka Dots changed in 1963, when Fitch retired and Ray took over bookings, management, and play- ing. The band had eight regular members at that time. In 1970, Ray married Sue Fossum, a talented musician from Goodhue. Sue played saxophone in the band, arranged music for them, had her own musical group, and taught music in Goodhue and Kenyon-Wanamingo schools. When the Polka Dots weren’t booked, Ray and Sue often performed as the Ray Sands Combo. For seven years, they were featured entertain- ers at the Chart House in Lakeville. Other band highlights include playing at the governor’s residence, the Polka Fest in Durant, IA, and several Miss Minne- sota pageants. It was at one of those events that Ray recalls his most embarrassing moment in life. “The pageant was at Continued on page 16