The Matys Brothers were an American lounge act made up of four singing comedians. All four were born and raised in

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

, in the

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

area . The quartet's first record, "Muskrat Ramble," that was released on the

Essex Records Essex Records was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1951 by Dave Miller (producer), David Miller primarily to record contemporary country and western, rhythm and blues as well as jazz and Gospel music, gospel. Jack Howard was the promot ...

label, became a big hit in 1954, and by 1956 the group was part of

Bill Haley William John Clifton Haley (; July 6, 1925 – February 9, 1981) was an American rock and roll musician. He is credited by many with first popularizing this form of music in the early 1950s with his group Bill Haley & His Comets and million-sel ...

's talent and booking stable and recording for

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

. The members of the band were Emil on saxophone, John on bass and violin, Gene on drums, and Walt on accordion.

History

August August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Southern Hemisphere, August is the seasonal equivalent of February in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere, August ...

28, 1957, the Matys Brothers appeared on ''

American Bandstand ''American Bandstand'' (AB) is an American Music television, music performance and dance television series that aired in various iterations from 1952 to 1989. It was hosted by Dick Clark who also served as the program's Television producer, pr ...

'' performing "Muskrat Ramble" and "Crazy Street". "Muskrat Ramble" was a 1954 chart entry in Cashbox and Variety. In 1958, the Matys Brothers made two records for Haley's Clymax record label, one of which, "Crazy Street," co written by Haley, later was considered a rockabilly classic. On this song and the three others recorded for Clymax, the Matys Brothers were backed by members of Bill Haley's band,

The Comets Bill Haley & His Comets were an American rock and roll band formed in 1947 and continuing until Haley's death in 1981. The band was also known as Bill Haley and the Comets and Bill Haley's Comets. From late 1954 to late 1956, the group record ...

(several of their recordings were also written by members of Haley's group). Later, the Matys Brothers grew to rely on their own instrumentation (Walt: the accordion, John: the bass and fiddle, Emil: the sax, and Gene: the drums). Gene and Emil could play any instrument (you put in their hands) and began recording

polka Polka is a dance style and genre of dance music in originating in nineteenth-century Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. Though generally associated with Czech and Central European culture, polka is popular throughout Europe and the ...

music for the Sunnyside and Select labels during the late 1950s and early 1960s. "Rummy Polka" was a hit for them in 1959, and the Matys Brothers scored their biggest hit in 1963, " Who Stole the Keeshka?" In the 1960s and 1970s, the brothers, John, Walt, Emil and Gene, toured the west coast. They appeared in the 1960s at The Showboat in Las Vegas, The Holiday Hotel downtown Reno, Nevada, and The Commercial Hotel in

Elko, Nevada Elko is a city in and the county seat of Elko County, Nevada, United States. As of the official 2020 U.S. Census, the city has a population of 20,564. Elko serves as the center of the Ruby Valley, a region with a population of over 55,000. Elko ...

. Some of the brothers struggled, at times, to maintain normal family life due to the late hours and the demanding travel, that was a part of their profession. Emil has a daughter, Terri, who was born during his first marriage to Mertis. After a divorce, he then married the band's singer Maria Carmen and they have one son, Marc. Gene had two children with his first wife, Wanda, they were Tom and Diane, that ended in divorce. He then married Pearl and had two sons, including Gene Jr. After his second marriage, Gene married Donna and had two children Ross and Tanna. Emil lived in Elko, Nevada and died on May 5, 2008; Gene died 12 October 1993 in Elko. Emil was not only remembered for his years of entertaining with the Matys Brothers, but also for the time and efforts he spent voluntarily while working with high school musicians, during the last several years of his life in Elko.

Discography

* "Cut the Meatballs in Half" Vinyl single * "Drunk Last Night" 7 inch Vinyl single * "Rummy Polka" Sunnyside Records, 7inch Vinyl single * "Kazoo Polka" Sunnyside Records, 7 inch Vinyl singe * "Crazy Street" Coral-61941 Vinyl single * "I Want to See the Sunshine in Your Smile" 7 inch Vinyl single * "My Truly Truly Fair" 5.90 4.90 * "That's a Plenty" Sound-106 Vinyl single * " Who Stole the Keeshka?" Select-719 Vinyl single * "With Friends Like You" Fayette-1627 Vinyl single * ''Crazy Street'' Bear Family BCD 15971 MCA 11119 (CD compilation) * ''Rock Me Daddy'' Collector CLCD 4475 (CD compilation)

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Matys Brothers, The Rock music groups from Pennsylvania Musical groups from Philadelphia American rockabilly music groups