"Nothing cleans my palette like a polka." Bill Allred

 On Friday, February 7, 1964, The Beatles landed in America and changed the face of music forever. Lost in all the excitement of BeatleMania was the arrival of Poland's biggest Polka band, The Cabbage Rolling Stones. They arrived on the very next flight.  But by the time their plane had landed everybody had gone home. They were the bad boys of the Polish Polka scene with their smug attitude, leather jackets, and long hair. They ruled over the Polish music scene. Now they wanted to rule the world.

The band was founded in Warsaw by childhood friends, Keith Richardski, an accordion virtuoso and flamboyant vocalist, Mick Jaggerski. The boys would go on to recruit drummer, Charlie Wattski , trumpeter, Ronnie Woodski, and clarinetist, Bill Wymanski to fill out the rest of the band. The boys started off performing in tiny clubs in even tinier Polish villages before being discovered by a vacationing Lawrence Welkski. Blown away by the band's energy and rabid fan base, Welkski invited them to appear on his popular TV show in America.

The band became an overnight sensation following their performance on The Lawrence Welkski Show. They played what would be their first #1 single in America, 'Root Beer Belly Polka.' "Tank you boys" Welkski said as he went over to shake Mick's hand. The boys would make several more appearances on the show before releasing an album and beginning their first tour of America. The tour would see them visit major markets like Chicago, New York City, Philadelphia, and Cheektowaga.

During the next couple of years, the boys embarked on a long and rigorous tour. Having won over the fans in America, it was time for the band to take over the world with their infectious Polka sound. Despite spending much of their early years as a band on the road, The Cabbage Rolling Stones never seemed to run out of gas. Their electrifying Polka shows enthralled audiences across the globe. At the height of their popularity they began a friendly rivalry with The Beatles as the bands tried to outdo one another on the pop charts.

Success and popularity came quickly for the boys. Some say it was too much too soon for the young musicians. They had become overnight sensations, toured relentlessly, and spent countless hours together. It was only a matter a time before tempers flared. The band began to fight among themselves, especially Mick and Keith.  Mick and Keith were both stubborn and had different ideas about the band's direction. Mick wanted to add a little bit of rock 'n roll to their sound. Keith wanted to maintain their traditional Polka roots.

THE KAPUSTA MUSIC FESTIVAL

Despite all the tension within the band, the band was still able to sell out arenas across the world. Every album they released went straight to the top of the charts.This should've been the greatest time of their lives but tensions were boiling over within the band. The boys returned to Poland to headline 'The Kapusta Music Festival.' After a couple of songs, Keith and Mick began to argue. Keith stormed off the stage and the show was canceled. The band was pelted with pierogies by thousands of angry fans.

THE CABBAGE ROLLING STONES

Pączki Blues

The band pressed on without Keith, bringing self-proclaimed 'Prince of Polka' Bronislav Mazurek into the fold. Their first album with Mazurek, "Pączki Blues" was a critical and commercial flop. Mazurek was promptly fired from the band. Subsequent albums sold poorly as it seemed as though the saucy bad boys of Polka had lost their magic touch. Following a sparsely attended concert at Krakow Stadium, the band mutually decided to take a brief hiatus.

What started as a short break ended up lasting a number of years. Fans continued to hold out hope that The Cabbage Rolling Stones would reunite, but sadly it was not to be. The other members ventured out on their own to pursue their personal passions. What made the band great was their close friendship and shared love of Polka music. When you got the five of them together it was Polka gold baby! On their own,  they seemed to be lost.  It looked as though The Cabbage Rolling Stones would never perform together again.

One fateful evening, Mick and Keith's paths would cross at a recording studio in Gdansk, Poland. Mick was laying down some tracks for his new solo album, "Nalesniki Nights." "Sounds good Babe! Get your buns into the studio and we'll take it from the top!" the producer shouted out to Mick. As Mick walked into the studio he caught a whiff of a familiar scent. It was the smell of asparagus. Keith always had a spear of asparagus dangling from his mouth. He said it helped to calm his nerves on stage.