Myron Floren’s Disco Polka

Disco Polka album coverWhen I think back on the golden age of disco, I automatically think of Saturday Night Fever, The Hustle, polyester shirts, Myron Floren, Studio 54… wait a second, back up… Myron Floren?

That’s right — in 1977, Lawrence Welk’s squeezin’ sideman released “Disco Polka”, an album that brought oompah polka rhythms and over-the-top disco strings together for perhaps the first (and last?) time. Tracks included “How High the Moon”, “Love is Blue”, and, of course, “Beer Barrel Polka.” But did these two great tastes really taste great together? Listen to a clip from the record and decide for yourself:

[Found via hopstetter.com]

3 Comments:

  1. I was looking for a recording, tape,CD whatever you have of the laughing polka!!
    Kathy Runde

  2. If you’re looking for the “normal” version of Myron’s “Laughing Polka”, you can find it on the Legends of the Accordion CD (out-of-print, but try eBay). As for the “disco” version, I’ve never heard it but, again, you can sometimes find a copy of “Disco Polka” on eBay (I saw one there a couple weeks ago).

    Hope that helps!

  3. The Holyoke Merry-go-round (Holyoke, MA) sells a CD of music from their Artizan Band Organ (#560) that includes the polka (under the name “Let Us Be Gay”). I was a little surprised to recognize it, and it took me a minute to connect it with the “Disco Polka” album.

    Incidentally, it sounds to me (I’ve been listening to the album since 1981) that Floren is playing straight, and his tracks were mixed with the lush arrangements played by the Sound Stage Super Pickers. I can’t hear any details of his performance that suggest he knew it was headed for a disco mix.