NUMBER OF GRAMMY AWARDS:
Polka superstar Jimmy Sturr. 14,
Michael Jackson: 13
The Beatles:: 7
Madonna: 5

(click here to see Peter's picture)

It's 6 p.m. at WNHU, and it's time for the unofficial Prince of Polka.

Peter J. Danielczuk, Ansonia's aldermanic president and Grammy-nominated polka musician, composer and radio per­sonality, is cozying up to the microphone.

"It's a party, it's a celebration. Bringing you the best. It's Peter 1. Danielczuk's Polka Celebration!" he says to listeners, before switching 9n a polka tune by Dennis Polisky.

Danielczuk has been gracing the AM radio waves with his polka shows since 1971, he said, when he first debuted on WADS in Ansonia, his hometown. Over the years, Danielczuk has brought Polka Celebration to WWCD in Waterbury, WNTY in Southington, WICC in Bridgeport, where he settled down for 10 years, and WDJZ (1530 AM) in Bridgeport, where he still is host of an hourlong show at 11 a.m. Sunday. He's also gone digital, with a streaming live radio show from his Ansonia home S to 10 p.m. every Sunday on www.polkajammer.com.

Danielczuk estimates he's amassed several thousand dedicated listeners. But despite his already robust audience, he's always had his eye on the FM dial, where radio shows can often reach a larger audience.

Two weeks ago, the Prince of Polka finally conquered the new territory: he was welcomed onto the University of New Haven's radio station, SS.7 FM.

Polka Celebration first hit FM airwaves July 26, but due to technical problems with the main radio transmitter and the back-up transmitter, the station was out of service Aug. 2. Rather than cancel the entire show, Dan­ielczuk took Polka Celebration online, where he estimated a few hundred people still tuned in.

Danielczuk said his new show focuses mainly on recent polka hits, including his own "Hoo­rah for the New York Yankees" and "Maryann the Polka Angel," whieh was included on Dennis Polisky & the Maestro's Men's Grammy-nominated album "Strike up the Band" in 2004.

Polka Celebration also includes more surprising polka selections, such as a polka-style cover of the Stephen Stills hit "Love the One You're With" by the Polka Coun­try Musicians. The Jewett City- based group performs polka ren­ditions of popular country songs, including Joe Nichols' "Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off" and Craig Morgan's "Redneck Yacht Club."

Helen Ptak of Ansonia said she danced to polka music at War­saw Park in Ansonia when she was a child. Decades ago, there were dances each summer Sun­day, and Ptak would sell tickets and promote events. "A big hall is kind of empty now. A lot of people have passed on, moved to Florida. It's just not there like it used to be," she said.

But Danielczuk's show has been crucial in spreading the word about local shows that are still running, she said. "It's so good to get a local polka (radio) show. We all listen to it," she said. "That's how we get all the information about local events about polka, and dancing around the Valley and the New Haven area. How else would you get it but over the radio?"

Ptak said she's noticed some younger polka fans and musi­cians, she still finds "People are hopping, but all the hoppers are up in ages now. "

While polka music is often associated with an older crowd, Danielczuk said the music is making a big comeback in the Midwest among young people. Danielczuk has been a polka fan since early childhood when his father used to tune the car radio to polka stations during family car rides. He grew up playing accordion, which he still plays, although he said he's more of a singer.

And Danielczuk's quest for polka glory will not stop with his new gig at WNHU. He is push­ing for legislation to name Ray Henry's "The Ballroom Polka" the state polka song.

State Rep. Chris Caruso, D-­Bridgeport, co-chairman of the Government Administration and Elections Committee that first heard the legislation this year, said the polka bill was "tangled up in the campaign finance reform bill" and because of last minute maneuvering, the bill did not come up for a vote.

"My plan is to reintroduce it, and hopefully pass it," Caruso said.

 State Rep. Linda Gentile, D­-Ansonia, who submitted the bill at Danielczuk's request, said she felt it important to "embrace and showcase our various ethnic backgrounds ... Ansonia  and Derby especially, and all of Connecticut, are very culturally diverse," Gentile said.

"This particular polka was written and performed by a gen­tleman who spent his entire life in Connecticut and was very well known in the Polish community, and it's only fitting that we pay tribute to him," she said.

Though his duties as Ansonia's aldermanic president and as a car salesman keep him busy, much of his free time is consumed by his passion for polka. He recently went to Chicago for a convention of the International Polka Association, where he is the National Sergeant-at -Arms.

"This particular polka was written and performed by a gentleman who spent his entire life in Connecticut and was very well known in the Polish community, and it's only fitting that we pay tribute to him."  State Rep. Linda Gentile, D-Ansonia

Elizabeth Benton can be reached at 734·2813 or at ebenton@nhregister. com.