WISCONSIN POLKA: Bob Kuether Orchestra / Nuff' Said Polka / KL 141 / 1975

Robert “Bob” Kuether was a strong musical presence in the Manitowoc and Door peninsula region of eastern Wisconsin since the inception of his orchestra when he was still a high-schooler in 1969. “I always had a liking for polka music. I remember watching Romy Gosz on television when I was a boy. I never really cared for rock and roll. I always liked polkas and as the years went by, I began to appreciate big band music.” Bob Kuether, Bill Thiele, and Jon Meyer were sophomore students at Manitowoc’s Lincoln High School. “The three of us thought it would be fun to start a polka band. We’d plan the band during Lincoln basketball games while we were playing in the pep band. We got four other players and in 1969 started practicing. We played our first engagement in May of 1970 at Kubsch’s Hall in Kellnersville. There has always been a strong demand for old time and polka music in Northeastern Wisconsin. Once we became known, we had no problems getting bookings.” “A real boost for our band came in 1974 when we began performing a series of television broadcasts [WLUK-TV (Green Bay)] from the Riverside Ballroom in Green Bay. Our televised performance ran from 1974 through 1980.” Around 1980, “we began another group, the Bob Kuether Band Orchestra. In addition to our regular seven members, we add additional musicians who play brass and reeds for the big band sound.” In addition to founding the Bob Kuether Band, he helped revive the Newtonburg Brass Band (“a thirteen-piece re-creation of a 1910 small town band”), and led the Schnapps und Tanz Oktoberfest Band (“a twelve-piece brass and woodwind ensemble playing German, Austrian and Czech brass band music”). He was among many local musicians who played over the years with the Ecumenical Brass and Choir of the Holy Innocents Catholic Church, Manitowoc. Born in Manitowoc on March 18, 1953, Bob was a 1971 graduate of Lincoln High School and a 1975 graduate of the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay. On April 21, 1979, he married Eileen Thull (who played drums and button accordion in the band), and together they raised two children. Bob’s ‘day jobs’ included working for the Manitowoc Company in the Personnel Department, while on the side he collected antique John Deere tractors and made maple syrup. Bob Kuether passed away on November 3, 2023, at the age of 70, and is warmly remembered by friends and fellow musicians. A dancer at one of his 2015 engagements commented, “his music is so good and smooth that you feel like you are floating while dancing.” “Polkas, waltzes, and big band music is good, clean, inexpensive fun that any age group can enjoy. The dancing is fun and good exercise and I'd like to encourage people to give it a try. I'd suggest seeing any polka band, it doesn't have to be mine, and enjoy the music, dance and have a good time.” [drawn from Bob’s obituary and LinkedIn page, and a 1985 article in the Manitowoc Herald-Times] [Nuff' Said Polka, Bob Kuether, KL 141-B, recorded 1975, matrix 27011] The flip side of this disk is Snowman Polka:    • WISCONSIN POLKA: Bob Kuether Orchestra / S...   Polka Playlist:    • Polka Time