"Goodtime Charlie Polka" Uncle Julius
inaudible German
, eins, zwei.
Jim Kirchstein
Right around '46, '47, which found me still in high school, I went over to Fish Lake Dance Hall one night, and on the stage was Uncle Julius. And he was dressed as Charlie Chaplin, that kind of gear. He put together all the best musicians he could find. And they sounded fantastic. I kind of got hooked on Old Time music right then. When I did get into the music business a few years later, I realized that that music will never grow old.
Narrator
After serving four years in the Navy, Jim Kirchstein came home to study electrical engineering at UW-Madison. I arranged to have all my classes in the morning so I could go back to Sauk City. My brother built a toy shop in Sauk City, and he let me use the basement to set up a record store. I got my degree in '58. And I kind of stayed with the music business rather than go to work, so to speak.
"Midnight Express" Willie Tremaine's Thunderbirds
Narrator
Buying some used recording equipment and a machine to cut the grooves of a master disc, Kirchstein produced his first record for a local band. I used a German sign on the record as a way my little way of discrediting the military in Germany of using that sign. And I got a call from RCA in Chicago, our contact there. He said that we can't use that German sign anymore. We're getting too many raised eyebrows. He said, "I got you a re-order here. What label should I use? What name?"
projector hums and clicks
Narrator
And I often admired a cousin of my wife's from New Mexico, who was a teacher. Her name was Cuca. A big break came when Kirchstein recorded a song by a Madison band called the Fendermen. And it was called "Mule Skinner Blues." You mean to tell me that you haven't heard it? No, I haven't heard it. Here, play it. It's really terrific, Suzy. Wait'll you hear it. And I had a little room-- not a very big room-- but that was the first studio-- and re-recorded the "Mule Skinner Blues." I had 300 records made and circulated them through all radio stations that I could find. In those days, they would play your record. Excuse me, ladies. I have a special request.
"Mule Skinner Blues" the Fendermen
Narrator
Good morning, Captain Good morning to you Hah-ha-ha, ha-ha-ha Do you need another mule skinner Down on your new mud run Ha-ha, ha-ha, ha-ha-ha-ha And I got a call from Lincoln, Nebraska. Disc jockey, he said, "I'm getting so many requests I'm getting sick of it." Hee, hee, hee, hee, hee - And then when all of a sudden Lindy Shannon from the La Crosse radio station called, and he said, "I think you've got something here." Well, I'm an old... News of the song reached a music promoter with national connections, who leased it from Cuca Records. And all of a sudden, the boys appeared on Dick Clark. That helped a lot because the record broke. It started climbing the charts, and I think it was around 2 million sales is when we were kind of wondering where our royalties were. You promised you'd let me look at the books tonight. Why, Proctor, you know I wouldn't cheat you out of a penny. The books are right here. Come back sometime when I'm not so busy.
Kirchstein
We had to litigate in order to get our money. Out of the $50,000 I had coming, after I'd paid the attorney, I had $9,000 left. But I used that $9,000 to build a studio, and Cuca Records was off and running. Doc DeHaven was our first album.
"Just Off State Street" Doc DeHaven
upbeat Dixieland jazz music
Kirchstein
Every little town in Wisconsin had a rock band. Every little town had a polka band. And we recorded them both.
"Broken Wine Glass Polka" Verne Meisner
"Sidewinder" Vibra-Tones
Kirchstein
It was one thing after another. We had bands coming in from all over.
"Sneeky Pete Polka" Verne Meisner
Narrator
To deliver records faster, Kirchstein set up his own record-pressing plant in Sauk City. We had an open-door policy where we didn't charge for recording. He would let bands come into his studio, and he would donate the studio and his time as an engineer to record them for free because he would make his money on the back end through pressing. There's a lot of people that traveled from every corner of Wisconsin to take advantage of that. Toward the end of the '60s, we had released over a thousand records, mostly rock 'n roll.
"Gonna Take My Guitar" B Hodge
Narrator
I'm gonna take my guitar and leave this town I'm gonna find me a new place to hang around Baby, I ain't comin' back for a long long spell
"Slippin' And Slidin'" The Citations
surfer rock
Narrator
And then, of course, there's bluegrass.
"Bluegrass Breakdown" Bluegrass Hoppers
Narrator
He was recording blues from Chicago.
"Dust My Broom" Earl Hooker
the Blues
Narrator
Cuca became well-known for recording the "Old Time Music" of Wisconsin's polka and ethnic musicians.
"Lovers Waltz" The Jolly Swiss Boys
Nate Gibson
He was recording Czech bands, German, Polish, Slovenian, Norwegian, Swiss. All these different groups were coming through.
"Herdsman's Dream" Edelweiss Stars
Nate Gibson
Yodel-oh-ee-dee Diddly-odel-oh-ee-dee Diddly-odel-oh-ee-dee Yodel-oh-ee-dee-yodel-oh-dee Yodel-oh-ee-dee Diddly-odel-oh-ee-dee He was recording a snapshot of what Wisconsin sounded like in the 1960s and a lot of it.
"Long Hot Summer" Betty Moore vocalizing
Nate Gibson
Oh, hot summer
Chorus
Too much to pay - My own way
"Do Lord" Chieftones
Chorus
Lord, oh, good lord Oh, do you remember me? Look away beyond the blue
"Home Style Polka" Roger Bright
energetic polka
"Spring" Birdlegs and Pauline
both
I feel that spring is coming on I feel it all in my bones
"Little Miss Brown Eyes" Vilas Craig
both
Little Miss Brown Eyes I really do believe You don't care for me at all
"Saxophone Schottische" Dick Rogers
slow polka
"Little Dobro Polka" Goose Island Ramblers
both
"Old German Polka" Syl Groeschl
Narrator
In the 1970s, people began copying vinyl records [needle scratches LP) onto audio cassettes. And as record sales fell, Cuca-- like many independent labels-- began to fade away. Eventually, Jim Kirchstein donated master recordings-- and the Wisconsin music they preserve-- to the Mills Music Library at UW-Madison.
Kirchstein
I liked the idea of having these recordings of all these bands-- they were almost all from Wisconsin-- that I could make sure would never get lost.
"Swiss Echoes" Betty Vetterli & Martha Bernet
Kirchstein
And the music I don't think will ever grow old.
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