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Kames was 'Chicken Dance' King

If Bob Kames wasn't Milwaukee's own music man, it wasn't for lack of trying.

Kames was, after all, the man credited with the modern-day version of "Dance Little Bird," better known as "The Chicken Dance." He operated his Bob Kames Wonderful World of Music stores here for 42 years. He performed professionally, including a stint with the Lawrence Welk Orchestra. He produced his own television specials and recorded more than 70 albums.

Kames, who had struggled with Alzheimer's disease in recent years, died Wednesday of prostate cancer. He was 82.

He was born Robert Kujawa, the son of a south side alderman, Valentine Kujawa, and Esther Kujawa. He began playing the piano at 12. As a teenager, he started working for 25 cents an hour as an usher at a south side theater. He had just been named manager of the old Warner Brothers Theater when he got a draft notice from the U.S. Army.

He was serving for about a year when a chaplain heard him playing the piano at a Red Cross center at Fort Sheridan, Ill. The chaplain asked if he could play the organ.

The young private didn't know but thought he could.

That was how Kujawa got his first real gig, becoming a chapel organist and the chaplain's full-time assistant.

"He got the name 'Kames' when the announcer on Armed Forces Radio couldn't pronounce Kujawa," said his son, Bob Kames Jr.

"It's now time for the musical refrains of Bob Kames," the announcer finally said.

"That's your new name," he later told Kujawa.

Kames began playing for the troops, too, including as accompanist for a USO dancer named Edith Campbell in 1945.

"My dad really messed up her routine - he never was a real good sight-reader," Bob Jr. said.

A few things happened in the years after the war. Kujawa, a.k.a. Kames, returned home and used his mustering out pay for a down payment on a Hammond organ. He also continued to work independently, as did Campbell, who had danced into his heart.

In 1949, he composed a pop tune, calling it, "You Are My One True Love," based on a Polish folk song. Turned down by major labels, he released it through a local record company, paying for the first 5,000 records himself.

It was picked up by London Records in England, becoming a huge hit.

"He wrote that for her," Bob Jr. said. "It was a million-seller. Lawrence Welk recorded it and Frankie Yankovic . . . and others."

The couple finally married in 1955. While their legal name remained Kujawa, they were known to most as Bob and Edith Kames.

Kames went on to make his "Happy Organ" and other albums. In 1966, he produced his first television show, "The Bob Kames Family Room," and other specials followed over the next 17 years. Guests included Lawrence Welk, Hildegarde, Frankie Yankovic, Bobby Vinton and Don Ho. He also performed at Summerfest, Festa Italiana, Polish Fest, Rainbow Summer and other venues.

"If you limit your experiences, you limit your successes - and he had plenty of them on both ends," said Michael Drake, a local composer, performer and friend. Drake serves on the board for the Bob Kames Foundation, which provides grants and scholarships for music education. "He will be remembered for his genuine love for people and music."
Time with family

In the mid-1960s, Kames became gravely ill with stomach ulcers, and doctors told him that he was bleeding to death. His stomach was entirely removed."As I lay there thinking about my life, it occurred to me that I hadn't spent much time with my kids," he said in 1968. "I decided to change things, if I lived, and among other things, take them to Disneyland."

Ever the music man, the trip inspired Kames to record "It's a Small World."

"He was one of the first non-Disney people to record that song," Bob Jr. said. "My dad was never shy. He caught up with Walt Disney right on the grounds and bugged the living bejesus out of him until he sat down with my dad. I remember sitting in a room with Walt Disney and my dad, and he got Disney's permission to record the song."

As for that "Chicken Dance," even a self-promoter like Kames couldn't quite believe how it caught on.

His record producer heard the song at a German music fair in 1982 and shipped it right off to Kames, who recorded his version the same week.

"This stupid little thing, it's infectious," Kames said, speaking in 1995. "It has only two chords, it doesn't even change for the bridge. It implants the melody in people's minds - it just sticks in there. That's gotta be the secret.

"It just keeps on going. People come up to me at jobs and tell me how happy it makes them," Kames said. "You get a song like this once in a lifetime."

His wife, Edith, died in 2005. Survivors also include son John and grandchildren. A daughter, Barbara, died earlier.

Visitation will be from 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday at Krause Funeral Home, 12401 W. National Ave., New Berlin. A prayer service will be held at 5 p.m.

A brief visitation is tentatively scheduled for 10 to 11 a.m. Monday at St. Mary's Catholic Faith Community, 9520 W. Forest Home Ave., Hales Corners. The service is expected to follow that visitation.

Memorials are suggested to the Bob Kames Foundation, 4415 W. Forest Home Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53219. More information about the foundation is available at www.bobkamesfoundation.org.

# posted by Blind Orange Julius @ 9:19 AM