Ray Sands (1930- )
Inducted in 2000
Ray Sands has played accordion with The Polka Dots, based in Kenyon, Minnesota, since 1949. Beginning as a Municipal Band formed to play a few weekly concerts to raise funds for a new hospital in Zumbrota, Minnesota, the band decided to stay together with Art Fitch originally as Bandleader, and the band increased their popularity when Ray Joined in. Not only did they play plenty in the three-state area (Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa), but also at The Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., and internationally as well. Jason Davis featured Ray and The Polka Dots on the weekly Twin Cities KSTP-TV news feature On the Road for their 50th Anniversary in 1999.1 Garrison Keillor also featured them on A Prairie Home Companion radio show on Minnesota Public Radio.
