Jerry Dostal
(1908-2001)
Inducted 1997
Drummer Jerry Dostal, known as “The King of Bohemian Music” started entertaining in the early 1930s and started his own eight-member band, based in Silver Lake and then Glencoe, Minnesota. Jerry Dostal and His Orchestra entertained all over Minnesota and in many other states, with the longest stint playing every night for three months. Jerry believes he led the first old-tyme band that used a “sleeper bus” for touring on the road, which he had built by a company in Chaska. In 1940, Jerry and his wife Ethel purchased the Swan Lake Pavilion and later renamed it the Pla-Mor Ballroom. The Dostal Band did live broadcasts on many stations over the years, and the band’s first recording, “Pla-Mor Waltz”, was recorded in 1948 and released on 78rpm record. Jerry Dostal and His Polka Band released two singles for major-label Coral Records. Jerry played with many other area bands over the years and considered himself fortunate to have had such dedication from the musicians he played with.
