Special Recognition Award: Chuck Pasek (1919-1996) & The KEYC-TV Bandwagon Show
Special Recognition Award: 1994
Chuck Pasek never played a musical instrument but always loved old-tyme music. He was born in Webster, Minnesota and graduated from Faribault High School. Pasek joined The United States Navy at the beginning of WWII and spent the next four years aboard a submarine in the Pacific Ocean. Afterward Chuck attended and graduated from The Beck School for Radio in Minneapolis. He was hired as a broadcaster at KYSM radio in Mankato, and did a live music show with Spike Haskell and The Jolly Millers every Sunday afternoon. Pasek was eventually hired at KEYC-TV in Mankato in 1961. His boss at the time asked if he knew anything about old-tyme music, and would he host the Bandwagon Show? The rest is history. Chuck hosted the program for over 30 years, helping to create the longest-running music television program worldwide. Pasek retired from hosting Bandwagon in 1995. A huge farewell party was given in his honor at The Kato Ballroom in Mankato, with many bands and Bandwagon fans attending. Chuck said often that, “The Bandwagon show was the happy time of my life”.
