Johnny Helget
(1939-2022)
Inducted 2018
Johnny Louis Helget, the youngest son of John and Mary Helget, was born in New Ulm, Minnesota. When Johnny was eight, Mary taught him what she knew on a button accordion that she already owned. Johnny’s dad bought Johnny a double-reed concertina when he was 13 and told him that if he learned to play that one, he’d buy him an even better concertina. Soon Johnny had a triple-reed, Pearl King concertina. When Johnny was 15 he worked for a farmer so he could earn enough money to buy his own Hengel Concertina, considered the highest quality instrument ever made. Helget’s purchase was the third concertina built by renowned New Ulm builder Christy Hengel. That same year he got his first job playing his new Hengel Concertina at a tavern in New Ulm for two dollars and “a little brandy”. Johnny had to lay on his back to open up his concertina all the way because the room was packed. He joined the United States National Guard and took his concertina to California with him. While there, Hengel learned a tune from a young Mexican man who played guitar. Johnny arranged the tune into the old-tyme music style, and it became popular as “The New California Polka.” Johnny was known for being entertaining as well as a great musician. He would do somersaults while playing, pull his concertina apart as far as possible, and slide off chairs onto the floor. Because of his antics, Christy made many repairs to Johnny’s concertina over the years. Johnny played ballrooms all over the Upper Midwest in Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Iowa, and South Dakota. In Minnesota he was popular at Polka Days in New Ulm during the 1950s and ’60s, George’s Ballroom in New Ulm, The Lakeside Ballroom in Waconia, The Pla-Mor Ballroom in Glencoe, at The Lake Marion Ballroom in Brownton, and at Polka Days in Gibbon from the 1970s through 2000s. A duo with Johnny on concertina and Cliff Hermel on drums was so popular in the Pumpernickel Room at the Gibbon Ballroom that people would stand on tables to watch them roll on the floor while playing “The New California Polka.” Johnny recorded close to a dozen albums, including his first album entitled H & H Polka Nuts featuring Johnny and Cliff’s duo. Behind the scene Johnny’s wife LaVonne did the scheduling, bookwork, and made sandwiches for the band members. Johnny shared his musical talent as a teacher to other musicians, and concertina brothers Peter & Paul Wendinger were some of his students. Johnny composed originals and arranged other polkas, and liked to encourage young concertina players. Johnny’s last album entitled Hell Bent for Helget featured young local concertina musicicians such as Dain Moldan, Nate Fredricksen, Adam Munsterman, Dave Krambeer, Johnny’s grandson Nick Stadick, along with piano player Lisa Moldan. As he got older, he’d ask young musicians to join him while playing longer gigs, and with grandson Nick they traveled to different jobs and senior centers together. Johnny was honored in 2016 by being inducted into the World Concertina Hall of Fame.
