Matys Brothers

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The Matys Brothers were a rockabilly musical act made up of the four Matys brothers, and their sister Vera for a time, were born and raised in Chester, Pa. Philadelphia area . The quartet's first record, "Muskrat Ramble," released on the Essex Records label, was a big hit in 1954, and by 1956 the group was part of Bill Haley's talent and booking stable and recording for Decca Records.

On August 28, 1957, the Matys Brothers appeared on American Bandstand performing "Muskrat Ramble" and "Crazy Street".

In 1958, the Matys Brothers made two records for Haley's Clymax record label, one of which, "Crazy Street," later was considered a rockabilly classic. On this song and the three others recorded for Clymax, the Matys Brothers were backed by members of Bill Haley's band, The Comets (several of their recordings were also written by members of Haley's group. Later, the Matys Brothers grew to rely on their own instrumentation ( Walt the accordion,John the base and fiddle Emil the sax and Gene the drums. Gene and Emil could play any instrument you put in their hands) and began recording polka music for the Sunnyside and Select labels during the late 50s and early 60s. "Rummy Polka" was a hit for them in 1959, and the Matys Brothers scored their biggest hit in 1963, "Who Stole The Keeshka?"

In the 1960's and '70's, the brothers, John, Walt, Emil and Gene, toured the west coast. They appeared in the 1960s at The Showboat in Las Vegas, The Holiday Hotel downtown Reno, NV, and The Commercial Hotel in Elko, NV .

The brothers also incorporated comedy into their act, some rehearsed, most not. Emil married their singer Maria Carmen and they have one son, Mark. Gene married Pearl and had two sons, including Gene Jr. Emil lived in Elko, NV and died on May 5, 2008; Gene died 12 Oct 1993 in Elko.