Joey Miskulin

Joseph Michael Miskulin (born January 6, 1949) is an American accordionist and producer. In a music career spanning more than four decades, Joey Miskulin has collaborated with a range of artists including Johnny Cash, John Denver, Emmylou Harris, Paul McCartney, Ricky Skaggs, Ricky Van Shelton, Andy Williams, Frankie Yankovic, as well as many others. He is a performer, studio musician, producer and pedagogue.

Joey Miskulin
Joey Miskulin performing as "Joey the CowPolka King"
Background information
Birth name	Joseph Michael Miskulin
Also known as	Joey the CowPolka King
Born	(1949-01-06) January 6, 1949 (age 76)
Genres	Western swing
Occupations	Singer songwriter musician
Instruments	Vocals accordion
Years active	1960–present
Website	www.ridersinthesky.com

Early life

As a child, the only child of Slovenian and Croatian parents,^[1] in Chicago, Miskulin displayed early signs of musical prodigy, spontaneously showing an interest in the accordion by the time he was four.^[2] Beginning music training a year later, Joey was performing professionally by age eleven with the Ronnie Lee Band, and had his first recording produced by Roman Possedi at age twelve.^[2] A year later, the boy would meet Frankie Yankovic, forming a personal and professional relationship with the man known as "America's Polka King" that would last a lifetime.

Performing career

Miskulin toured the United States with Yankovic as his featured accordionist for six years, writing and arranging songs between performances.^[3]

In the 1990s, he rejoined Riders In The Sky, and with them is billed as "Joey the Cowpolka King".

Further reading

Dolgan, Bob (2006). America's Polka King: The Real Story of Frankie Yankovic. Cleveland, OH: Gray & Company, Publishers. ISBN 978-1-59851-026-3