# Bob Kames > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Bob_Kames > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Bob_Kames.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Kames > Source revision: 1274324115 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{infobox musical artist | name = Bob Kames | birth_name = Robert Kujawa | birth_place = | birth_date = {{birth date|1925|04|21}} | death_place = | death_date = {{death date and age|2008|04|09|1925|04|21}} | occupations = {{flatlist| * Musician * singer * songwriter }} | genre = Polka | instruments = {{flatlist| * Piano * organ * chimes }} | label = {{flatlist| * [Chess](/source/Chess_Records) * [King](/source/King_Records_(United_States)) * GNP }} }} '''Bob Kames''' (April 21, 1925 – April 9, 2008) was an American [musician](/source/musician) who specialized in [genres](/source/music_genre) such as [polka](/source/polka). Kames is credited with developing and popularizing the modern-day version of the song "[Dance Little Bird](/source/Dance_Little_Bird)," which is much better known by its more common name, [The Chicken Dance](/source/The_Chicken_Dance).{{cite news |first=Amy|last=Rabideu Silvers|title=Kames was 'Chicken Dance' king |url=http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=737742|work= [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel](/source/Milwaukee_Journal_Sentinel) |date=2008-04-09 |accessdate=2008-04-10}} Kames is a member of the [Wisconsin](/source/Wisconsin) Area Music Industry's Hall of Fame. Kames recorded over seventy albums throughout his career. He owned and operated a chain of music stores called Bob Kames Wonderful World of Music, based in [Milwaukee, Wisconsin](/source/Milwaukee%2C_Wisconsin). ==Early life== Kames was born '''Robert Kujawa''' to his parents Valentine Kujawa and Esther Kujawa. His father worked as an [alderman](/source/alderman) in Milwaukee's south side. He began playing the [piano](/source/piano) when he was 12 years old. Kames was drafted into the [United States Army](/source/United_States_Army) during [World War II](/source/World_War_II). He was a member of the service for approximately one year, when an [army chaplain](/source/army_chaplain) heard his playing the piano. The chaplain reportedly asked Kames if he could play the [organ](/source/organ_(music)). He did not know how to play this instrument, but decided to give it a try. As result, Kames earned his first job in music as both the Army [chapel](/source/chapel) organist, as well as the chaplain's full-time [assistant](/source/Personal_assistant). Kames earned his stage name, Bob Kames, when an announcer on [Armed Forces Radio](/source/Armed_Forces_Radio) could not pronounce Kujawa. Kames also began playing for [United States](/source/United_States) troops during the war. For example, he performed as an [accompanist](/source/accompanist) [USO](/source/USO) dancer named Edith Campbell in 1945. Kames and Campbell later married in 1955. Their legal married name remained Kujawa, though the couple became known as Bob and Edith Kames. ==Career== Kames returned to Milwaukee after World War II. He bought a [Hammond organ](/source/Hammond_organ) and continued to record independently. He composed his first pop song, ''[You Are My One True Love](/source/You_Are_My_One_True_Love)'', in 1949, which was based on a [Polish](/source/Poland) [folk song](/source/folk_song). Kames released the song through a Wisconsin [record company](/source/record_company), as he was rejected by the major [record labels](/source/record_labels). He paid for the first 5,000 copies himself. His luck changed when the song was picked up by London Records, an [English](/source/England) record label. The song became a hit, selling over a million copies, and was later recorded by [Frankie Yankovic](/source/Frankie_Yankovic) and [Lawrence Welk](/source/Lawrence_Welk). Kames' [music producer](/source/music_producer) first heard "Dance Little Bird" at a [German](/source/Germany) music fair in 1982. The producer sent Kames a copy of the song, who recorded his own version, known as "The Chicken Dance". He released it in 1982.{{cite news |title='Chicken Dance' Creator Dead At 82 |url=http://www.wisn.com/entertainment/15840255/detail.html |work=[WISN-TV](/source/WISN-TV) |date=2008-04-09 |accessdate=2008-04-13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718062607/http://www.wisn.com/entertainment/15840255/detail.html |archive-date=2011-07-18 }} The song hit solid gold when it was released in 1983 in [Poland](/source/Poland), selling 300,000 copies. He received 2 of the 35 cents from each sale. Since he could not take the money out of the country, he donated all of it to for a [relief fund](/source/humanitarian_aid). The success of the song stunned Kames. He commented in a 1995 [interview](/source/interview), "This stupid little thing, it's infectious. It has only two [chords](/source/chord_(music)), it doesn't even change for the bridge. It implants the [melody](/source/melody) in people's minds—it just sticks in there. That's gotta be the secret...It just keeps on going. People come up to me at jobs and tell me how happy it makes them. You get a song like this once in a lifetime." Kames released a string of successful albums, including ''Happy Organ''. His recording success eventually led to [television](/source/television). Kames began producing his first [television show](/source/television_show), ''[The Bob Kames Family Room](/source/The_Bob_Kames_Family_Room)'', in 1966. He made several family-oriented television specials over the next 17 years. His guests included [Bobby Vinton](/source/Bobby_Vinton), [Don Ho](/source/Don_Ho), [Hildegarde](/source/Hildegarde), [Frankie Yankovic](/source/Frankie_Yankovic) and Lawrence Welk. he also performed for a short time with the Lawrence Welk Orchestra. Kames performed at numerous festivals, including [Summerfest](/source/Summerfest), [Festa Italiana](/source/Festa_Italiana), [Polish Fest](/source/Polish_Fest), and Rainbow Summer. Kames was hospitalized with a serious case of [stomach ulcer](/source/stomach_ulcer)s in the mid-1960s. Doctors had to [completely remove](/source/gastrectomy) his [stomach](/source/stomach). In 1968, Kames took his family to [Disneyland](/source/Disneyland) following his recovery. His trip to Disneyland inspired Kames to record the [theme song](/source/theme_song) to the Disney ride [It's a Small World](/source/It's_a_Small_World). Kames personally asked [Walt Disney](/source/Walt_Disney) for permission to record the song, which Disney granted. Kames became one of the first non-Disney employees to record a version of the song. This was absolutely incredible at the time, as Walt Disney passed in December 1966. Kames and wife, would dine with Frankie Yankovic and his Yanks at the Barth's and the Bridge Restaurant in Cedarburg, Wisconsin a suburban village north of Milwaukee in 1993 and dine on steak and lobster, known as 'surf and turf', which was most incredible if you are to believe that Kames had his entire stomach removed, from ulcers. Simply, a second miracle. ==Death== Kames suffered from [Alzheimer's disease](/source/Alzheimer's_disease) and [prostate cancer](/source/prostate_cancer) when he died on April 9, 2008.{{cite news|first=Amy|last=Rabideu Silvers|title=Bob Kames, of chicken dance fame, dies|url=http://www.jsonline.com/watch/?watch=1&date=4/9/2008&id=38202|work=[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel](/source/Milwaukee_Journal_Sentinel)|date=2008-04-09|accessdate=2008-04-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080415180335/http://www.jsonline.com/watch/?watch=1&date=4%2F9%2F2008&id=38202|archive-date=2008-04-15|url-status=dead}} He was survived by his son, Bob Jr, John; and his grandchildren, Brian, Wendy and Rebecca. Kames' wife, Edith, died in 2005, and daughter Barbara died in 2001. ==Discography== Kames recorded over 70 albums in his career. *''Bob Kames in a German Beer Garden'', 1960 (Chess)[{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p14903/discography|pure_url=yes}} Bob Kames discography]; [Allmusic](/source/Allmusic); Retrieved April 13, 2008 *''Dance Little Bird'', 1992 (GNP) *''Melodies of Love'', 1995 (GNP) *''Songs I'm Sure You Remember'', 1996 (King) *''The Enchanting Organ of Bob Kames'', 1996 (King) *''Dad & the Kids (Play for Dancing)'' (GNP) *''Fun & Fitness Over 50'' (GNP) *''The All Stars of Polkaland USA'' (King) ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== *[http://www.bobkamesfoundation.org Bob Kames Foundation] {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Kames, Bob}} Category:1925 births Category:2008 deaths Category:Polka musicians Category:Musicians from Wisconsin Category:United States Army soldiers Category:United States Army personnel of World War II Category:Musicians from Milwaukee Category:20th-century American musicians --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Bob Kames](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Kames) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Kames?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.