Central Wisconsin polka great Jerry Goetsch, founder of Jerry's Music in Wausau, dies at 85

Jerry Goetsch, musician and band leader, member of the Polka Music Hall of Fame and founder of the Wausau retail store Jerry's Music, died Tuesday. He was 85 years old.

Goetsch had been declining health for some time, and suffered from dementia, said his son, Terry Goetsch.

At its zenith, the Jerry Goetsch Orchestra, the polka band he started while he was a student at Wausau High School, packed ballrooms and dance halls across central Wisconsin and beyond, and spurred crowds of people to spin and sashay on wooden floors to tunes such as "Roll Out the Barrel," "Sentimental Journey" and "I Stopped for a Beer," written by Goetsch himself. Tapping into post-World II exuberance and confidence, the Jerry Goetsch Orchestra was a musical institution for 42 years, playing its finale on New Year's Eve in 1993 at the Rib River Ballroom.

Jerry Goetsch told the Wausau Daily Herald in July 1992 that he figured he played more than 3,000 live performances, appeared on 1,500 television shows and traveled more than a quarter of a million miles as a polka band leader. He was inducted into the Polka Music Hall of Fame, managed by the International Polka Association, in 1999.

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Being inducted into the Hall of Fame "was a complete surprise," Jerry Goetsch told the Wausau Daily Herald at the time. "Never in my life did I think it would happen."

Jerry Goetsch was the same kind of guy as a father, orchestra leader and business owner, Terry Goetsch said. 

"He was very likable. He had a lot of friends," he said. "He just had that personality, you know? He grew up on a farm, and it was a time when everybody helped everybody out."

Music was always a part of Jerry Goetsch's life. Jerry's father played in a band, and his brother and sister were musicians as well. When he was a young teen, he wanted to be like the polka greats of the time, Romy Gosz, The Six Fat Dutchmen and Whoopie John, according to his biography for the Polka Music Hall of Fame.

Jerry Goetsch was a student at Wausau High School when he formed the Jerry Goetsch Orchestra, and the group started playing during noon hours. Soon the band was playing weddings and making recordings. In 1960, the group played live shows on a Wausau radio station. In the mid-1960s, the band started doing television shows that aired on WSAW-TV 7 on Sunday mornings, often leading into Packers games. 

"On Sunday mornings, you went to church, watched Jerry Goetsch and then watched the Packers game," said Terry Goetsch, who co-owns the music store his father opened. "Even today, I don't know how many times I hear grandchildren or children say that their mom and dad, or grandparents, used to polka dance right in the living room while the show was on."

For a time, Terry Goetsch played trumpet in his father's orchestra. He saw how his father's personality and music set a happy and hopping tone for Saturday nights. 

"Everybody knew everybody, and it was such a fun time," Terry Goetsch said.

A big part of that atmosphere was Jerry Goetsch's outgoing and friendly personality, said Dick Lodholz, who is co-owner of Jerry's Music with Terry Goetsch. Lodholz started working at the store about 53 years ago when Goetsch lured him from another shop.

"His personality was always mellow. He was always even-keeled. He almost reminded me of a jolly Santa Claus," Lodholz said. "Of course, his old-time band was really, really popular. ... I would say he was a local legend."

Keith Uhlig: 715-845-0651 or kuhlig@gannett.com; on Twitter@UhligK.