Dreams do come true, even for someone who couldn't speak English and never had a music lesson or much of an education.

One time I introduced my orchestra as the Shampoo Music Makers instead of the Champagne Music Makers.

On the stage of the Italian Terrace Room in the William Penn Hotel in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1938 ... the place where Champagne Music was born.

I played a Spaniard. I looked about as Spanish as any other fair-skinned German.

I like clean ladies and nice ladies.

For a while we had trouble trying to get the sound of a champagne cork exploding out of the bottle. I solved the problem by sticking my finger in my mouth and popping it out.

I knew nothing of the life of a real musician, of course, but somehow I seemed to see myself standing in front of great crowds of people, playing my accordion.