# WICKED COOL RECORDS and CLEVELAND INTERNATIONAL RECORDS Partner On Release of Historic RONNIE AND THE SAVOYS Single “Domino”

- Link: https://www.nyrdcast.com/wicked-cool-records-and-cleveland-international-records-partner-on-release-of-historic-ronnie-and-the-savoys-single-domino/
- Published: 2024-01-04T17:00:00-06:00
- Author: Eugene Tierney

### **WICKED COOL RECORDS and CLEVELAND INTERNATIONAL RECORDS Partner On Release of Historic Out-Of-Print RONNIE AND THE SAVOYS Single “Domino (with Steve “Poppy” Popovich on Vocals) and B-Side “Slappin’ Rods and Leaky Oil”**

#### **Featured as “Coolest Song In the World” on Little Steven’s Underground Garage This Week**

#### **Read the feature on 󠀁[Goldmine Magazine](https://email.cloud.secureclick.net/c/6813?id=20976967.54369.1.9a6e21cc716da84df2eba136314929ab)󠁿**

**[Buy/Stream “Domino” b/w “Slappin’ Rods and Leaky Oil” Here](https://email.cloud.secureclick.net/c/6813?id=20976967.54370.1.327effa9caa1ebf4a587a17dbeb155a2)**

**Wicked Cool Records** and **Cleveland International Records** have partnered to
release an EXCLUSIVE BRAND NEW LIMITED EDITION 7″ Vinyl of **Ronnie and the Savoys**
previously out-of-print single **“Domino” (b/w “Slappin’ Rods and Leaky Oil”)**.
The tracks were originally recorded in 1958 at Cleveland Recording Company in Cleveland,
Ohio.

**Stream/Buy “Domino” b/w “Slappin’ Rods and Leaky Oil” Here:** [https://orcd.co/dominoslappinrods](https://email.cloud.secureclick.net/c/6813?id=20976967.54372.1.bc2f7c7155b647518aca50a768aea367)

Wicked Cool Records founder Stevie Van Zandt says, _“Steve Popovich was one of my
lifelong best friends. He signed the Asbury Jukes among other things. I knew he 
had a band when he was young, but he hadn’t mentioned that he’d recorded with that
band. So I was thrilled when his son Stevie Junior not only discovered the record,
but that the record turned out to be so great!”_

[⌊Ronnie and the Savoys single cover⌉⌊Ronnie and the Savoys single cover⌉[

**A Side:**
Domino

**B Side:**
Slappin’ Rods & Leaky Oil

Domino
Writers: S. Popovich, R. ZupancichPub : West Side Publishing House ASCAP

Slappin’ Rods & Leaky Oil
Writers: R. ZupancichPub : West Side Publishing House 
ASCAP

**Band Members:**
Steve “Poppy” Popovich: Lead Singer, bassRon Zupancich: Drums,
background vocalsBernard Zupancich: PianoJim Sellers: Lead guitarTim Tokish: SaxophoneThomas
Kancheck

Mastered by John Naclerio @ Nada Recording
Produced by Rex Dennis

**About Ronnie and the Savoys:**
Ronnie and the Savoys worked hard, something which
reflected their blue collar roots. Drummer Ron Zupancich grew up in a coal mining
town in Pennsylvania and quickly grew to love polka music — especially the albums
of Frankie Yankovic, but also, big band — and before long, rock and roll, thanks
to James Brown and Little Richard.

In his teens, he formed an important musical bond with bassist and vocalist Steve
Popovich, himself a product of another coal mining area elsewhere in PA. As Zupancich
recollects, it was a crucial meeting — Steve had been playing Croatian music in 
a Tamburitza band while also singing in a high school quartet, The Satellites. With
the addition of Popovich, the drummer’s band, initially known as The Polka Kings,
finally had the versatility to move into playing rock and roll — and eventually,
rhythm and blues. Whether he was playing electric bass or the more traditional acoustic
stand-up bass, there was nothing Popovich couldn’t handle.

[⌊Ronnie and the Savoys⌉⌊Ronnie and the Savoys⌉[

Courtesy of Cleveland International Records

Paired with Zupancich, they were a devastating rhythm section. The Polka Kings, 
eventually to become known as Ronnie and the Savoys, were loaded for bear and then
some.

By the end of the ‘50s, they had relocated to Cleveland, Ohio. They had already 
performed on Yankovic’s Cleveland-based television show, Polka Varieties and were
attracting label interest. The five-piece band entered Cleveland Recording and laid
down tracks for two songs, “Domino” and “Slappin’ Rods and Leaky Oil.”

Largely instrumental, “Slappin’ Rods and Leaky Oil” is infectiously energetic, driven
by a swaggering piano part and relentless backbeat that makes the running time, 
barely two minutes in length, all too short.

“Domino,” on the other hand, has both a story — and a serious groove. “We were just
thrilled to hear it on the radio,” Popovich later told author Carlo Wolff, regarding
the airplay that “Slappin’ Rods” received.

Ronnie and the Savoys built a solid profile in Cleveland, performing nearly every
night at Leo’s Cafe, a blue collar bar in a local Polish neighborhood. Larger venues
would follow and although long-term success proved to not be in the cards, the group’s
important output has now been preserved thanks to Cleveland International Records
and Wicked Cool Records.

Executive produced by Steve “Poppy” Popovich & Ron Zupancich

**Cleveland International Records:[Website](https://email.cloud.secureclick.net/c/6813?id=20976967.54379.1.c4caa46ee28f8f6238fdee90388640fa)
| [Facebook](https://email.cloud.secureclick.net/c/6813?id=20976967.54380.1.984c434ef35879e1a34af8b37758a56e)
| [Instagram](https://email.cloud.secureclick.net/c/6813?id=20976967.54381.1.15181f4bc7c90338057a76d02641d0ae)
| [Twitter](https://email.cloud.secureclick.net/c/6813?id=20976967.54382.1.019ae8b387870b469c5cd36a7f611758)
| [Youtube](https://email.cloud.secureclick.net/c/6813?id=20976967.54383.1.e26aacba516a6de45f157059626a165c)

[⌊Wicked Cool Records⌉⌊Wicked Cool Records⌉[

**[Facebook](https://email.cloud.secureclick.net/c/6813?id=20976967.54373.1.c60d95cf9ab6a684d8b518881f642ed9)
| [Twitter](https://email.cloud.secureclick.net/c/6813?id=20976967.54374.1.5e823e30b8ecafc12281c5853fa18ffe)
| [Instagram](https://email.cloud.secureclick.net/c/6813?id=20976967.54375.1.4df69697b5b2b453564e586f4aa0c2d4)
| [Youtube](https://email.cloud.secureclick.net/c/6813?id=20976967.54376.1.4aaff85a75039c80d4d4cf6ca80dd840)
| [Bandcamp](https://email.cloud.secureclick.net/c/6813?id=20976967.54377.1.ee0acd2030cd7a67bc18cb16ed2112c6)
| [Spotify](https://email.cloud.secureclick.net/c/6813?id=20976967.54378.1.0e3f6304dcedbd5fadea040c5dbac42d)**

[⌊Earshot Media⌉⌊Earshot Media⌉[

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