Time to give accordions their due

Jay Todd is either way ahead of his time or way behind. Either way, he wants to find out.

Jay is curious if there are enough people in the greater Salt Lake area to form a club dedicated to an instrument that is bigger than a harmonica, smaller than a piano, harder to play than the Lakers at the Staples Center, once made Myron Floren a household name, was played by revolutionaries in 1800s Europe where it was despised by the establishment, and is the official instrument of St. Paul, Minn.

You are correct, the accordion.

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No, it doesn't appear the accordion is making a comeback, per se. There are an estimated 75,000 accordionists in the United States — people to whom you could shout out, "Lady of Spain" or "Beer Barrel Polka" and they'd know what you're talking about — and the number is going down, not up.

But many people who used to play the accordion are apparently making a comeback.

Take the case of Jay's wife, Janet, for instance. Janet was a champion accordion player growing up in southern California during the 1950s. By the time she enrolled in college at Brigham Young University she was good enough to be on the school's traveling talent shows. In 1965 the accordion took Janet — and Jay, since they were married by now — around the world as part of a five-month BYU "Curtain Time U.S.A." tour.

Then along came children, careers, the Beatles and some unfortunate health problems — and Janet's accordion took its place at the bottom of the hall closet.

For decades it sat there, and it was not alone. All across America, accordions found their way to bottoms of hall closets as the Lawrence Welk Show went off the air and "Lady of Spain" virtually drifted out of the atmosphere.

Janet's accordion might have stayed dormant if not for an invitation that came in the mail last year to attend an accordion convention in Las Vegas.

Out of curiosity more than anything else, Jay and Janet went.

They discovered that the accordion ain't dead yet.

"We met the most wonderful people," says Jay. "They're an engaging band of people who play that challenging instrument. The music they play tends to be wholesome, uplifting, happy, joyful. It's a good contribution to society."