From its start, the label was about Polish music but focused on the polka genre. "The polka, to me, has a very powerful dance rhythm. It makes people feel happy, and I like to see people happy," Walter Dana said. Dana transformed the Eastern European polka by increasing the tempo, and adding trumpet and saxophone sections to the traditional instrumentation set. This was the label's way of appealing to both traditional ethnic audiences and broadening its appeal to new listeners. Fall of 1948, the label significantly expanded its catalog when it acquired
Syrena Records' catalog from Wlodziemierz Falencki, who shipped large numbers of Syrena masters from Poland due to expectations of a war. All of the label's releases had been in the 78 rpm format until 1949, when they issued their first
LP record. As major labels started losing interest in ethnic music, the label was still able to add several top bands to its roster.
Walt Solek, previously signed to
Columbia and
Victor, made a huge hit with "Who Stole the Kishka?" which appealed to Polish-American audiences and the general public. 1952 can be seen as the label's biggest year. A poll by
Billboard ranked it third for income among all record labels, above labels such as
Capitol and
Decca. Dana felt its brand was generally well-enough recognized that they dropped the Broadway imprint and began also using the Dana label for pop releases. In July 1959,
Jerry Blaine's company moved its headquarters to a new building on
West 47th Street in New York, along with its now sister companies
Jubilee and
Josie. In 1961, Dana Records' Frank Wojnarowski's
Matka had a million-selling record. Wojnarowski had been with the label since the early days of the company and helped popularize the east-coast polka sound which appealed to their target audience. However, Matka was more of a hit among the Polish-American audience, making its
gold record certification unusual. By 1988, Dana Records moved their offices to
Miami Beach, Florida. Dana used unusual marketing techniques, common in other smaller labels, including partnering with Manischewitz Wine Company, naming one of their songs "Wine Polka," and supplying DJs with bottles. ==Influence==