Louis Bashell (July 1, 1914 – December 17, 2008) was an American polka musician from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Bashell formed a five-piece band in the late 1940s; their recording of the Slovenian folk song, "Zidana Marela," ("Silk Umbrella") was successful.

RCA wanted Bashell to promote the records on a lengthy national tour, but he refused.

[2] He later did tours through the "polka belt" in northern United States from North and South Dakota through New Jersey.

[5] Bashell was a recipient of a 1987 National Heritage Fellowship awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts, which is the United States government's highest honor in the folk and traditional arts.