Jimmy Sturr
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Jimmy Sturr | |
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 Sturr in 2009 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | James William Sturr Jr. |
| Born | September 25, 1941 Warwick, New York, United States |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | Instrumentalist, bandleader |
| Instrument(s) | Trumpet, clarinet, saxophone |
| Labels | Rounder, Vanguard, Starr |
| Website | www |
James W. Sturr Jr. is an American polka musician, trumpeter, clarinetist, saxophonist and leader of Jimmy Sturr & His Orchestra. His recordings have won 18 out of the 24 Grammy Awards given for Best Polka Album. Sturr's orchestra is on the Top Ten List of the All-Time Grammy Awards, and has acquired more Grammy nominations than anyone in the history of musical polka awards.[1]
Touring history
Sturr and his orchestra have performed at Carnegie Hall,[2] Lincoln Center in New York City, Yankee Stadium [3] and the Palace of Culture in Warsaw, Poland.[4] When touring, the band rides in Jimmy's 45-foot customized tour bus, previously owned by Billy Ray Cyrus.[1]
Radio show
Sturr hosts a syndicated radio show on stations including WTBQ[5] in his hometown of Florida, New York, the station he once owned. He also has a weekly radio show on the Rural Radio channel on SirusXM.[6]
Discography
- All American Polka Festival
- All in My Love for You (1990 Grammy)
- The Best of Jimmy Sturr and His Orchestra
- The Big Band Polka Sound
- Born to Polka (1989 Grammy)
- Come on and Dance (Live from RFD-TV) (2014)
- Come Share the Wine (2008 Grammy)
- Dance with Me (1999 Grammy)
- Double Magic
- First Class Polkas
- Forget Me Never
- Gone Polka with Willie Nelson, Brenda Lee (2002 Grammy)
- Grammy Gold
- Greatest Hits of Polka
- I Love to Polka (1996 Grammy)
- I Remember Warsaw (1987 Grammy)
- A Jimmy Sturr Christmas
- Let the Whole World Sing (2009 Grammy)
- Let's Polka 'Round with Charlie Daniels, Bela Fleck, Boots Randolph (2004 Grammy)
- Life's a Polka
- Live at Gilley's! (1992 Grammy)
- Living on Polka Time with Bill Anderson, Flaco Jiménez (1998 Grammy)
- Most Requested Hits
- Not Just Another Polka
- Please Have Them Play a Polka Just for Me (1988 Grammy)
- Polka! All Night Long with Willie Nelson (1997 Grammy)
- Polka Christmas
- Polka Christmas in My Home Town
- Polka Cola (Music That Refreshes) with Bill Anderson (2009)
- Polka Fever (1978)
- Polka in Paradise with Bobby Vinton (2007 Grammy)
- Polka is My Life
- Polka Party
- Polkapalooza
- Primetime Polkas
- Pure Country
- Pure Polka
- Rock 'N' Polka
- Saturday Night Polka
- Shake, Rattle and Polka! (2006 Grammy)
- Stir Up a Musical Mix
- Sturr It Up
- Sturr Struck
- Top of the World with Arlo Guthrie, Rhonda Vincent (2003 Grammy)
- Touched by a Polka with Mel Tillis (2001 Grammy)
- Tribute to the Legends of Polka Music
- When It's Polka Time at Your House (1991 Grammy)
Band members
Main Band Members
- Jimmy Sturr - Leader, Vocals, Clarinet, Saxophone, Drums, and Trumpet
- Rick Henly - Trumpet
- Bill Ash - Trumpet
- Kenny Harbus - Trumpet & Vocals
- Jim Perry - Clarinet, Alto Saxophone, and Tenor Saxophone
- Nick DeVito - Clarinet & Alto Saxophone
- Johnny Karas - Tenor Saxophone & Vocals
- Ron Oswanski - Piano & Accordion
- Frank Urbanovitch - Violin & Vocals
- Rich Pavasaris - Bass Guitar
- Rich Berends - Drums
Other Band Members/Reoccurring Members
- Tom Conklin - Bus Driver
- Jim Dixon - Bus Driver
- Gus Kosior - Manager & Bus Driver
- Barbara James - Assistant Manager
- Al Piatkowski - Accordion
- Nick Koryluk - Accordion
- Joe Mariany - Clarinet and Saxophone
- Ray Barno - Clarinet, Alto Saxophone, and Baritone Saxophone
- Chris Caffery - Guitar
- Jim Uzwack- Sound engineer
Past Band Members
- William “Bill” Hulle - Bass[7]
- Hank Golis - Trumpet
- Kevin Krauth - Trumpet & Vocals
- Al Noble - Trumpet
- Ben Poole - Trumpet
- Eric Parks - Trumpet
- Paul Ketterer - Trumpet
- Dana Sylvander - Trombone
- Dennis Coyman - Drums
- Bill Langan - Bass Guitar
- Mike Ralff - Bass Guitar
- Dave Kowalski - Guitar
- Eddie Burton - Guitar
- Lou Pallo - Guitar
- Kevin Chase - Guitar
- Walt Cunningham - Strings & Banjo
- Ed Goldberg - Piano & Bass
- Jeff Hoffman - Piano
- Jeff Miller - Piano
- Keith Slattery - Piano
- Lenny Filipowski - Piano
- Dennis Polisky - Clarinet & Alto Saxophone
- Greg Dolecki - Clarinet & Alto Saxophone
- Joe Magnuszewski - Clarinet & Alto Saxophone
- Peter Kargul - Violin
- Ryan Joseph - Violin
- Steve Wnuk - Violin
- Gene Bartkiewicz - Accordion
- Wally Czerniawski - Accordion
- Darlene Morrow - Violin
- Mark Zaki - Violin
- Steve Swiader - Accordion
- Gennarose - Vocals
- Lance Wing - Vocals
- Lindsey Webster - Vocals
- John Doolan - Equipment Manager
- Bryan Doolan - Roadie
- Thomas 'Tom' Karas - Accordion/keyboard (1983-1989)[8]
References
- ^ a b Sisario, Ben (February 5, 2006). "The Polka King Rolls Out the Barrel for the 19th Time". The New York Times. Retrieved October 18, 2010.
- ^ "Performance History Search".
- ^ "The pitcher who could polka". ampoleagle.com. Retrieved 2021-01-08.
- ^ http://fultonhistory.com/highlighter/viewer/?file=http%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FNewpapers%2520Disk2%2FAuburn%2520NY%2520Citizen%2520Advertiser%2FAuburn%2520NY%2520Citizen%2520Advertiser%25201985.pdf%2FNewspaper%2520Auburn%2520NY%2520Citizen%2520Advertiser%25201985%2520-%25204564.PDF&highlightsFile=http%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2Fhighlighter%2Fhits%2F7d820ff77de8cd87885f5f4af0c858a5#page=1
- ^ WTBQ
- ^ "Weekly Schedule - Rural Radio". SiriusXM. Retrieved 2017-04-08.
- ^ "Times Herald-Record Obituaries in Middletown, NY | Times Herald-Record".
- ^ "Thomas Karas – Deceased Category – Inducted 2004 – IPA Polkas".
External links
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
Categories:
- Polka musicians
- Grammy Award winners
- Singers from New York (state)
- 1941 births
- Living people
- American saxophonists
- American male saxophonists
- American clarinetists
- American male singers
- New York (state) Democrats
- People from Warwick, New York
- 21st-century saxophonists
- 21st-century clarinetists
- 21st-century American male musicians