James W. Sturr Jr. (born September 25, 1941), commonly known as Jimmy Sturr, is an American

polka Polka is a dance style and genre of dance music in originating in nineteenth-century Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. Though generally associated with Czech and Central European culture, polka is popular throughout Europe and the ...

musician,

trumpeter The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

clarinetist The clarinet is a single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches. The clarinet family is the largest woodw ...

saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

and leader of Jimmy Sturr & His Orchestra. Media outlets have often dubbed him the " King of Polka," with his recordings having won 18 out of the 24

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

s 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.

Career

Sturr and his orchestra have performed at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 ...

in New York City, Yankee Stadium and the

Palace of Culture Palace of Culture (, , ''wénhuà gōng'', ) or House of Culture (Polish: ''dom kultury'') is a common name (generic term) for major Club (organization), club-houses (community centres) in the former Soviet Union and the rest of the Eastern bloc ...

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

, Poland. When touring, the band rides in Jimmy's 45-foot customized tour bus, previously owned by

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. The band has crossed genres and collaborated with numerous prominent musicians such as

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist. He was one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restr ...

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Boots Randolph Homer Louis "Boots" Randolph III (June 3, 1927 – July 3, 2007) was an American musician. His 1963 saxophone hit " Yakety Sax" became the signature tune of ''The Benny Hill Show''. Randolph was a prolific session musician and member of the Nas ...

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, and

Charlie Daniels Charles Edward Daniels (October 28, 1936 – July 6, 2020) was an American singer, musician, and songwriter. His music fused rock, country, blues and jazz, and was a pioneering contribution to Southern rock and progressive country. He was ...

. A significant highlight for Jimmy Sturr & His Orchestra was when they were invited to appear on the

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a regular live country music, country-music Radio broadcasting, radio broadcast originating from Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, on WSM (AM), WSM, held between two and five nights per week, depending on the ...

, the only polka group (and the only group with brass instruments) to do so. Sturr hosts a syndicated radio show on stations including WTBQ 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. In addition to radio shows, he also owns and operates United Polka Artists, Starr Record Company, Jimmy Sturr Travel Agency, and a publishing company.

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

(2002 Grammy) * ''Gonna be Good Times'' (2017) * ''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

, Bela Fleck,

(2004 Grammy) * ''Life's a Polka'' * ''

Live at Gilley's! ''Live at Gilley's!'' is a live album by Jimmy Sturr and His Orchestra, released through Ranwood Records in 1991. In 1992, the album won Sturr the Grammy Award for Best Polka Album. Track listing Personnel * Gene Bartkiewicz – accordio ...

'' (1992 Grammy) * '' Living on Polka Time'' with Bill Anderson,

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(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

(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

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(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

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(2003 Grammy) * '' Touched by a Polka'' with

(2001 Grammy) * ''Tribute to the Legends of Polka Music'' * '' When It's Polka Time at Your House'' (1991 Grammy)

Band members

Band Members *Jimmy Sturr - Leader, Vocals, Clarinet, Saxophone, Drums, and Trumpet *Johnny Karas - Tenor Saxophone and Vocals *Nick DeVito - Clarinet, Alto Saxophone, and Piccolo *Jim Perry - Clarinet and Alto Saxophone *Frank Urbanovitch - Fiddle & Vocals *Al Piatkowski - Accordion *Bill Ash - Trumpet *Vinnie Borselli - Trumpet *Dana Sylvander - Trumpt *Rich Berends - Drums *Rich Pavasaris - Bass Guitar *Ron Oswanski - Piano & Accordion *Tom Conklin - Bus Driver and Sound Manager *Mike Magdon - Sound Manager *Gus Kosior - Manager & Bus Driver *Barbara James - Assistant Manager *Joe Rapp - Social Media Reoccurring members *Nick Koryluk - Accordion *Joe Mariany - Clarinet and Saxophone *Ray Barno - Clarinet, Alto Saxophone, and Baritone Saxophone *Chris Caffery - Guitar *Bryan Doolan - Equipment and Sound *Frank Urbanovitch Jr. - Equipment and Sound Past members *William “Bill” Hulle - Bass *Hank Golis - Trumpet *Rick Henly - Trumpet *Kevin Krauth - Trumpet & Vocals *Al Noble - Trumpet *Ben Poole - Trumpet *Eric Parks - Trumpet *Paul Ketterer - Trumpet *Kenny Harbus - Trumpet & Vocals *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 *Thomas 'Tom' Karas - Accordion/keyboard

References

External links

Official websiteInterview with Jimmy Sturr
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sturr, Jimmy 1941 births Living people Polka musicians Grammy Award winners Singers from New York (state) American male saxophonists American male singers New York (state) Democrats People from Warwick, New York 21st-century American saxophonists 21st-century American clarinetists 21st-century American male musicians