Jimmy Sturr

Jimmy Sturr is a polka musician, trumpeter/clarinetist/saxophonist and leader of Jimmy Sturr & His Orchestra. His recordings have won 17 out of the 23 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. His band is arguably the most popular polka band in America, and have their own TV show on the [http://www.rfd-tv.com/ RFD-TV] network, a network devoted to rural America.

When touring, the band rides in Jimmy’s forty-five foot customized tour bus. On their travels, they have been to the most prestigious venues in the world, including seven sold out concerts at Carnegie Hall and four sold out concerts at Lincoln Center in New York City and a sold out concert at the Palace of Culture in Warsaw, Poland. The band has also played at many famous casinos.

Today, Jimmy Sturr lives in the house he grew up in, with his parents, in the upstate town of Florida, New York. The band usually attracts crowds of loyal fans wherever their travels take them. He hosts a syndicated radio show that airs on stations around the country, including WTBQ [http://www.wtbq.com] in his hometown of Florida, NY, the station he once owned. Although Sturr is the Irish son of a local bank president, his fans don't seem to mind the "I'm Polish" persona that he radiates. Sturr's first radio job was hosting an hour of polkas on Saturdays on WALL in Middletown, NY. The station would sell Sturr an hour of time, which he would resell to area businesses at a profit. He would play polka tunes and promote his Polka record label and sell albums via mail. Sturr was an excellent radio host and salesman and the show was packed full of ads from businesses large and small, thus setting the stage for his future business success and providing Sturr with an intimate knowledge of local radio. He and his engineer AC would broadcast live from a local restaurant "The Jolly Onion Inn" in Pine Island on Saturday nights in the late 60's, always to a packed house.

Discography

* "Come Share The Wine" (2008 Grammy)
* "Polka in Paradise" with Bobby Vinton (2007 Grammy)
* "The Greatest Hits of Polka"
* "Shake, Rattle and Polka!" (2006 Grammy)
* "Let's Polka 'Round" (2004 Grammy)
* "Top of the World" (2003 Grammy)
* "Gone Polka" (2002 Grammy) with Willie Nelson and Brenda Lee
* "Touched By a Polka" with Mel Tillis (2001 Grammy)
* "Prime Time Polka"
* "Life's a Polka"
* "83 Giant Polka Hits"
* "Dance with Me" with Oak Ridge Boys and Flaco Jiménez (1999 Grammy)
* "Polkapalooza"
* "Living on Polka Time" (1998 Grammy) with Bill Anderson and Flaco Jiménez
* "Polka! All Night Long" (1997 Grammy) with Willie Nelson
* "I Love to Polka" (1996 Grammy)
* "Polka Your Troubles Away"
* "Pure Polka"
* "Polka Favorites"
* "Saturday Night Polka"
* "Clarinet/Accordion Magic"
* "Sturr It Up"
* "Live At Gilley's" (1992 Grammy)
* "Polka Time at Your House" (1991 Grammy)
* "Fiddles On Fire"
* "Trip To Poland"
* "Pure Country"
* "All In My Love For You" (1990 Grammy)
* "Born To Polka" (1989 Grammy)
* "A Polka Just For Me" (1988 Grammy)
* "I Remember Warsaw" (1987 Grammy)
* "1st Class Polka's"
* "Hooked on Polkas"
* "On Tour"
* "All American Polkafest"
* "Polka Fever"
* "A Jimmy Sturr Christmas"
* "Polka Christmas"
* "Million Dollar Polkas"
* "Old Fashioned Christmas"
* "Christmas In My Hometown"

Band Members

* "Jimmy Sturr" - vocals
* "Steve Swiader - accordion
* "Dennis Coyman" - drums
* "Eric Parks" - unknown
* "Frank Urbanovitch" - vocals, fiddle
* "Joe Magnuszewski" - clarinet, alto saxophone
* "Johnny Karas" - vocals, tenor saxophone
* "Keith Slattery" - piano
* "Kenny Harbus" - trumpet
* "Kevin Krauth" - trumpet
* "Nick DeVito" - trumpet
* "Ray Barno" - clarinet, alto saxophone
* "Rich Pavasaris" - bass guitar
* "Gennarose" - vocals

External links

* [http://www.jimmysturr.com Official website]
* [http://www.letspolka.com/2006/11/interview-with-jimmy-sturr Interview with Jimmy Sturr]