Johnny Knorr
John C. "Johnny" Knorr (born May 24, 1921 in Crissey, Ohio - August 29, 2011) was a musician and bandleader.
At the age of nine, Johnny was on the stage playing violin solos made popular by David Rubinoff. During his junior high school days, he performed as a violin soloist on programs with Helen O'Connell. At Libbey High School (Toledo, Ohio), he was featured as a violin soloist with the orchestra and saxophone soloist with the band and was awarded a scholarship to Ohio Northern University.
Johnny played with several traveling bands (Artie Shaw, Jimmy Dorsey, Les Brown) and also stage shows, ice shows, circus and many different styles of bands. In 1960, he formed his own band and since then has gained national recognition while sharing the stage with Tex Beneke, Johnny Desmond, The Four Aces, Helen O'Connell, Bobby Vinton, Bob Crosby, Myron Floren, The Lawrence Welk Stars and a 32-piece orchestra with Bob Hope.
The band members of the Johnny Knorr Orchestra have been with Johnny for an average of over 20 years, which assures the quality of the bands performance. Gay Hobbs is the featured vocalist with special music arrangements and has been with the band the past 15 years. Howard Hill, pianist, also provides vocals and will team up with Gay for vocal duets. Johnny's son Jerry, the assistant Director, attended Eastman School of Music and has provided several of the special music arrangements in the band's library.
Since 1979, Johnny has helped return big band music to the forefront. He has performed at Centennial Terrace to record crowds and is credited with saving this traditional "Dancing Under the Stars" from devastation. Repeat performances at the Indiana Roof Ballroom, Cedar Point and the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island are just a few of the highlight performances of the Knorr band. In 1984, the Johnny Knorr Orchestra was recognized as one of the big bands of today in the souvenir edition of Foto-Play, published by the Big Bands Magazine in Hollywood, California. In 1996, the United States Postal Service honored the Johnny Knorr Orchestra by presenting them with an award to commemorate the Orchestra's contributions to big band music in conjunction with their American Music Stamp Series. On September 16, 1996, Johnny received a Proclamation from the Mayor of the City of Toledo, Ohio for 35 years of performing big band music for the enjoyment and entertainment of thousands who live in the tri-state area. March 9, 1997, Johnny received the People's Choice Award for the Performing Arts as the best instrumental group. On March 21, 1999, Johnny was inducted into the Lake Erie West Hall of Fame.
Johnny Desmond, the great vocalist with the Glenn Miller Orchestra once told Johnny Knorr, “You play that sax the way I like to hear it.” Johnny Knorr coined that compliment as his trademark, “The music you like, the way you like to hear it” and has been using it ever since.
JUST THE WAY YOU LIKE IT, Johnny’s first CD in over ten years is a tribute to the Johnny Knorr Orchestra 50th Anniversary. It is a collection of some of their greatest renditions of hits songs from the 1930s and 40’s under the direction of one of America’s most accomplished big band leaders.
When he was nine, Johnny was on stage at school playing violin solos. In junior high he performed with Lima-born Helen O’Connell, a big star back in the early 40’s with hit records that included “Green Eyes” and “Tangerine”. Ironically, “Tangerine” is one of the outstanding and most energized tracks of this twenty-two track, 44-song album that has just been released by US20 Records.
From Libbey High School in Toledo, Johnny went on to Ohio Northern University on a music scholarship, trading in his violin for a tenor sax along the way. After the War in 1945 he came home to play with the Sonny Dunham Band.
In 1960 Johnny answered the door when opportunity knocked and he formed his own band. He went on to share the marquee and perform with Tex Beneke, The Four Aces, Lawrence Welk, Bobby Vinton, Bob Crosby and Bob Hope to name just a few.
It is unlikely there is a Baby Boomer anywhere who doesn’t have some memory of their parents talking fondly about some ballroom somewhere in time, like the Trianons in Toledo, Chicago, Philadelphia, Seattle, Cleveland and even in Croweburg, Kansas. There were other ballrooms with enchanting names like the Rendezvous in Balboa, California, the Ritz in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the Trocadro in Boise, the Blue Moon in Aurora, Illinois, the Cinderella in Appleton, Wisconsin and the Hippodrome in Oakmulge, Oklahoma.
For decades ballrooms where the heart and soul of social life in America and the Big Bands were the main attractions. Johnny Knorr has played thousands of gigs in places like the Indiana Roof Ballroom, Cedar Point, historic Centennial Terrace and the famed Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island. With featured vocalists Gay Hobbs and Howard Hills and Johnny’s son Jerry - who holds the longest tenure of any member - the band has always played the music “just the way we like it”
Johnny Knorr has helped keep big band music at the forefront for fifty years and has received many awards along the way. In 1996 the U.S. Postal Service honored the Johnny Knorr Orchestra by presenting an award to commemorate the Orchestra’s contributions to big band music in conjunction with the American Music Series.
He died in his home at the age of 90 surrounded by his family.