Ladislav John "Walter" Ostanek, CM[1][2] (born 20 April 1935) is a Canadian musician. He is known as "Canada's Polka King." He has received twenty-one nominations for Grammy Awards and won three.[3]
Walter Ostanek | |
|---|---|
 Walter Ostanek at Marineland in July 2011 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Ladislav John Ostanek |
| Born | 20 April 1935 Duparquet, Quebec, Canada |
| Origin | St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada |
| Genres | Polka |
| Occupation(s) | musician, songwriter |
| Instrument | Accordion |
| Years active | 1957-present |
Early life
editBorn in Duparquet, Quebec in 1935,[4] his family moved to St. Catharines, Ontario, when he was a boy. A young Ostanek received his first accordion as a gift in 1944.[5] After several years, Ostanek became a popular entertainer in Southern Ontario, performing Slovenian-style (also known as Cleveland-style) polkas and waltzes. He could be heard frequently on the radio in St. Catharines and Welland. Walter began playing polka after his best friend introduced him to the accordion at age 5.
Career
editIn 1957 Ostanek formed his own band playing Slovenian-style polka music.[6] In 1963, Ostanek and his band, the Walter Ostanek Band, would record their first of many albums. Over his career, Ostanek would record more than 50 albums and become known as Canada's Polka King.[7] He has received three Grammy Awards and he has been nominated thirteen times. His style has been compared to America's Polka King, Frankie Yankovic of Cleveland. Like the late Yankovic, Walter Ostanek is of Slovene descent.
Ostanek hosted his own television shows (one for fourteen consecutive years), radio shows, and polka tours. He has appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Phil Donahue, Tommy Hunter Show, Cleveland's Polka Varieties, and his own award-winning TV specials and telethons. He has appeared in concert with Roy Clark, The Oak Ridge Boys, Ronnie Milsap, Ray Price, Mel Tillis, Brenda Lee, Slim Whitman, Tom T. Hall, T. G. Sheppard, Tommy Hunter, Lawrence Welk, Myron Floren, Frank Yankovic, Black Forest Band, and Weiss Blau.
Ostanek is a member of Canada's Walk of Fame as well as the Polka Halls of Fame in Cleveland and Chicago. Currently Ostanek does two main concert sets each year: one at Marineland in Niagara Falls, Ontario, the other during Oktoberfest in Kitchener, Ontario.
He is also the subject of the 2006 Bravo! network documentary The Cult of Walt: Canada's Polka King. Ostanek is also cited as the inspiration for the Second City Television polka parody, the Shmenge Brothers,[8] and the Osler show.
In 2007, Ostanek was the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award at the annual SOCAN Awards in Toronto.[9]
Ostanek currently resides in St. Catharines, Ontario. He was the owner of the popular music store "Ostanek's" until 1 April 2013, when the store was converted to a Long & McQuade.[10] He still plays locally.
Lottery
editIn July 2016 Ostanek was in the news when he won a million dollars in the London Dream Lottery, which raises money for hospitals.[11]
Awards and recognition
edit- 1992, 1993, 1994: winner, Grammy Award for Best Polka Album
- 1999: appointed Member of the Order of Canada[12]
- 2001: inductee, Canada's Walk of Fame
- 2007: SOCAN Lifetime Achievement Award
Discography
editSingles
edit- ca 1962 "Walter Ostan" Marianne
- 1998 "Larhonda Polka" Here Come the Polka Heroes[13]
Walter Ostanek Band
edit- The Walter Ostanek Band [14]
Walter Ostanek and His Band
editWalter Ostanek and His Polka Band
edit- I Like Frankie Yankovic [15]
Walter Ostanek and His Polka Kings
edit- Polka Party [16]
Walter Ostanek
edit- Music and Friends
- Marineland Favourites [17]
- Like Father, Like Son
- 1995 Polka Monster (EP)
Walter Ostanek and his Orchestra
edit- Centennial Dance Party
References
edit- ^ LaRoque, Judith A. (25 March 2000). "The Order of Canada" (PDF). Canada Gazette. 134 (13). Government of Canada. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
- ^ Governor General of Canada (25 March 2000). "Canada Gazette Vol. 134, No. 13" (PDF). gazette.gc.ca. Government of Canada. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
- ^ "WALTER OSTANEK 2001 INDUCTEE". canadaswalkoffame.com. Canada's Walk of Fame. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
- ^ Charlotte Dillon (14 September 2009). "Walter Ostanek Biography". allmusic.com. AllMusic. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
- ^ "CityNews". kitchener.citynews.ca.
- ^ Governor General of Canada. "Ostanek, Walter Biography". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
- ^
Ralf Hakenberg. "Artist: Ostanek, Walter Biography". jam.canoe.ca. Sun Media Corporation. Archived from the original on 15 January 2013. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^
"It's Polka Time on Bravo! -- The Cult of Walt: Canada's Polka King". 25 September 2006. Archived from the original on 21 October 2006. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "2007 Socan Awards | Socan". Archived from the original on 11 November 2016. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
- ^ Don Fraser. "The last polka song for Walter Ostanek". St, Catharine's Standard. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
- ^ "Roll out the barrel: Polka king Walter Ostanek wins $1M lottery". Toronto Star, Geoffrey Vendeville, 13 July 2016
- ^ "New Appointments to the Order of Canada". Governor General of Canada. 11 January 2000. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
- ^ "Various Artists". musicbrainz.org. MusicBrainz. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
- ^ Library and Archives Canada. "AMICUS No. 11934611". amicus.collectionscanada.ca. Government of Canada. Retrieved 13 January 2011.
- ^ Library and Archives Canada. "AMICUS No. 33553580". amicus.collectionscanada.ca. Government of Canada. Retrieved 13 January 2011.
- ^ Library and Archives Canada. "AMICUS No. 33553570". amicus.collectionscanada.ca. Government of Canada. Retrieved 13 January 2011.
- ^ Library and Archives Canada. "AMICUS No. 32117984". amicus.collectionscanada.ca. Government of Canada. Retrieved 13 January 2011.