Johnny Prill
Encyclopedia
Johnny Prill is a singer-songwriter
, accordionist, record producer
, publisher, and the author
of “A Song for Grandma and Grandpa
,” the official song of the U.S. National Grandparents Day holiday.
.
In 1978, Prill recorded his first studio album
, which included six original songs at Sound recording studio
in New Haven, Michigan
. Sound, Inc. President Larry Lick stated, “John, however, is more than a singer and musician - he is creative.” Prill didn't find commercial success until his release of “Cover of the Polka News” and "A Song for Grandma and Grandpa
" in 1982.
at local nursing homes. In 2008, he received an award from Courtney Manor Nursing Home for entertaining their residents over the past 22 years.
In 2008, Prill hosted his first free outdoor concert to celebrate Grandparents Day, which is celebrated annually on the U.S. National Grandparents Day holiday. American actress, comedian
, and author
, Betty White
wished Prill good luck stating, "Johnny, Have a wonderful concert - be sure and sing A Song for Grandma and Grandpa
." Also, American actress and comedian
Phyllis Diller
thanked Prill for honoring grandparents with music.
In 2010, American folk singer Pete Seeger
congratulated Prill on volunteering his musical talents, once a month, for 24 years.
Also, in 2010, American country music
singer Barbara Mandrell
congratulated Prill on his volunteer work stating “Your service through songs and volunteering is so remarkable!”
In 2011, Prill received "Volunteer Of The Year Award" from the Health Care Association of Michigan. The award
was given in recognition of Prill's 25 years of volunteering
musical entertainment monthly for the residents of Courtney Manor Nursing Home
.
presented Prill with an autographed copy of his 1977 autobiography
"The Polka King: The Life Of Frankie Yankovic." Prill wrote a song
based on the book titled “A Tribute To Frankie Yankovic - America's Polka King” and honored Yankovic with his song at September's Club in Warren, Michigan
.
In 1987, Prill recorded two original songs on a 45 RPM. Side A featured “Polka Radio” and side B “A Birthday Wish.” That same year, American pop music
singer Bobby Vinton
released a 45 RPM containing the same two songs. In 1991, Vinton included “Polka Radio” on his "Greatest Polka Hits Of All Time" CD. Vinton also recorded Prill's “Proud To Be An American” in 1988 and included it on his self-titled Bobby Vinton (1988 album)
. Vinton credits Prill as being “one of the most creative song writers of our time.”
In 1991, Prill wrote “America, This Song's For You.” The song featured vocals by top polka artists including America's Polka King Frankie Yankovic
, Li'l Wally, Eddie Blazonczyk
, Jimmy Sturr
and Bobby Vinton
. All proceeds from the album was used to promote polka music in America. Executive producer
Carl Rohwetter complimented Prill on his songwriting stating, “one of the greatest song writers the world will ever know.”
In 2004, Prill received the National Songwriter's Award from the National Grandparents Day Council in honor of his excellent composition “A Song for Grandma and Grandpa
.” The song was chosen because "Grandparents Day gives grandchildren across the nation the opportunity to show love and appreciation for their grandparents. Johnny Prill's A Song for Grandma and Grandpa is exemplary of such appreciation." "A Song for Grandma and Grandpa
" is the official song of the U.S. National Grandparents Day holiday.
Also, in 2004, Prill's “Las Vegas” polka received a 5-star review in the Las Vegas Weekly
. Martin Stein stated, “Truly the best polka song about our town ever recorded.”
In 2005, Prill's “The Polka Beat” CD was featured in the Detroit Free Press
as their Detroit Disc of the week.
In 2006, Prill presented American singer and entertainer Wayne Newton
with “The King of Las Vegas” song at the Flamingo Las Vegas
Casino and Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada
. Prill's song was written and based on the book “Once Before I Go” the 1989 autobiography
on Newton's life.
In 2008, Prill received an award from Courtney Manor Nursing Home for entertaining their residents over the past 22 years.
In 2010, Prill received an autographed photo from former President Jimmy Carter
stating, “Best wishes to Johnny.”
In 2011, Prill's “Polish Prince” song was recorded by Grammy Award
winner Jimmy Sturr
and his Orchestra. Prill's song, based on the 1978 autobiography “The Polish Prince – Bobby Vinton
,” was included on Sturr's “Not Just Another Polka” CD.
In 2011, the Health Care Association of Michigan presented Prill with their “Volunteer Of The Year Award.” The award
was given in recognition of Prill's 25 years of volunteering
musical entertainment monthly for the residents of Courtney Manor Nursing Home
.
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
, accordionist, record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, publisher, and the author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
of “A Song for Grandma and Grandpa
A Song for Grandma and Grandpa
"A Song for Grandma and Grandpa" is a song written and recorded by singer-songwriter Johnny Prill.Lyrics:Chorus:Oh Grandma, Grandpa, you know that I love youI love all those little things that you say and do...
,” the official song of the U.S. National Grandparents Day holiday.
Early years
Prill was born in Bad Axe, Michigan, and by the age of 8, had began taking accordion lessons. By the age of 12, he began to play and sing polka music songs. By age 14, he became part of the family band “The Prill Brothers” and performed at local dance halls. At age 17, he started his own orchestraOrchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
.
In 1978, Prill recorded his first studio album
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
, which included six original songs at Sound recording studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
in New Haven, Michigan
New Haven, Michigan
New Haven is a village in Lenox Township, Macomb County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,071 at the 2000 census. The 2008 Census Bureau Estimate places the population at 5,132.-Geography:...
. Sound, Inc. President Larry Lick stated, “John, however, is more than a singer and musician - he is creative.” Prill didn't find commercial success until his release of “Cover of the Polka News” and "A Song for Grandma and Grandpa
A Song for Grandma and Grandpa
"A Song for Grandma and Grandpa" is a song written and recorded by singer-songwriter Johnny Prill.Lyrics:Chorus:Oh Grandma, Grandpa, you know that I love youI love all those little things that you say and do...
" in 1982.
Volunteer work
Prill began his volunteer work at age 12 performing with his accordionAccordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
at local nursing homes. In 2008, he received an award from Courtney Manor Nursing Home for entertaining their residents over the past 22 years.
In 2008, Prill hosted his first free outdoor concert to celebrate Grandparents Day, which is celebrated annually on the U.S. National Grandparents Day holiday. American actress, comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
, and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, Betty White
Betty White
Betty White Ludden , better known as Betty White, is an American actress, comedienne, singer, author, and former game show personality. With a career spanning seven decades since 1939, she is best known to modern audiences for her television roles as Sue Ann Nivens on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and...
wished Prill good luck stating, "Johnny, Have a wonderful concert - be sure and sing A Song for Grandma and Grandpa
A Song for Grandma and Grandpa
"A Song for Grandma and Grandpa" is a song written and recorded by singer-songwriter Johnny Prill.Lyrics:Chorus:Oh Grandma, Grandpa, you know that I love youI love all those little things that you say and do...
." Also, American actress and comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
Phyllis Diller
Phyllis Diller
Phyllis Diller is an American actress and comedian. She created a stage persona of a wild-haired, eccentrically dressed housewife who makes jokes about a husband named "Fang" while pretending to smoke from a long cigarette holder...
thanked Prill for honoring grandparents with music.
In 2010, American folk singer Pete Seeger
Pete Seeger
Peter "Pete" Seeger is an American folk singer and was an iconic figure in the mid-twentieth century American folk music revival. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, he also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of The Weavers, most notably their recording of Lead...
congratulated Prill on volunteering his musical talents, once a month, for 24 years.
Also, in 2010, American country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
singer Barbara Mandrell
Barbara Mandrell
Barbara Ann Mandrell is an American country music singer best known for a 1970s–1980s series of Top 10 hits and TV shows that helped her become one of country's most successful female vocalists of the 1970s and 1980s...
congratulated Prill on his volunteer work stating “Your service through songs and volunteering is so remarkable!”
In 2011, Prill received "Volunteer Of The Year Award" from the Health Care Association of Michigan. The award
Award
An award is something given to a person or a group of people to recognize excellence in a certain field; a certificate of excellence. Awards are often signifiedby trophies, titles, certificates, commemorative plaques, medals, badges, pins, or ribbons...
was given in recognition of Prill's 25 years of volunteering
Volunteering
Volunteering is generally considered an altruistic activity, intended to promote good or improve human quality of life, but people also volunteer for their own skill development, to meet others, to make contacts for possible employment, to have fun, and a variety of other reasons that could be...
musical entertainment monthly for the residents of Courtney Manor Nursing Home
Nursing home
A nursing home, convalescent home, skilled nursing unit , care home, rest home, or old people's home provides a type of care of residents: it is a place of residence for people who require constant nursing care and have significant deficiencies with activities of daily living...
.
Career highlights
In 1983, America's Polka King Frankie YankovicFrankie Yankovic
Frankie Yankovic was a Grammy Award-winning polka musician. Known as "America's Polka King," Yankovic was the premier artist to play in the Slovenian style during a long and successful career.-Background:Of Slovene descent, he was raised in South Euclid, Ohio...
presented Prill with an autographed copy of his 1977 autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
"The Polka King: The Life Of Frankie Yankovic." Prill wrote a song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
based on the book titled “A Tribute To Frankie Yankovic - America's Polka King” and honored Yankovic with his song at September's Club in Warren, Michigan
Warren, Michigan
Warren is a city in Macomb County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The 2010 census places the city's population at 134,056, making Warren the largest city in Macomb County, the third largest city in Michigan, and Metro Detroit's largest suburb....
.
In 1987, Prill recorded two original songs on a 45 RPM. Side A featured “Polka Radio” and side B “A Birthday Wish.” That same year, American pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
singer Bobby Vinton
Bobby Vinton
Bobby Vinton is an American pop music singer of Polish origin. In pop music circles, he became known as "The Polish Prince".-Early life:...
released a 45 RPM containing the same two songs. In 1991, Vinton included “Polka Radio” on his "Greatest Polka Hits Of All Time" CD. Vinton also recorded Prill's “Proud To Be An American” in 1988 and included it on his self-titled Bobby Vinton (1988 album)
Bobby Vinton (1988 album)
Bobby Vinton is Bobby Vinton's thirty-fourth album, released in 1988. Re-recordings of previous hits include "Sealed With a Kiss", "Blue on Blue", "Blue Velvet" and "My Melody of Love".-Side 1:# Sealed With a Kiss - - 3:46...
. Vinton credits Prill as being “one of the most creative song writers of our time.”
In 1991, Prill wrote “America, This Song's For You.” The song featured vocals by top polka artists including America's Polka King Frankie Yankovic
Frankie Yankovic
Frankie Yankovic was a Grammy Award-winning polka musician. Known as "America's Polka King," Yankovic was the premier artist to play in the Slovenian style during a long and successful career.-Background:Of Slovene descent, he was raised in South Euclid, Ohio...
, Li'l Wally, Eddie Blazonczyk
Eddie Blazonczyk
Eddie Blazonczyk is a polka musician and leader of the band The Versatones. He was born in Chicago to Polish Immigrant parents. Their album Another Polka Celebration won the 1986 Grammy in the Polka Category. He was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowship in 1998...
, Jimmy Sturr
Jimmy Sturr
James W. "Jimmy" Sturr, Jr. is a 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...
and Bobby Vinton
Bobby Vinton
Bobby Vinton is an American pop music singer of Polish origin. In pop music circles, he became known as "The Polish Prince".-Early life:...
. All proceeds from the album was used to promote polka music in America. Executive producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
Carl Rohwetter complimented Prill on his songwriting stating, “one of the greatest song writers the world will ever know.”
In 2004, Prill received the National Songwriter's Award from the National Grandparents Day Council in honor of his excellent composition “A Song for Grandma and Grandpa
A Song for Grandma and Grandpa
"A Song for Grandma and Grandpa" is a song written and recorded by singer-songwriter Johnny Prill.Lyrics:Chorus:Oh Grandma, Grandpa, you know that I love youI love all those little things that you say and do...
.” The song was chosen because "Grandparents Day gives grandchildren across the nation the opportunity to show love and appreciation for their grandparents. Johnny Prill's A Song for Grandma and Grandpa is exemplary of such appreciation." "A Song for Grandma and Grandpa
A Song for Grandma and Grandpa
"A Song for Grandma and Grandpa" is a song written and recorded by singer-songwriter Johnny Prill.Lyrics:Chorus:Oh Grandma, Grandpa, you know that I love youI love all those little things that you say and do...
" is the official song of the U.S. National Grandparents Day holiday.
Also, in 2004, Prill's “Las Vegas” polka received a 5-star review in the Las Vegas Weekly
Las Vegas Weekly
Las Vegas Weekly is a free alternative weekly newspaper based in Henderson, Nevada, covering Las Vegas arts, entertainment, culture and news. Las Vegas Weekly is published by Greenspun Media Group. The paper was founded in 1992 by James Reza as a free monthly publication called Scope covering...
. Martin Stein stated, “Truly the best polka song about our town ever recorded.”
In 2005, Prill's “The Polka Beat” CD was featured in the Detroit Free Press
Detroit Free Press
The Detroit Free Press is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, USA. The Sunday edition is entitled the Sunday Free Press. It is sometimes informally referred to as the "Freep"...
as their Detroit Disc of the week.
In 2006, Prill presented American singer and entertainer Wayne Newton
Wayne Newton
Wayne Newton is an American singer and entertainer based in Las Vegas, Nevada. He performed over 30,000 solo shows in Las Vegas over a period of over 40 years, earning him the nicknames The Midnight Idol, Mr. Las Vegas and Mr. Entertainment...
with “The King of Las Vegas” song at the Flamingo Las Vegas
Flamingo Las Vegas
The Flamingo Las Vegas is a hotel casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada and is owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment Corp.. The property offers a casino along with 3,626 hotel rooms...
Casino and Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
. Prill's song was written and based on the book “Once Before I Go” the 1989 autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
on Newton's life.
In 2008, Prill received an award from Courtney Manor Nursing Home for entertaining their residents over the past 22 years.
In 2010, Prill received an autographed photo from former President Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
stating, “Best wishes to Johnny.”
In 2011, Prill's “Polish Prince” song was recorded by Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
winner Jimmy Sturr
Jimmy Sturr
James W. "Jimmy" Sturr, Jr. is a 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...
and his Orchestra. Prill's song, based on the 1978 autobiography “The Polish Prince – Bobby Vinton
Bobby Vinton
Bobby Vinton is an American pop music singer of Polish origin. In pop music circles, he became known as "The Polish Prince".-Early life:...
,” was included on Sturr's “Not Just Another Polka” CD.
In 2011, the Health Care Association of Michigan presented Prill with their “Volunteer Of The Year Award.” The award
Award
An award is something given to a person or a group of people to recognize excellence in a certain field; a certificate of excellence. Awards are often signifiedby trophies, titles, certificates, commemorative plaques, medals, badges, pins, or ribbons...
was given in recognition of Prill's 25 years of volunteering
Volunteering
Volunteering is generally considered an altruistic activity, intended to promote good or improve human quality of life, but people also volunteer for their own skill development, to meet others, to make contacts for possible employment, to have fun, and a variety of other reasons that could be...
musical entertainment monthly for the residents of Courtney Manor Nursing Home
Nursing home
A nursing home, convalescent home, skilled nursing unit , care home, rest home, or old people's home provides a type of care of residents: it is a place of residence for people who require constant nursing care and have significant deficiencies with activities of daily living...
.