BEAUTIFUL NIAGARA.COM

 

The answer, thanks to our very own living legend, Walter Ostanek, is; Grammy Awards.

U2 holds The Recording Academy record for “Most Grammy Awards won by a band”, with an amazing number of 22.

Walter Ostanek is a 3 time Grammy Winner and in Niagara, we’re hopeful that his 20^th nomination this year will produce Grammy #4.

The Niagara Region boasts several high profile celebrity names that we’re very proud of.

Did you know that James Cameron, Producer and Director of the movie “Titanic” once lived in Chippawa, (part of Niagara Falls), before moving to California?

Several NHL Hockey stars including Don McLean, Johnny Bowers, and Derek Sanderson were all born in Niagara Falls.

Few however have provided as much notoriety to the Niagara area as our “Canada’s Polka King” Walter Ostanek.

Here are just a few of Walter’s accomplishments;

 

• Recipient of the “Order of Canada”. Canada’s highest civilian honor.

• Member of “Canada’s Walk of Fame”. Acknowledges the achievements and successes of Canadians who excel in the areas of Entertainment, Sports, or the Arts.

• Hosted several of his own TV and Radio shows, one for over 14 consecutive years.

• Appeared on; “Tonight Show with Johnny Carson”; Phil Donahue; “Late Night with David Letterman”, “Tommy Hunter”, and several others.

• Appeared with; Roy Clark, the Oakridge Boys, Ronnie Milsap, Ray Price, Mel Tillis, Brenda Lee, Slim Whitman, Tom T. Hall, T. G. Shepard, Tommy Hunter, Lawrence Welk, Myron Floren, and “America’s Polka King”,Frank Yankovic.

• Inducted into the “Polka Hall of Fame”, in both Cleveland, and Chicago.

Walter’s TV show, “It’s Polka Time”, was credited as the inspiration for the “Second City Television” parody, “The Schmenge Brothers”, which starred two of Canada’s comedy icons, John Candy, and Eugene Levy Walter has produced over 80 recordings in his music career of now 45 years.

You can see the Walter Ostanek Band, live, every day during the summer months at Marineland, (www.marinelandcanada.com), in Niagara Falls.

 

This year marks the 50^th Anniversary of the Grammy Awards. In addition to Walter, the nominees are…Record of the Year
(Award to the Artist and to the Producer(s), Recording Engineer(s) and/or Mixer(s), if other than the artist.)

• Irreplaceable
  Beyoncé
  Track from: B’Day
  [Sony Urban Music/Columbia/Music World Productions]
• The Pretender
  Foo Fighters
  [Roswell/RCA Records]
• Umbrella
  Rihanna Featuring Jay-Z
  Track from: Good Girl Gone Bad
  [Def Jam]
• What Goes Around…Comes Around
  Justin Timberlake
  [Jive/Zomba]
• Rehab
  Amy Winehouse
  Track from: Back To Black
  [Universal Republic Records]

Album Of The Year
(Award to the Artist(s) and to the Album Producer(s), Recording Engineer(s)/Mixer(s) & Mastering Engineer(s), if other than the artist.)

• Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace
  Foo Fighters
  [Roswell/RCA Records]
• These Days
  Vince Gill
  [MCA Nashville]
• River: The Joni Letters
  Herbie Hancock
  Leonard Cohen, Norah Jones, Joni Mitchell, Corinne Bailey Rae, Luciana Souza & Tina Turner, featured artists [Verve]
• Graduation
  Kanye West
  Dwele, Lil Wayne, Mos Def & T-Pain, featured artists [Roc-A-Fella Records]
• Back To Black
  Amy Winehouse
  [Universal Republic Records]

Best New Artist
(For a new artist who releases, during the Eligibility Year, the first recording which establishes the public identity of that artist.)

• Feist
• Ledisi
• Paramore
• Taylor Swift
• Amy Winehouse

Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
(For a solo vocal performance. Singles or Tracks only.)

• Candyman
  Christina Aguilera
  [RCA Records]
• 1234
  Feist
  Track from: The Reminder
  [Cherry Tree / Interscope Records]
• Big Girls Don’t Cry
  Fergie
  Track from: The Dutchess
  [A&M Records]
• Say It Right
  Nelly Furtado
  Track from: Loose
  [Geffen]
• Rehab
  Amy Winehouse
  Track from: Back To Black
  [Universal Republic Records]

Best Male Pop Vocal Performance
(For a solo vocal performance. Singles or Tracks only.)

• Everything
  Michael Bublé
  Track from: Call Me Irresponsible
  [143 Records/Reprise]
• Belief
  John Mayer
  Track from: The Village Sessions
  [Columbia/Aware]
• Dance Tonight
  Paul McCartney
  Track from: Memory Almost Full
  [MPL/Hear Music]
• Amazing
  Seal
  [Warner Bros.]
• What Goes Around…Comes Around
  Justin Timberlake
  [Jive]

The full listing of nominees and other great information can be found at www.grammy.com

We hope that you’ll join us as we root for our Niagara Grammy Hero, Walter Ostanek during the Grammy Awards telecast; February 10^th, 8:00pm EST., on CBS network.

As always, BEAUTIFUL NIAGARA.COM wecomes your comments or questions.