John Carr Inducted - Chicago 1983
	John was born in St. Louis, Missouri, to Croatian parents from the small Adriatic seacoast town of Dramalj.  His parents spoke Croatian at home, thus John and his five siblings learned the Croatian language.
	At the age of eight, there was an opening for a Junior tamburitza player in the Hrvatski Pomladak Orchestra, under the direction of Ivan Lusicic, Sr.  John's father believed his son was too young to play and thought it only fair to send one of his older children, but John cried and begged to be able to play, thus he was able to join and began playing the second brac.  At the same time he took an interest in the accordion and starting taking lessons.  He was too small to carry the accordion, so his dad had to carry it to and from lessons.  Even at this early age, John had a definite love of music.
	As his musical knowledge advanced, he branched out to learn and play skillfully all of the instruments in the tamburitza orchestra.  He played with many combos, filling in whenever someone was missing, as well as playing the accordion for many occasions.
	He played tamburitza and accordion on a regular basis with such orchestras as Veselo Srce, Plavi Dunav, the Continentals, and the Stari Tamburasi, the latter in which he is still active.  He has played in several Extravaganzas.
	For over 30 years, he has been teaching and helping many combos get started in the St. Louis area, such as the Hrvatski Sinovi.  He was instrumental in starting the St. Louis Junior Tamburitzans with the late Ivan Lusicic.  He taught children of this group for 10 years, then went on in 1970 to form his own tamburitza group known as the Gateway Tamburitzans.  This group has performed at many events under his direction, as well as taking part in the Junior Cultural Festivals.  They have produced a long-play record of great versatility.  John has instructed hundreds of our youth in the St. Louis and southern Illinois areas, always with that ever present smile, encouring the youth to become proficient in the playing of the tambura.
	John has also belonged to a number of the Croatian organizations, churches, lodges, etc., and has entertained at many of their affairs.  John is an active member of the Church and assists his lovely wife with many of the youth groups in the Church, but with all his contributions taking many of his hours, John is most of all a very likeable individual always trying to bring happiness to all through his tambura music and his orchestras throughout the many years.
	We join many in feeling that John has contributed substantially to the preservation of tambura music and appreciate your support in selecting him as a member of the Tamburitza Association of America Tamburitza Hall of Fame.
Return to Hall of Fame Membership List