Johnny Krizancic Inducted - Chicago 1983
	For more than thirty years, Johnny Krizancic has been an important force in the world of tamburitza music.  Not only as a performer, radio/TV personality and recording artist, but as a record company executive, musical producer and motion picture artist.  Johnny has produced, directed and recorded many tamburitza artists who are now big names in the tamburitza field, along with many other musical artists who have become big names in the American Pop and Country scene of the music and entertainment industry.  It would be hard to find a musical directory or history that doesn't mention his talents.
	Johnny Krizancic was born in Farrell, Pennsylvania, on Easter Sunday, March 31, 1929, to Ignatz and Helen (Novosel) Krizancic.  At the early age of seven, Johnny's father presented him with his first musical instrument, which was a guitar, and Johnny began learning to play by ear until 1941 when he joined the Aria Junior Tamburitza Orchestra in Farrell, Pennsylvania.  While in junior and senior high school, beside the tamburitza, he began lessons and learned other musical instruments, including the french horn, trumpet, and saxophone.  He also had vocal training and participated in the high school chorus.  His tamburitza instructor was the notable Paul A. Perman, his musical instructor in the high school band was James Dunlap, and his private voice instructor was Professor Edward Belavich.
	In 1946, with a good basic knowledge of musical instruments and fundamentals, Johnny joined the United States Army Air Force as a special service musician, but ended up as an interpreter of the Serbo/Croatian language for the many displaced persons of Croatian and Serbian nationality after World War II.
	Upon discharge from military service, he attended Westminster College as a music major with studies in theory, harmony, and counterpoint.  During this time, Johnny played the American popular music scene as a saxophone player, guitarist, bassist, and popular country music vocalist.  But Johnny's love and desire for tamburitza music was much too strong, and he came back to the tamburitza world.  From 1951, Johnny sang and played with many great tamburitza personalities, including Dave Zupkovich, Johnny Krilcich, George Skrbina, Joe Matacic, Joe Marmilich, Tony, Lou, and Steve Markulin, and the Veseli Tamburitzans with Rose Husnick.
	In 1955, Johnny married Martha Dzurinda who inspired him to continue his musical education.  In the early years of their marriage, he also studied Electronic Engineering at Penn State University while Martha held a full time job at the local Westinghouse factory.  As Johnny studied Electronics, he also worked part time as a radio station DJ and announcer.
	In 1959, with the inception of his International Tamburitza Radio Program over WFAR Radio in Farrell/Sharon, Pennsylvania (which continues to the present 1983), Johnny and Martha Krizancic formed Marjon International Records and Marjon Sound Productions, producing and recording their first long-play record album with the Veseli Tamburitzans.  Since that time, over 100 tamburitza albums were recorded and produced by Johnny and Marjon.  Adding to this, 22 of the record albums featured the musical talents of Johnny Krizancic as the featured artist.  His record albums through Marjon's direct mail media were selling so well that one of the top ten major record companies ('London Records') began distributing his albums throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe.  It is estimated that London Records sold over 350,000 of Johnny Krizancic's record albums.
	In 1966, Johnny was placed into Who's Who in Americ for his contribution of tamburitza artistry to the American public, and also in the same year he received his first 'Gold Record Honor Award'.  Since 1966, Johnny continues with hit record albums, including Divni Dani, The Best of Johnny Krizancic, Fun Fest Polkas, An Evening with Johnny Krizancic, and his most recent hit album Zivila Braca, Zivjeli Sestre for which Johnny wrote the title song.
	Recently, Johnny directed, produced, and recorded the all-tamburitza musical soundtrack for the motion picture Gandy Hopper, and arranged, produced and recorded the all-tamburitza musical score for the Croatian feature-length motion picture Pra Domovina Domovina (Homelands to Homelands) in which he also sang, narrated, and acted.
	As he still continues his Sunday Tamburitza Radio Show, performs in various parts of the nation, produces, records, and engineers some of the finest tamburitza recordings on the market today, he and his wife Martha and their Marjon International Record Company supply all parts of the nation with the latest tamburitza records and tapes through direct mail.
	Being inducted into the Tamburitza Hall of Fame does not mean retirement for Johnny, but his future reveals a heavy work load in the world of Tamburitza.  All in all, Johnny Krizancic is a force to be reckoned with in the music business.  Johnny says that "Music is a feeling that hangs in time and space and I want to be a part of what's going to be hot in the decade of the 80's."
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