Individual Band Member Biographies & Spotlights

John Joseph Connolly, AKA Jack, was born September 8th 1943.  He  is a self taught musician who started playing guitar at an early age.  There wasn’t a lot that Jack was passionate about in his life except his  music and his family. He has 2 sons and one daughter that he loved very  much. His music was his therapy and helped him persevere through tough  times. He loved playing guitar so much that no obstacle could stand in  his way. One unfortunate evening Jack suffered a nasty cut to his chord  playing hand. The doctor informed him that he may never play guitar again, due to the fact that he tore through a tendon in his hand. He never  regained full mobility to his fingers but he adapted, and re taught  himself how to play. He kept playing all the way until he passed away, December 16th, 2002. Luckily his music still lives on through his nephew,  and local musician John Luber, who he taught how to play guitar. 

It started with my "Brother Chuck's" record collections. Sam and I would sit for hours playing 50's rock & roll records. A "Stella" guitar and love for music and we were on our way.

We listened to local bands as well: The Rockin Hi Lows, The Twin-steppers, Billy & The Barons and many more. I started playing with "The Valiants" around 1957/ 1958. 

We played sock hops, WNDR radio, Teen Canteen at Three Rivers Inn.

I still play today, more as a hobby and for the fun and enjoyment.

Richard E. Hillman

Paul  “Bud” Murray was born in Oswego  to Paul and Helen Murray and shared  their home on 12th Street with his sisters Mary Ann, Shirley and Judy.  When his sister Mary Ann received a guitar for her birthday she could  never find it because Bud was always  sneaking it out of her room - that's when it all began at age 12..  With an innate love for music and newly developed guitar skills, Bud  started playing in bands as a teenager. He often remembered performing  at high school and college parties by the time his was 15 years old.   Bud also had a few music teachers say he might want to consider another  avenue as he could not carry a tune  in a bucket.

Bud’s  musical career included playing with The Valiants and several local  bands over the years that spanned musical genres including rock, pop,  country, and jazz. Always seeking to expand on his horizons, he learned  how to make guitars and with his many skills, he went on to build  several, including a beautiful Gibson L-5 jazz guitar replica and one  that was dedicated to his mom. 

Bud’s  love of music was fueled by a deep passion for learning and connecting  with others. He often talked about his mentors in music and the people  who influenced him. He would speak with reverence of his mentor Dave  Rebeor and marvel at the energy of the godfather of Oswego music – Fred  Greco. He was in awe of the musical genius of Gary Illingworth and  respected the raw talent of Redd Swindells.  There are many others  on  that list, but being a part of the Oswego music community filled him  great pride and joy. 

Music  and classic cars, especially his 1957 Thunderbird, were his passion  along with his interest in ham radio but above all, he was a family man  and a people person.  He dearly loved his wife of 47 years, Janet, his  three children (Brian, Brenda and John) and five grandchildren.  He  loved using music to allow others to have a good time, whether at a  local bar or with the Reunion Band at Harborfest or in the kitchen  playing "I Still Write Your Name in the Snow" to his grandkids.  His  kids still talk about the house shaking as bands practiced in the  basement of the house and they still call out ‘Bud Murray special’ as  they hear a tune on the radio that they remember him playing.

He  created lifelong friends through groups such as the Valiants, The  Fugitives, The Thunderbirds, The InnKeepers, Halfway to Nowhere and  others.  If he were here, he would most definitely dedicate this honor  to his family, friends, and all of the fine musicians who he had the  pleasure to work with.  And Janet feels so very fortunate that many of  these people still remain close and keep Bud's memory alive!

THIS PAINTS A PICTURE...BUT THE REAL THING WAS A MASTERPIECE TO US.  

THE MURRAY FAMILY

Greetings to all citizens, all my fans, and current and recent inductees.

All  good biographies include a place of birth and date.  It was February 2,  1946 in Wilmington Delaware.  I started school in Oswego, NY, my  brother had just taken up playing the trumpet and my parents asked me  what I was interested in.  I told them the clarinet, which is the  instrument that most saxophone players begin with.  I attended a sock  hop in my first year in high school.  At the sock hop, was a group  playing.  A man by the name of Sunny Castiglia was playing the sax,  which I found very interesting.  Years later I met up with him and  thanked him for being such an inspiration to me, which is true by the  way.   The first tenor sax I played was rented.  Later on after, I met  Jimmy Losurdo, Jack Connelly, and Danny Kraft, with whom I became a  fellow band member with.  The band was called The Valiants.  Little did I  know then, that was the start of a lucrative career for me.  

I  left Oswego after high school and enrolled in Delhi Institute of  Technology, near Oneonta, NY.  That did not stop me.  Just as in high  school, I performed at many college smokers (frat parties).  I did not  graduate from Delhi, but then entered the Air force.  Here is where it  gets interesting.  I carried my saxophone with me.  It became a  permanent piece of luggage.  I entered an electronics school in Denver,  Colorado.  While there, I heard about a favorite group of mine that was  going to perform at a Natural Amphitheater, in Red rock, Colorado.  I am  pretty sure that everyone will know the name of the group: Earth, Wind,  and Fire.  The lead man in the group was Maurice White.  I had the  opportunity to meet him backstage and asked if I could sit in on the  show, and the answer was yes.  

At  the end of my schooling in Denver, I was deployed to Germany, for what I  learned would be for the next four years.  All I could think of was  what an opportunity.  Just after I arrive, I met four musicians that  were starting up a group.  We called that group, The Illusions.  I was  the only horn player.  I decided to purchase the kind of sax's (The  Selmer).  I guess you would call it the Porsche of saxophones.   I  acquired the horn from one of the four people I had just met who was an  employee of a music store.  We soon became very popular through word of  mouth.  Our first gig was at the Heidelberg University in Bavaria,  Germany, otherwise known as The Black Forest.  From there we obtained a  gig playing every weekend at a town on the Mozel River.  At this point,  we started to be known internationally.  I remember performing on the  beach in Barcelona, Spain.  The stage that was set up was absolutely  beautiful.  There must have been hundreds of people there.  The next gig  was in the Metz, France, right outside of Paris.  All of these gigs had  to be oriented around the weekends of the Mozel.  One morning I found a  note on my bunk that the base commander wanted to see me.  All I could  think was, what have I done wrong?  This guy was a full bird colonel.   When I got to his office, he said to me, I hear that you perform in a  group, is that right?  I said yes sir, it is.  He told me, do not give  it up.  You are forming good relationships with the German people.  I  would like to hear that you are continuing to perform.  The base  commander arranged a base wide party with not only the base I was on,  but members of three other bases in that area.  

In  August of 1969, I returned to the states.  Before leaving Germany, the  lead guitar player of our group asked me to come down to the Carolina's  where he was from and we would try and start up another group.  This is  exactly what I did.   When I got to the Carolina's, I met up with him.   He had made arrangements to go to East Tennessee State University in  Johnson City Tennessee.  So, I enrolled in the school as well.  There  were many student musicians there.  Along with three other students  there, we started a group called the Illusions.  We began to acquire  many gigs, most of which were for the school.    We performed at a  sports arena in Atlanta, Georgia.  

January  18, 1996, my life and career in the music industry changed drastically.   I could no longer perform due to a stroke leaving me unable to use my  entire left side.  The stage has become a thing of the past for me.  It  saddens me that I am unable to perform with everyone tonight (October  21, 2018 Induction ceremony), but I am honored to have been chosen to be  an inductee into the Oswego Music Hall of Fame and share my career  adventures with all of my fans and fellow musicians.  

Thank you.