By the time John joined the Sunrisers in 1963, he was already the drum corps equivalent of a rock star (You know, a soprano with a cast iron lip, a box full of gold medals, and a hot car.) As a soloist in the perennial NY State Champion St. Catherine's Queensmen, he was among the 2 dozen or so horn players who followed John Sasso and Bill Hightower to Mineola and boosted the strength of a corps that was about to make its mark on the national scene.

Naturally, Johnny slipped seamlessly into a solo soprano section of greats, including Frank Diliberto, Joe Leone, Bob Staudt and fellow Queensmen alumni like Paul Stewart, Claude Lucien, Paul Humphries and Tommy Howell. He became one of the anchors of that section for the next several years. If you’re interested in hearing a sample of John’s solo work, check out the solo in “Lord’s Prayer” and the duets in “Ballin' The Jack” and “Coney Island Baby.” He also accounted for more high “G”s then anyone except Frank Diliberto.

Talent certainly matters, but is a lot less significant than dedication. John never missed a rehearsal, parade, exhibition, contest or any other performance. Beyond that, he insured that several of the rest of us arrived in due course as well by driving many of the “Queens Crew” to all those events in his sporty black Ford convertible.

Like many another Sunriser, Johnny was summoned by the draft and served a tour in Viet Nam. Of course, the first thing he did on his return was show up at rehearsal...on time. It was as if he had never left, except that the lead line got measurably better that night.

John marched the rest of the decade and helped boost the Sunrisers to NorthEastern, Interstate, International and American Legion National Championships. He was a role model for so many of the younger members and epitomized everything it meant to be a champion.

Many of you here tonight have never heard of John Olivieri except possibly in passing conversations of the old days. That doesn’t surprise me because, of all things, John is a humble man. He loved stepping out of line to play his solos but always managed to keep his name out of Drum Corps News. But, anonymous or not, John’s fierce determination, fiery spirit, and uncompromising dedication to personal excellence made a significant contribution to our successes of the 1960's.

It is for all these reasons that John Olivieri has earned his membership in the Sunrisers Drum and Bugle Corps Hall of Fame Class of 2010.