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| James "Sunny Jim" White & Steve Tolliver Photo by:Lisa Wessely |
Press Release
November 6, 2014
For immediate release
Contact: Steve Tolliver, 727-729-1549
Key West, FL:
Steve Tolliver Named Songwriter of the Year
Singer/songwriter, Steve Tolliver wins the 2014 Trop Rock Music Association's "Songwriter of the Year" award in a tie with James Sunny Jim White. The Trop Rock Music Association is an international organization that represents the artists, fans, music venues and radio stations that are aligned with the music genre known as Trop Rock. The awards show is held every year in Key West at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville. The show is held in conjunction with a national convention of Jimmy Buffett fans and Trop Rock music lovers.
According to Wikipedia, Tropical rock (or trop rock) is a genre of popular music that incorporates elements and influences of rock and roll, reggae, country music, caribbean, Calypso music and zydeco, with themes and musical compositions inspired by an island style. The origins of the genre may be related to the musical sound of Jimmy Buffett and his folk singing style. Buffett and his Coral Reefer Band helped create a tropical sub-culture beginning in the early to mid-1980s, along with other artists including Bertie Higgins. Mainstream artists like Jack Johnson, Zac Brown Band, Alan Jackson and Kenny Chesney have songs in the trop rock genre.
Proving it's never too late to pursue your passion, Tolliver started writing his island themed songs 16 years ago at age 50 and retired early from his job as a sales rep. to devote full time to his music. He drew on his years of boating and cruising, the Florida waters, Bahamas and the Dry Tortugas. Also a pilot, Tolliver's favorite destinations included the Cayman Islands, Bahamas and his favorite flying destination, Key West. All of this added to his songwriting fodder. He recorded his first CD 5 years ago with 10 songs mostly about Key West and titled it "Songs in the Key of West". He formed his band the Trop Rock Junkies at that time to promote the CD. Tolliver and his band have become one of the top bands in the genre. They have played concerts for as many as 15,000 people and are a popular choice for the many trop rock music festivals around the country. The band has been nominated three years in a row for the Horizon Award (up and coming artists) by the Trop Rock Music Association as well. They have played from the Midwest to Key West and have a following of trop rock fans around the country, Europe, Australia and Canada. He has since recorded a total of four CD's and is working on his fifth. Steve's music is played on many AM, FM and Internet radio stations throughout the country that play trop rock music and can be found on all the usual music sites like I-tunes, CD Baby, Amazon and many others, you can also find it on his web site www.stevetolliver.com or http://www.troprockjunkies.com/booking.html
