[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 152 (Tuesday, September 1, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E804-E805]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        REMEMBERING RONNIE KOLE

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JOE WILSON

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, September 1, 2020

  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Madam Speaker, I would like to take the 
time to remember Ronnie Kole for his contribution to the musical 
community and his charitable work. I include in the Record the 
following article ``Ronnie Kole, renowned New Orleans pianist who 
performed for 6 presidents and a pope, dead at 89'' by Dominic Massa on 
August 28th from the The New Orleans Advocate:

       Ronnie Kole, the renowned New Orleans pianist who performed 
     for six presidents, a pope and audiences around the world, 
     died Thursday. He was 89.
       Kole, a consummate entertainer known for his boundless 
     energy, had been in declining health but stopped performing 
     only recently, according to his son. Kole's wife of 36 years, 
     Gardner, died this past January.
       Kole's career spanned nearly 70 years and took him to 
     Carnegie Hall, concert venues and music clubs across the 
     United States, Europe and Asia. He recorded dozens of albums 
     and was a frequent performer in New Orleans, where he settled 
     in the 1960s before moving to Slidell some 30 years ago.
       Kole--who was tall, lanky, goateed and always immaculately 
     dressed--entertained six U.S. presidents during his career. 
     In 1987, he performed ``Amazing Grace'' for Pope John Paul II 
     during the Holy Father's visit to New Orleans. Kole performed 
     at the outdoor Mass celebrated by the pope near the UNO 
     Lakefront Arena. Accompanied by a symphony orchestra and a 
     350-voice choir, Kole called the performance ``the way I've 
     always envisioned doing `Amazing Grace,' '' mixing the hymn 
     with bits of ``Jesus Christ Superstar'' and the ``Hallelujah 
     Chorus.''
       The song was a hallmark of most every Ronnie Kole concert. 
     His set lists showcased a diverse range of musical genres 
     from modern and traditional jazz to show tunes, classical 
     music and everything in between. A typical show might feature 
     ``Rhapsody in Blue,'' ``Somewhere Over the Rainbow,'' ``What 
     a Wonderful World,'' selections from Mozart or Beethoven, 
     ``Ave Maria'' and a souped-up version of ``When the Saints Go 
     Marching ln,'' just to name a few. In between songs at his 
     concerts, he would frequently entertain his audience with 
     jokes, anecdotes, self-deprecating asides and musical history 
     lessons.
       ``My feeling is, anything your mind can think of, you can 
     put down on a piano,'' he said in a 2004 Times-Picayune 
     profile. ``To me, a piano is an orchestra. It's a very 
     imaginative instrument that you can do most anything on, 
     which I try to do. I try not to have limitations. I have a 
     lot of fun with it. I love to entertain.''
       According to Times-Picayune music writer Keith Spera, Kole 
     was renowned for his showstopping, all-request Broadway 
     medley, which concluded with him playing the main melodic 
     theme with his left hand and a succession of requested 
     melodies with his right--simultaneously.
       Kole was a founder of French Quarter Festival, performing 
     at the first event in 1984 and every festival since. He was 
     scheduled to perform at this year's French Quarter Fest, as 
     well as at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, both 
     of which were canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. 
     Kole had performed at nearly every New Orleans Jazz and 
     Heritage Festival since its inception in 1970 and played at 
     the modern event's precursor, the 1968 New Orleans Jazz 
     Festival.
       Born Ronald Kuhn, Kole was a native of Chicago. He suffered 
     from a heart condition as a child, which limited his outdoor 
     activities. ``When I was feeling good, I wanted to go outside 
     and play ball, but when I was sick I was sometimes laid up 
     for a month and a half, two months in bed,'' he said in a 
     2012 WWNO-FM interview. ``My aunt played piano by ear and she 
     had a big old upright piano. She showed me how to play 
     `Chopsticks' . . . and my mother and father said, `Maybe we 
     should get him a piano. That would keep him from wanting to 
     go outside to play baseball.' ''
       Kole recalled first tickling the ivories around the age of 
     13 and considered himself largely self-taught. He went on the 
     road in the Midwest to perform when he was just 16.
       Kole first came to New Orleans in 1957 to audition as part 
     of a jazz trio. He didn't get the job but he fell in love 
     with the city.
       While back in Chicago, he crossed paths with New Orleans 
     music great Al Hirt. Although Kole had already toured the 
     country and made somewhat of a name for himself as a young 
     jazzman, he was uncertain of his career path. Hirt, a 
     nationally known jazz trumpeter, encouraged Kole's career and 
     gave it a major jump start by asking him to bring his 
     ensemble to New Orleans in 1964 to serve as the house band 
     for Hirt's Bourbon Street club.
       ``I guess I owe everything to Al for bringing me down,'' 
     Kole said in 1987. ``And also for kicking me in the fanny a 
     year or so prior to that, when I had totally given up and 
     decided to play solo in a restaurant piano bar thing.''
       Kole worked at Hirt's club for several years before opening 
     his own club, Kole's Korner, where he performed for six 
     years.
       ``Man, I'm treated like a hometown boy here,'' Kole said of 
     the city in a 1967 Times-Picayune profile. ``The people are 
     wonderful--even the club operators on Bourbon Street--there's 
     none of the cutthroat competition here that I've found 
     elsewhere. To us, New Orleans is the ideal place.''
       Before coming to New Orleans, Kole, who performed solo but 
     also with a trio or septet, frequently played Las Vegas and 
     on national

[[Page E805]]

     television, with appearances on ``The Tonight Show with 
     Johnny Carson,'' ``The Mike Douglas Show'' and ``The Merv 
     Griffin Show.''
       A dedicated civic booster, Kole served as president and 
     chairman of the Sugar Bowl, chairman of the Louisiana Tourist 
     Commission and president of the World Trade Center. He was 
     also one of the investors in the New Orleans Buccaneers, the 
     short-lived 1960s team affiliated with the American 
     Basketball Association, which later merged with the NBA.
       Kole was also known for his philanthropy. For nearly 30 
     years, the Jazz on the Bayou fundraiser, held at the Koles' 
     home on the banks of Bayou Liberty in Slidell, raised almost 
     $2 million for local charities. Beneficiaries included Easter 
     Seals Louisiana, STARC, Safe Harbor, the Tammany Trace 
     Foundation and other local charities. For many years, Kole 
     also hosted the annual Easter Seals telethon on local 
     television.
       He was a gourmet and wine connoisseur whose personal cellar 
     once contained more than 3,000 bottles of vintage wines. His 
     love for French wines and vineyards began with his 1984 
     honeymoon in France, where he and his wife Gardner would 
     return every summer.
       Kole wrote several songs based on the vineyards and wines 
     of France. He compiled them into a series of CDs, called 
     ``Music of the Vines.'' The work earned him the honor of 
     Chevalier of Arts and Letters, the highest award presented by 
     the French government for achievement in the arts. ``Music 
     opens the door to anything in the world,'' he once said, 
     ``and wine does, too.''
       A life-size statue of Kole, donning a tuxedo and holding a 
     glass of wine, is included in the New Orleans Musical Legends 
     Park on Bourbon Street, alongside fellow icons Pete Fountain, 
     Fats Domino, Chris Owens, Irma Thomas, Allen Toussaint, Louis 
     Prima and Hirt.
       Last year, the City of Slidell officially named its 
     Heritage Park Amphitheater Stage ``The Ronnie and Gardner 
     Kole Stage'' in recognition of the couple's cultural 
     contributions to the city.
       Kole was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame in 
     2012.
       In addition to the loss of his second wife, Gardner Morrow 
     Schneider Kole, the musician also lost a son, James F. Kuhn. 
     His first wife, Violet Shafer Kole, is also deceased.
       Survivors include five children, Sandra Kole Bernos, of 
     Poplarville, Mississippi; Rhonda Kole Glassmeyer, of Slidell; 
     Ronnie Kole Jr., of Lafayette; Bobbi Kole Ballero, of New 
     Orleans; and James V. Kuhn, of Decatur, Illinois; three 
     stepchildren, Pete Schneider, Chris Schneider and Doree 
     Schneider Donovan, all of Slidell; as well as 12 
     grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.

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