George Portz leaves indelible mark on bluegrass music in southern Illinois and beyond
George Portz was known for his old-time fiddle playing, corny jokes, friendly handshakes and tireless promotion of bluegrass music in southern Illinois and eastern Missouri for more than 50 years.
His death of a heart attack at age 70 last week shocked and saddened fans who had attended performances of his band, festivals that he organized and fiddle contests that he hosted, including some that helped launch the careers of musicians such as Grammy Award winner Alison Krauss.
Portz could best be described as an “ambassador” of bluegrass, according to Keith Dudding, a deejay on KDHX-FM radio in St. Louis for 30 years and host of the Saturday morning show “Down Yonder.”
“George has been as important to bluegrass in this area as any one person could be,” Dudding said. “I have a hard time thinking of anyone else who as done as much to expose the general populace, to give people a chance to hear and see bluegrass music.
“He was always positive, always upbeat, always inviting. He was always creating an opportunity for people to hear bluegrass or capitalizing on one. He helped make a scene for it.”
Dudding, 64, of Edwardsville, also pointed out that Portz taught scores of children to play fiddle over the years. It was only recently that Dudding learned he was giving the lessons away for free.
One of Portz’s students was Caitlyn Richards, 18, of Dahlgren. He helped her gain stage experience by allowing her to play and sing with his band, George Portz and the Friends of Bluegrass.
“He taught me everything I know, and he wouldn’t take a dime for it,” Richards said. “I tried to pay him a million times, but he wouldn’t let me. He wanted the satisfaction of people being able to pass down bluegrass from generation to generation. It’s what he loved to do.”
Richards plays several instruments, including fiddle, and sings the songs of Loretta Lynn and Dolly Parton, as well as gospel. She’s now majoring in music education at University of Evansville in Indiana.
Richards and two of Portz’s other students will perform the old-time classic “Angelina Baker” at his funeral Friday.
“We all loved him,” Richards said. “He was basically like another grandpa to me. He told horrible jokes, but everyone laughed at them anyway.”
.jpeg "1969 State Championships (1).jpeg")
.jpg "4 Generations (combined2).jpg")
State fiddle champion at 16
Portz was born to Harold and Kathaleen Portz in 1952 in Granite City and moved to Shiloh in the 1960s, according to his obituary. He followed in the fiddling footsteps of his mother and grandfather, Perry Biggs.
Sixteen-year-old George won the Illinois open fiddle championship in 1969, making him the youngest state champion in the United States, and he went on to capture a national title 12 years later. Also in 1969, Biggs won the Illinois contest’s senior division.
Portz graduated from O’Fallon Township High School in 1970 after serving as captain of the wrestling team and playing violin with the Belleville Philharmonic Youth Orchestra.
Portz later toured with the Kentucky-based Goins Brothers band and performed with the late Bill Monroe, known as the “father of bluegrass,” at the Grand Ole Opry, Washington Monument and White House during President Richard Nixon’s administration.
Portz’s mother, grandfather and son Jason, who started fiddling at age 6, often joined him on stage.
“When I was a young child, we were the only four fiddling generations known in the United States,” said Jason Portz, 48, of O’Fallon. “We would travel around and play three or four songs at my dad’s shows. Our family song was ‘Faded Love’ by Bob Wills.”
George Portz formed his own traditional bluegrass band in 1978.
George Portz and the Friends of Bluegrass performed with or opened for national artists such as Krauss, John Hartford, Charlie Daniels, Johnny Gimble, Riders in the Sky, ‘Pappy’ Wade Ray, Michael Martin Murphy, Patsy Montana and Rhonda Vincent.
Perhaps the band’s most notable audience member was President Ronald Reagan in 1986 at the Illinois State Fair.
The band stayed extremely busy, performing an average 75 shows a year at traditional music festivals, fiddle contests, town picnics, concerts in the park, county fairs, tractor and threshing shows and private parties.
Dave Montgomery, the band’s guitarist for 44 years, remembers finishing one afternoon show at a bluegrass festival in Hillsboro, driving more than 30 miles for a fiddle contest in another town, then returning to the festival for an evening set.
“(George) was the hardest-working guy as far as promoting bluegrass in this area that I have ever met,” said Montgomery, 65, of Fenton, Missouri. “He just loved the music.”
George Portz emceed many events, wearing his trademark plaid western shirts and telling jokes he deemed “clean” enough for his family-oriented audiences. Jason Portz recalls him jotting them down on a yellow legal pad while watching “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.”
Landlord and wrestling coach
George Portz is survived by sons Jason and Justin Portz and daughter Kaitlin Huelsman; grandsons Mason Portz and Trae Huelsman; significant other Deanna “Dee” Hardgrave; three siblings and other family members.
Many people assumed that George Portz played music for a living, but that wasn’t the case.
He earned a kinesiology degree at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and worked as head wrestling coach at Collinsville High School from 1981 to 1998. Team accomplishments included a regional title in 1991, four wrestlers placing at state and 242 dual-meet victories, according to his obituary.
In 1988, Portz took over Shiloh Mobile Home Park, a business his parents had owned and operated since the 1960s, along with other metro-east rental properties.
That’s where George Portz developed his strong work ethic and entrepreneurial skills, said Jason Portz, who works in the finance and insurance business.
“He had 80-some rentals that he managed,” his son said. “He did all the maintenance and took care of all the bills. It was not something he contracted out to a property-management company. He did all of it on his own, and my grandpa did the same thing, and we take pride in that in our family.”
George Portz suffered a heart attack on Jan. 9 while working on one of his rental units. He had undergone surgery last year to adjust 16-year-old stents and add a couple more, so the family was aware of his heart problems, but his death was unexpected, according to Jason Portz.
The remaining members of George Portz and the Friends of Bluegrass have announced that they will honor all commitments to perform at festivals and other events in 2023.
It’s unknown what will happen after that, Montgomery said, noting that band members are still “processing” Portz’s death.
“As painful as it is to think that Dad’s not here today and he’s not going to be here tomorrow, we know that his legacy lives on,” Jason Portz said. “The impact he had on bluegrass music and old-time fiddling ... It’s going to be passed on from generation to generation because of my dad’s efforts.”
The public is invited to George Portz’s visitation from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Schildknecht Funeral Home in O’Fallon. His funeral will be held at 1 p.m. Friday at Shiloh Methodist Church with a second visitation beginning one hour before the service.
Memorial donations can be made to Bank of O’Fallon, c/o George Portz Memorial Scholarship Fund, 901 S. Lincoln Ave., O’Fallon, IL 62269. Condolences may be extended to the family online at www.schildknechtfh.com.
.jpeg "Family 70th BDay (1).jpeg")
This story was originally published January 18, 2023 at 7:00 AM.
