THE TIBOR BROTHERS: 1946 to the present

In 1933 a young Margaret Hecker met and married the handsome young Joseph Tibor, whose family also made music, but only for their own entertainment. Margaret Tibor had grown up in a musical family playing for dances with her Mom and Dad, Ida and Leonard Hecker and her brothers and sisters.

In 1946 Joseph and Margaret Tibor bought a 12 bass accordion, thinking that maybe one of their sons might be interested in learning to play it. Shortly after that they acquired a cheap Sears & Roebuck guitar. Then Margaret's parents, Leonard and Ida Hecker, sent them a set of drums from Oregon. Soon after, Albert, Bernie and Charlie, the three oldest Tibor Brothers, were swingin' away.

The family grew quickly, starting with the first of their alphabetically named children; Albert, Bernie, and Charlie. The family would eventually also include: Dorothy, Ernest, Francis, Gerard, Harvey, Irene, Jerome, Kurt, Larry, Marie, and Noreen.

Even with the new musical instruments to learn, and the many chores to do around their Lark, North Dakota farm, there was still always time for a little "horsing" around. Here's Al, Charlie, and Bernie on their horses Frostie, Corky, & Daisy.

But the music came quickly, and it wasn't long before the "Rhythm Cowboys" found themselves performing for local dances. Mom played along some, but Al, Bernie, and Charlie could handle a job on their own soon. And, yes, the original "Barn Dances" were actually held in barns! Here we see Albert on the accordion, Bernie on the guitar, and Charlie on the drums in the hayloft of someone's barn.

Little sister Dorothy joined the group soon after its inception as did little brother Ernest. The picture from left to right shows: Ernest on banjo, Dorothy on guitar, Bernie on fiddle, Charlie on drums, and Albert on the accordion. Unfortunately Ernest died of Leukemia in August 1950, about a year after joining the band.

All this musical activity was obviously having an effect on the entire family, creating inspiration for even the smallest family members. Here we see Gerard and Harvey ~ musical wannabees ~ psyching up for the future.

The band continued on into the 1950's with Albert, Bernie, Charlie, and Dorothy, billed as "The Rhythm Cowboys and Dorothy." In the early 1950's, The Rhythm Cowboys appeared on KDIX Radio in Dickinson on their "Sunday Afternoon Radio Show," which featured talent from all over western North Dakota. They soon became the staff band for KDIX, and, working with a young announcer at the radio station, Bob Weiler, the band's name was changed to "The Country Cousins." Bob Weiler advised, guided, and encouraged the band in its transformation from just a dance band to a show band. With Bob Weiler and other area artists, The Country Cousins performed throughout western North Dakota on the KDIX Barn Dance. A performance typically started with a musical/comedy show and followed by a dance. The group performed indoors and out, in big towns and small.

The KDIX Barn Dance group also featured the girls: sister Dorothy, and Jean Kastner, sister to Don Kastner, were Regular members of the group. Tiny Tim Terry and Tony Grinsteiner were also a part of the Barn Dance Group for a time. With the advent of television in North Dakota, The Country Cousins were one of the first bands to appear on live television in the state, appearing on KFYR-TV in Bismarck their first day on the air. The group added little brothers Francis and Gerard on drums and bass fiddle and embarked on a very successful run of weekly television shows on KDIX-TV in Dickinson, starting in 1956 and running into 1959. "The Country Cousins" had the number one rated TV show over KDIX for several of those years.

Dorothy left the group in the late fifties and got married, Harvey joined the band shortly thereafter and in 1960 the group's name was changed to "The Mavericks" because of a conflict over the use of "The Country Cousins." As "The Mavericks" the band cut its first record, a country tune written by Charlie called "I Don't Love You Anymore" and a rock n roll instrumental called "Geeky Bird" written by Francis, Gerard, and Harvey. In late '61 The Mavericks did a fill-in TV show out of KUMV-TV Williston, which soon moved to Minot's KMOT-TV, (both Meyer Broadcasting affiliates) and by February 1962, The Mavericks were performing another weekly television show, this time from KFYR in Bismarck and carried through KMOT in Minot and KUMV in Williston. The show aired every Tuesday night right after the Evening News and preempted the first half hour of the Johnny Carson Show.

Gerard left for the Marines in October of 1965, and Harvey followed in January '66. Little brothers Jerome, Kurt, and Larry were recruited to replace them. Sometimes referred to as the "Little Mavericks" Jerome, Kurt, and Larry developed their musical skills very quickly as Albert, Bernie, and Charlie started phasing themselves out of the band and into other lines of work. Gerard and Harvey, having both been sworn into the Marine Corps on their TV show, did appear on the program a couple of times when they were home on leave.By 1968 Al was selling pianos and doing a lounge act with Francis. Bernie was selling Insurance, and Charlie was working in broadcasting. Transferred to KOYN Radio in Billings MT, Charlie and his wife Ardelle formed a new musical group called "The Partnership" and continued performing in the Billings area. Back from the service, Gerard and Harvey did a musical duet for a short time then started working with younger brothers Jerome, Kurt & Larry. Jerome left for the Marines in 1969, and Francis re-joined the other four brothers as "The Tibor Brothers." After the service, Jerome rejoined the group for a short time then left to form his own group with his wife Lois.

On July 8th of 2006, The Tibor Bros. celebrated the 60th anniversary of the band with a 13 hour, 3 stage marathon street show & dance. The idea was to showcase the many musical groups that have grown out of this musical family. The day featured about a dozen different groups - each one including at least one family member - and some made up of all family members...Nephew Alan Tibor came all the way from Florida with his family band to participate. Many other family members were featured individually with The Tibor Bros. providing back-up. It was hot, windy, and dusty, but that didn't stop the several thousand fans, who came from all over the state and beyond, from turning out and having a great 'reunion' time celebrating with the band.

Especially for the Anniversary, The Tibor Bros. recorded a CD with their 86 year old Aunt Tillie (their mother's sister); they did a CD with brother Charlie (who no longer performs regularly with the group), and they released a new CD of their own, "Ballads of The Old West", probably one of their best ever.

Although The Tibor Bros. no longer perform full time, they still remain active working in their studio and performing the occasional dance, still performing a wide variety of music.