[Trombone-l] PASSING OF THE KING -- OF POLKAS

[Bill Dinwiddie]

Subject: Passing of the King


Li'l Wally has been one of the most important and influential polka 
musicians in America. He was responsible for creating the Chicago-style 
polka, a slower, more danceable, more improvisational sound, whose core 
appeal lay with Polish-Americans.
Wally was a cottage industry unto himself, recording at an often frantic 
pace and releasing over 150 albums on his own Jay Jay label. He played both 
concertina and drums in concert, and performed good-humored dance tunes and 
sentimental ballads with the same unwavering enthusiasm. So popular was he 
that he and Frankie Yankovic became the first inductees into the Polka Hall 
of Fame.
Walter Edward Jagiello was born in Chicago on August 1, 1930. His parents 
were both Polish immigrants, and he was exposed to polka music very early 
on -- so much so that he gave his first public performance at age eight, 
fearlessly taking the stage at a neighborhood picnic to belt out songs with 
the band. He started sneaking out to hear polka music in the clubs along 
Division Street, and was soon getting professional bookings as a singer with 
the bands he met. A self-taught drummer and concertina player, he started 
playing with Chicago polka godfather Eddie Zima at age ten, and was leading 
his own band at 14, by which time he'd dropped out of school. His first 
recording session came in 1946 for his own small Amber Records label, at 
which point he was still singing entirely in Polish.
In 1949, Wally recorded eight songs for Columbia Records.. Dissatisfied with 
the experience, he launched Jay Jay Records in 1951, and unleashed a torrent 
of music; during the '50s, he often managed to turn out ten or more LPs a 
year. His slowed-down style left his musicians plenty of room to improvise 
as they saw fit.
Wally's style became so popular in Chicago that virtually every other polka 
band in the city had to adapt their own sound to fit his blueprint. His 
burgeoning popularity crystallized into a breakout national hit in 1954, 
thanks to his first English-language recording, "I Wish I Was Single Again." 
It sold over 150,000 copies in Chicago alone, and climbed onto the national 
charts, where it topped out at Number 22. However, Wally was so overwhelmed 
by the duties of recording, performing, and running the label that he began 
to suffer from ulcers; he took some time off for a vacation in Miami, and 
liked it so much that he and his second wife Jeanette would eventually move 
there permanently.
In the meantime, however, Wally returned to Chicago and resumed his prolific 
writing and recording pace. He scored numerous hits with polka audiences 
over the years, including the all-time polka standards "No Beer in Heaven," 
"Li'l Wally Twirl," "Johnny's Knockin'," "She Likes Kielbasa," "Seven Days 
and Seven Nights," "Take Me Baby," "Chicago Is a Polka Town," 
"Lichtensteiner Polka," "Two Bucks Polka," "To Be in Love With Someone," and 
many, many, many others. He played gigs all over the Midwest whenever he 
could, touring with a core trio (concertina, trumpet, and drums) and adding 
a clarinet, bass, and/or violin player for bigger shows; most of his 
musicians held day jobs in factories, so there was near-constant turnover in 
his backing group. At the peak of his popularity, he had a polka radio show 
on 50,000 watt WLS in Chicago, and played some of the city's biggest dance 
halls, including a high-profile debut at the Aragon Ballroom in 1955. He 
also bought his own record-pressing plant, which enabled him to control more 
aspects of his one-man polka industry.
http://www.myspace.com/jayjayrecords
During the '60s, Li'l Wally appeared three times on The Lawrence Welk Show. 
By the end of the decade, he and his wife had relocated to Miami, where 
Wally bought Jackie Gleason's old recording studio. In 1969, he and Frankie 
Yankovic were selected as the two charter members of the Polka Hall of Fame.
http://www.internationalpolka.com/fame-ix.htm
The following year, he opened a polka bar in Miami, which stayed in business 
for the next six years but was eventually forced to close due to the city's 
much smaller Polish contingent. Wally continued to tour and record from his 
Miami home base, and managed another big polka hit with 1982's "God Bless 
Our Polish Pope." The unabashedly sentimental ode to Pope John Paul II got 
Wally the chance to perform for him in 1984. In later years, Wally teamed up 
with the new-school punk-polka outfit the Polkaholics in concert, though his 
own brand of polka remained defiantly traditional in the face of a wider 
country & western influence.
He died on August 17, 2006, in Miami, Florida, at age 76. There will be a 
viewing and service on Saturday, August 26th at the Pietryka Funeral Home, 
5734 W. Diversey Ave, Chicago, Illinois. Phone 773-889-0115

Patrick Henry
Sources: International Polka Association Website, Lil Wally interview

Forwarded by Bill Dinwiddie
billdin at comcast.net