Li'l Wally has been one of the most important and infuential
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.
Walter Edward Jagiello was born in Chicago on October 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,
with Chigago polka godfather Eddie Zima at age ten, he 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 Record label, at which point he was still singing in
Polish. Wally's style became so popular in Chicago that virtually ever other polka band in the city
had to adapt their own sound to fit his blueprint.During the 60's, 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 a recording studio.
