Lil' Wally

Along with Frankie Yankovic, Li'l Wally was 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 (as opposed to the Cleveland-based Yankovic's faster, more demanding Slovenian style). 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 (a more challenging member of the accordion family) and drums in co...