Christian Waldemar "Wally" Roker (April 14, 1937 – December 2, 2015) was an American

vocal group A vocal group is a performing ensemble of vocalists who sing and harmonize together. The first well-known vocals groups emerged in the 19th century, and the style had reached widespread popularity by the 1940s. Types Vocal groups can come in se ...

singer, best known as a member of

The Heartbeats The Heartbeats were a 1950s American doo-wop group best known for their song "A Thousand Miles Away", which charted at No. 53 in the US ''Billboard'' listings in 1957. Career The Heartbeats began as a quartet in early 1953 in Jamaica, Queens a ...

and sometimes called "The Godfather of

Doo-Wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a genre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chica ...

". He helped establish

Scepter Records Scepter Records was an American record company founded in 1959 by Florence Greenberg. History Florence Greenberg founded Scepter Records from the $4,000 she received after she sold Tiara Records and the Shirelles to Decca Records. When the Shire ...

, worked in promotion and management for several other

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

s, and helped set up the Doo-Wop Hall of Fame.

Life and work

He was the son of

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

-born Frederik Waldemar Frederiksen, and Edna Hennemann, born in the

Virgin Islands The Virgin Islands ( es, Islas Vírgenes) are an archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. They are geologically and biogeographically the easternmost part of the Greater Antilles, the northern islands belonging to the Puerto Rico Trench and St. Croix ...

, who took the name Roker from a later marriage. Wally Roker was brought up by his mother and stepfather in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He started singing in a vocal group, the Hearts, with Vernon Sievers, Albert Crump and Robbie Tatum, in

Jamaica, Queens Jamaica is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It is mainly composed of a large commercial and retail area, though part of the neighborhood is also residential. Jamaica is bordered by Hollis to the east; St. Albans, Springfi ...

, in 1953. With Roker handling bass vocals, they added lead singer James Sheppard (later of

Shep and the Limelites Shep and the Limelites was an American doo-wop trio of the early 1960s, composed of James "Shep" Sheppard (September 24, 1935 – January 24, 1970), Clarence Bassett (March 13, 1936 – January 25, 2005) and Charles Baskerville (July 6, 1936 – J ...

), and changed their name to the Heartbeats when they found out there was another group of the same name. The group first recorded in 1955, and had their biggest hit, "

A Thousand Miles Away "A Thousand Miles Away" is a 1956 song recorded by the American doo-wop group The Heartbeats. The song was written by James Sheppard and William H. Miller. Background Sheppard co-wrote the song after his ex-girlfriend moved away to Texas. Track ...

", the following year. The Heartbeats released a succession of singles through the late 1950s on various labels, including Hull,

Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...

, Gee and

Roulette Roulette is a casino game named after the French word meaning ''little wheel'' which was likely developed from the Italian game Biribi''.'' In the game, a player may choose to place a bet on a single number, various groupings of numbers, the ...

, before splitting up in 1960. Roker had been in charge of much of the group's business arrangements. After they split up, Roker worked in A&R for

Florence Greenberg Florence Greenberg (September 16, 1913 – November 2, 1995) was an American record label owner, music executive, and record producer. Greenberg was the founder and owner of Tiara Records, Scepter Records, Hob Records, and Wand Records. She is ...

, and introduced her to songwriter

Luther Dixon Luther Dixon (August 7, 1931 – October 22, 2009) was an American songwriter, record producer, and singer. Dixon's songs achieved their greatest success in the 1950s and 1960s, and were recorded by Elvis Presley, the Beatles, the Jackson 5, B.B ...

, who went on to write several hits for

the Shirelles The Shirelles were an American girl group formed in Passaic, New Jersey in 1957. They consisted of schoolmates Shirley Owens (later Shirley Alston Reeves), Doris Coley (later Doris Kenner-Jackson), Addie "Micki" Harris (later Addie Harris McFadd ...

on Scepter. In 1965 he moved to

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, and in 1970 to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, where he worked for several record labels including

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

. He worked in various capacities as record executive, producer, publisher, and manager, for the band

Tower of Power Tower of Power is an American R&B and funk based band and horn section, originating in Oakland, California, that has been performing since 1968. There have been a number of lead vocalists, the best-known being Lenny Williams, who fronted the b ...

among others. He also set up the Roker Record Group, with several labels within it. Peter Lemongello Jr., "Godfather Of Doo Wop, Wally Roker, Dies At 78", ''SwinginSoiree.com''
Retrieved 29 January 2016 He helped establish the Doo-Wop Music Hall of Fame in Los Angeles, and became its Director of Music Marketing. He also appeared in reunion concerts with other members of the Heartbeats. "R.I.P. Wally Roker, co-founder of doo wop’s The Heartbeats", ''SoulTracks,com''
Retrieved 29 January 2016 He died at the age of 78, following brain surgery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roker, Wally 1937 births 2015 deaths People from Jamaica, Queens American basses American music industry executives