Walter "Li'l Wally" Jagiello stage names Władysław Jagiełło, Li'l Wally, also Mały Władziu and Mały Władzio, which both mean "Li'l Wally" in Polish (August 1, 1930 – August 17, 2006) was a

Polish American Polish Americans ( pl, Polonia amerykańska) are Americans who either have total or partial Polish ancestry, or are citizens of the Republic of Poland. There are an estimated 9.15 million self-identified Polish Americans, representing about 2.83 ...

polka Polka is a dance and genre of dance music originating in nineteenth-century Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. Though associated with Czech culture, polka is popular throughout Europe and the Americas. History Etymology The term ...

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

and

music arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...

from

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. He was a self-taught

Chemnitzer concertina A Chemnitzer concertina is a musical instrument of the hand-held bellows-driven free-reed category, sometimes called ''squeezeboxes''. The Chemnitzer concertina is most closely related to the bandoneón (German spelling: ''Bandonion''), more ...

and drum player, who sang Polish as well as English in many of his songs. His most famous compositions include "Puka Jasiu (Johnny's Knocking)" and "I Wish I Was Single Again". His song "

Let's Go, Go-Go White Sox "Let's Go, Go-Go White Sox" is the fight song of the Chicago White Sox of the American League. The song first appeared in 1959 during the White Sox' run for the AL pennant—the team's first league championship since the infamous Black Sox Scanda ...

", as recorded by

Captain Stubby and the Buccaneers Captain Stubby and the Buccaneers was a country-comedy band that performed largely in the Midwest United States from the late 1930s into the 1960s. Members * Tom C. Fouts (Captain Stubby) November 24, 1918 - May 26, 2004. Comedy, played novelty ...

underwent a resurgence in 2005. Originally starting out at the age of 8 singing with the Eddie Zima Orchestra performing up and down "Polish Broadway,"

Division_Street_(Chicago) Division Street is a major east-west street in Chicago, Illinois, located at 1200 North (one and a half miles north of Madison Street). Division Street begins in the Gold Coast neighborhood near Lake Shore Drive, passes through Polonia Triangl ...

in Chicago, Wally soon struck out on his own and formed his own band "The Happy Harmony Boys". He was a pioneer in the concept of the

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

, starting his own Jay-Jay Records in 1951 after a brief career recording stint on

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

, at the age of twenty. He was renowned for his drumbeat and slower and more danceable tempo, which became a mainstay of "Chicago Style" Polish-American polka sound. His arrangements of many popular Polish folk tunes, and many originals as well, are those used today by polka bands all over the United States. His nickname was derived from his short stature (5 foot 6 as an adult), especially during his youth, when he would stand on a picnic table to sing. The highlight of Jagiello's career was performing for

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

in 1984, who requested Wally continue playing after his initial song, "God Bless Our Polish Pope". The pontiff blessed him after his performance, telling him "God will reward you for all your hard work." He also appeared several times playing his concertina on ''

The Lawrence Welk Show ''The Lawrence Welk Show'' is an American televised musical variety show hosted by big band leader Lawrence Welk. The series aired locally in Los Angeles for four years, from 1951 to 1955, then nationally for another 16 years on ABC from 195 ...

''. He was one of the first two inductees into the

International Polka Association The International Polka Association (IPA) is located in Chicago, Illinois and dedicated to the study and preservation of polka music and the cultural heritage of Polish Americans who have made this music tradition part of their heritage. The IPA ...

's Hall of Fame in 1969. All total, he has collected 17 gold and 4 platinum records. In his later years, he retired to

Miami Beach Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. It was incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on natural and man-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the latter of which sep ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, but continued to perform and record and please audiences nationwide. Li'l Wally died on August 17, 2006 in Florida at the age of 76. He was cremated.

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

King of Chicago-style polka dies; co-wrote Sox fight song
by Dave Hoekstra, ''The Chicago Sun-Times'', August 22, 2006.
Walter "Li'l Wally" Jagiello: 1930 - 2006
by Trevor Jensen, ''The Chicago Tribune'', August 23, 2006, Accessed August 24, 2006. *

External links

Jay-Jay Records - Official site

Jay-Jay on Myspace.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jagiello, Walter 1930 births 2006 deaths Polka musicians Musicians from Chicago Chemnitzer concertina players 20th-century American musicians Songwriters from Illinois