Lil Wally Polka Tribute Song

“The Night Lil Wally Came To Town”

Composed, performed and produced by Randy Albright

From the 2006 Randy Albright album release "Gilead Lake Polka Party" available for purchase on this site

The Lil Wally Polka Tribute song, “ The Night Lil Wally Came To Town”, composed, performed and produced by multi genre music artist, Randy Albright, on iKahn Records out of Nashville Tennessee, is turning heads as well as hearts across America with the millions of Polish music lovers who remember Lil Wally, the polka king, and his music. Randy Albright’s tribute song is a little boy’s remembrance of the first time he ever got to witness the legendary polka king’s performance, in person, in his small rural Michigan town of approximately 2800 people, where he grew up. Lil Wally, the celebrated Polka king for over 50 years, wrote, sang and played his way into the hearts of world and church leaders, political dignitaries, as well as the common people around the world. Due to its unique tempo and beat, the Lil Wally style of polka has long since been the favorite of polka dancers across America and in countries where people love to do the polka dance in its different forms, including the polka-hop, as well as the polka-twist. Jay Jay records in Miami Florida, was the springboard for Lil Wally’s many legendary hit songs and records where the Polish-American polka lover could find hit after hit after hit to add to their record collections. In the 1960’s, 70’s, and 80’s, on Sunday afternoons, radio stations around the country would dedicate an hour or two for local area polka party programs to air on their stations; and local area polka band DJ’s, would fire up the Lil Wally records for all in their area to hear. Polish people around the United States who were lucky enough to hear him in person, can think back and remember the excitement they and others were feeling the first time they ever heard him play and sing in their town. Cities across America, with even the smallest population of Polish heritage, would hold Polish celebrations, some on a yearly basis, and it was always a big treat when they could book the polka king himself for their town dances. Many of Lil Wally’s songs have long outlived his personal performance career. As Lil Wally grew older and older, his songs and records made him more and more prevalent in the lives of those who loved his music. Many polka musicians around the country can remember the one and only time they might have had the extreme privilege to get up on stage and sing or play a song or two with the legendary artist. The polka musicians who had even more of a remembrance of those times were those who got to travel with him and be counted as one of his highly versatile and talented band musicians. One of those musicians to tell their story is Randy Albright who remembers growing up wishing he could be in Lil Wally’s Polka Band. Albright recalls, “ I remember closing my eyes and imagining myself on stage with him playing and singing. I remember listening while sitting by the record player on Sunday afternoons while my mother had a stack of Lil Wally records ready to drop into position under the record player needle, and between each record, wondering which album was coming next and then making my eyes go round and round trying to read the next song before it actually started playing. As often as we played Lil Wally records in our home, it wouldn’t take too long to memorize the order of songs on each album. Then, while my mother was in between her cooking in the kitchen, she would come out of the kitchen into the dining room and spend a few choice minutes teaching me the polka-hop. That’s one of the reasons I became an accomplished polka dancer as well as a stage performer in other genres of entertainment, and the memory of those Sunday afternoons are priceless.” The new Lil Wally Tribute Song by Randy Albright is available for purchase on this iKahnRecords.com site in the record store and would make a great gift to those polka music lovers who still enjoy a Lil Wally style polka. Because of the passing of the late great Lil Wally, Randy Albright has dedicated this tribute song to the Lil Wally fans who miss the man and his live performance.