Photo Credit - Gene Taylor
Wally’s first regional hit It’s Cold Outside, written by Dann Klawon, was recorded with Cleveland, Ohio’s The Choir for Roulette Records when Wally was seventeen years old. Initial success in the area’s most popular bands, The Mods, Cyrus Erie, Target, and POE put Cleveland and Wally on the map in rock and roll circles as these bands packed in fans at Mentor Hullabaloo, The Painesville Armory, Finlandia Hall, and later The Agora and JB’s in Kent. As lead/rhythm guitarist, singer and songwriter in the world renowned Raspberries, Wally recorded four albums with Capitol Records in the early 1970’s with their song Go All The Way reaching #4 on Billboard’s Hot 100 charts, earning the band a gold record. The band toured extensively in the U.S. and Europe including a critically acclaimed performance at Carnegie Hall. Wally’s dynamic live performance at that venue left an indelible memory on music business insiders and fans for years to come. They performed on TV’s Dick Clark’s American Bandstand, Rock Concert, and Midnight Special, among others. Their Starting Over LP was named in Rolling Stone’s Top 100 of the year. Wally’s driving guitars are credited with the power behind the band being hailed as the Father’s of Power Pop.
Capitol later released a series of greatest hits and re-mastered compilation CD’s. Artists like Bruce Springsteen, Courtney Love, & Gun ‘N Roses credit Raspberries with influencing their musical aspirations. In the mid-70’s, Wally recorded an album on Motown’s Prodigy label with his band Tattoo. He later teamed with Dino Danelli and Gene Cornish of The Rascals, along with Lex Masrchesi and Frankie Vinci on two critically hailed Atlantic Records albums as the band Fotomaker, and later toured with Gene and Dino in The New Rascals in the late ‘90’s. Raspberries reunited in 2004 for a series of sold-out performances and an appearance on VH1’s Behind The Music.
Wally has performed as a guest musician, singer, and producer on many artists’ CD’s, including the Dry CD with his son Jesse. He was Music Director for L.A. band Candy’s LP, and also for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame & Museum’s Topping Off Concert, assembling an all-star line-up of legendary Cleveland and national artists including Jerry Lee Lewis, Gilby Clarke, and Bobby Womack. Wally has loaned the Rock Hall over 40 exhibit items from his personal collection, including his Flying V guitar, photographs, stage clothes, and other memorabilia, some currently on indefinite display. Most recently, Wally added guitar tracks to Nashville Christian songwriter John Lemonis’ CD, wrote a song Set In Stone for a documentary called StoneWorks, currently making the rounds at film festivals, and performed with Phil Keaggy and The Glass Harp in a tribute to John Lennon. He was featured in a WKYC-TV special Cleveland Rocks, showcasing Cleveland’s rich rock and roll legacy. His co-written song Don’t Want To Say Goodbye was recorded by Brazilian artist Kenzo, and the song yearly wins a Top 100 spot on The Netherlands national radio station.