Walt Groller
Living Category – Inducted 1986
Walt Groller was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania
on February 12, 1931. His parents were Austrian immigrants. At four
years of age, they bought him a small accordion. He was a self taught
musician who picked up the Austrian folk songs his mother sang to him.
 After
chores on the small family farm were done, he would practice many hours
everyday. He was hired for his first engagement at age twelve, and at
fourteen, Walt formed an orchestra. They performed at country hotels,
shuffleboard meets, and parties. Through these affairs, the orchestra
became more popular and clubs started to book them for dance nights.
The orchestra did well until 1952, when Walt was
inducted into the Armed Services. He served with the Army Engineers in
Korea where he joined the band that toured military bases. When
discharged in 1954, he regrouped his orchestra and began doing live
radio broadcasts every Sunday for ten years.
It was then that Stella Records contacted him, and
he cut seven albums and several 45s. One of the LPs, “New Christmas
Songs," is now a collector’s item.
Later Walt formed his own Chalet label, and
released eleven albums. His latest, “Thanks To All You People” has
several hits, “Say Thank You Dear and Give Her Roses” and “Papa, The Old
Accordion Man."
The orchestra travels throughout the country and
Walt plays on cruise ships as well as in Europe. He has performed with
the Schrammels in Vienna and other entertainers in Austria, Germany and
Switzerland. He has received many awards for his humanitarian works
here and abroad.
He has composed well over 100 songs, many of them
polka and waltz melodies. At present Walt is a host of his own weekly
TV show, “Café Internationale," which is aired on Fridays at 8:30 p.m.
The show features ethnic entertainment including Walt and his orchestra,
and is in its sixth year enjoying a vast viewing audience.
Chalet Records recently released a new cassette,
“Forty Years of Music – The Old Radio Band," an original recording taken
from his Sunday radio shows between 1955-1960.
Walt lives at home with his wife, Marilyn, and
son, Joe, the drummer in his dad’s orchestra. They also have a son,
Tom, and a daughter, Anita, both married.
In 1985, the Walt Groller Orchestra celebrated
forty years of music, 1945-1985. Walt has tried to live by his motto:
“Bringing people together through music!” |
