Wally Deane

Cool Cool Daddy

``Elvis of Miami Beach``

Hey Cats, thanks for checking out Wally’s site! So glad you could stop by. Well, dad sang his last tune April 05, 1986. We sure do miss him around here. You know, up until the introduction of the internet, computers, and cellphones, the resources found on this site were simply not easily available, making it difficult to understand Wallys journey as a musician. Thanks to all of you, who have contributed to this site. You are appreciated. If you personally, have anything to share, we would love to hear from you!

Miami Beach
Rockabilly hall of fame
Officially Inducted Oct, of 2006
May 15,1936 - April 05,1986

Wally was born in Washington D.C to John Wallace Deane and Grace Talmedge Van Riper – Deane, May 15, 1936, contrary to internet falsehoods, claiming he was born in Bivins Texes.  John Wallace Deane was a reporter for the New York Times, and Washington Post. Grace Deane was a church organ player, medical stenographer, and pianist. Her father George Van Riper was well to do in real estate and his inventions.

Wallys Tumbstone
Wally-Deane-With-Watermark

Musicians Find

The Hard Road

The music of the 50’s was dominated by the birth of Rock & Roll. Rock & Roll was a powerful new form of music that combined elements of rhythm and blues (R&B), pop, blues, and hillbilly music to form a sound that truly shook America. In the 1950s, Payola evolved into music publishers and record labels providing cash, gifts, or royalties to radio station disc jockeys in order to gain airplay, which stimulated record sales, without mentioning these as sponsored airtime. However, not many of these musicians could afford, promoting themselves on this very hard journey.
Many artists struggled to survive in this period, despite their talent. Alcohol and Drug use becomes a normal part of the profession, and hindered many great artists. Many times “Drinking and drugging, their advances away”.

The road to stardom was not an easy one. Artists were responsible for paying for their recording time, promoting their own records, playing nightly venues to gain exposure, with very little pay (sometimes pennies) for each record sale.

No Radio Play, No Listeners

Payola & The Unfair Advantage
What is Payola?

Pay-o-la – The practice of bribing someone to use their influence or position to promote a particular product or interest. If a record company spends enough money on payola, it can make any record a hit.

Some say, that the undisputed King of Rock and Roll was Elvis Presley, however there were many great artists that simply did not have the same exposure opportunities.
If an artist could afford to pay for sponsored airtime, it would ultimately deplete from their profits.

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We love to hear from Wally’s Fans. Because information is so hard to find, back in the 50’s, we would like to ask a favor. If you have any information you can share about Wally, we would greatly appreciate your help. Perhaps you saw him play, maybe you like a particular song, maybe you have his records, maybe he hung out and played at your house, which he loved to do.

We would love to party with his fans. He was all about his fans. Please share your experiences, no matter how small. Thank you from the Deane Boys.

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