The Wallets were founded as an experimental group by accordionist Steve Kramer and managed by Bob Hest.

[1] The Allen Toussaint-produced debut album Take It was released in 1986, described by Spin as urban soul and funk with "a Cajun smell to their work".

[3] Kramer decided to retire the band in spring 1988, but waited until their final album, Body Talk, was released late in the fall before announcing the split.

[5][6] Kramer and Hest later formed an advertising agency, currently known as Hest & Kramer, Van House Weber,[7] noted for its use of music in television ads for clients such as Target Stores, MTV, Time Warner, and Buick.

[10][11] The Minneapolis Star Tribune summed the band's style up as a "mix of polka, rock, rhythm-and-blues, jazz and whimsy".