Jerry Jeff Walker

Jerry Jeff Walker (2002)

Jerry Jeff Walker (* 16th March 1942 in Oneonta , New York as Ronald Clyde Crosby ; † 23. October 2020 in Austin , Texas ) was an American country singer and songwriter . His most famous song is Mr. Bojangles .

Life

Ronald Clyde Crosby aka Jerry Jeff Walker grew up in New York State. His grandparents played at square dance events , which inspired Walker as a boy. As a teenager he played in a local band called "The Tones". This group even traveled to Philadelphia to audition on the American Bandstand television show , but the young musicians were turned away. At least they got a recommendation to audition in New York, where the band was eventually signed by Baton Records . However, some of the members were replaced by studio musicians from the producer - including Ronald Crosby.

After high school, Crosby enlisted in the National Guard , but he just ran away and went busking around the country. He finally landed back in New York via New Orleans , Texas and Florida . He mostly played the ukulele until he found the guitar in 1963. In 1966 he invented a stage name for himself: "Jerry Jeff Walker". Under the new name, he appeared in the folk clubs of Greenwich Village in the mid-1960s . With Bob Bruno he founded the band Circus Maximus (not to be confused with the Norwegian band Circus Maximus ), which released two LPs and even had a small hit with Wind . But Bruno was now more interested in jazz - which didn’t fit his partner’s increasingly folk and country orientation. So Walker began a solo career, and in 1968 a. a. released the groundbreaking album Mr. Bojangles with the support of David Bromberg . The title song reached number 77 in the American charts, but became one of the great classics of pop, jazz , folk and country music, with countless versions being recorded. Sammy Davis Jr. , Frank Sinatra , Harry Belafonte , Bob Dylan , John Denver , Harry Nilsson , Neil Diamond , Tom T. Hall , Robbie Williams , Nina Simone , the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - they all sang the song. There are even German versions, for example by Katja Ebstein and Wolfgang Niedecken .

In the 1970s, Walker moved to Austin, Texas , where he came into contact with the outlaw scene and encountered artists such as Willie Nelson , Guy Clark , Waylon Jennings and Townes Van Zandt . In the next period, Walker released a few records for MCA and Electra, before finally founding his own independent label, Tried & True Music, with his wife Susan in 1986 . His wife also became his manager with Goodknight Music . The result was a series of releases that became increasingly personal and autobiographical, without any pressure from major record companies. His autobiography Gypsy Songman also appeared there. Walker was able to develop his own style in this independence, which he calls cowjazz . In 2004 Jerry Jeff Walker released his first DVD with old songs that he recorded in a very intimate atmosphere in Austin.

Jerry Jeff Walker not only recorded his own material, but also interpreted a. a. Works by Rodney Crowell , Todd Snider , Guy Clark , Townes Van Zandt , Keith Sykes , Paul Siebel and Bob Dylan . Because of his independence and his great influence on the next generation of the outlaw movement, he is known as Jimmy Buffett of Texas. It goes with the fact that Walker first brought Buffett to Key West, where he had long been an institution. The two also wrote the song Railroad Lady together. Jerry Jeff Walker has celebrated his birthday since 2004 with the Texas Bash : At the Paramount Theater in Austin and in the Gruene Hall , the oldest dance hall in the state in Gruene, Texas. For two consecutive days, Jerry Jeff Walker played with numerous guests and told stories. The rush was extremely large year after year. The country duo Brooks & Dunn dedicated the song "The Ballad Of Jerry Jeff Walker" to him, in which he was a guest musician.

Jerry Jeff Walker married Susan Streit in 1974; the couple had two children - the son Django Walker , himself an active musician, and the daughter Jessie Jane. The family lived in Austin and Belize .

Walker died of complications from throat cancer in Austin, Texas on October 23, 2020.

Discography

Albums

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)		Remarks
		US	Country
1973	Viva Terlingua	US160 gold (11 weeks)US	-
1974	Walker's Collectibles	US141 (8 weeks) US	-
1975	Ridin 'high	US119 (7 weeks) US	Country14 (19 weeks) Country
1976	It's a good night for singing	US84 (10 weeks) US	Country18 (13 weeks) Country
1977	A man must carry on	US60 (21 weeks) US	Country13 (16 weeks) Country
1978	Contrary to Ordinary	US111 (9 weeks) US	Country25 (13 weeks) Country
	Jerry Jeff	-	Country43 (5 weeks) Country
1980	The Best of JJW	US185 (3 weeks) US	Country57 (6 weeks) Country
1981	Reunion	US188 (3 weeks) US	-
1991	Navajo rug	-	Country59 (9 weeks) Country

More albums

• 1967: Circus Maximus
• 1968: Neverland Revisited
• 1968: Mr. Bojangles
• 1969: Driftin 'Way of Life
• 1970: Five Years Gone
• 1970: Bein 'Free
• 1972: Jerry Jeff Walker
• 1979: Too Old to Change
• 1982: Cowjazz
• 1987: Gypsy Songman
• 1989: Live at Gruene Hall
• 1991: Great Gonzos
• 1992: Hill Country Rain
• 1994: Viva Luckenbach
• 1994: Christmas Gonzo Style
• 1995: Night After Night
• 1996: Scamp
• 1998: Cowboy Boots & Bathing Suits
• 1998: Lone Wolf: Elektra Sessions
• 1999: Best of the Vanguard Years
• 1999: Gypsy Songman: A Life in Song
• 2001: Gonzo Stew
• 2001: Jerry Jeff Walker: Ultimate Collection
• 2003: Jerry Jeff Jazz
• 2004: The One and Only
• 2009: Moon Child

Singles

year	Title album	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)		Remarks
		US	Country
1968	Mr. Bojangles Mr. Bojangles	US77 (5 weeks) US	Country93 (4 weeks) Country	Chart entry in the country charts only in 1977
1973	La Freeway	US98 (3 weeks) US	-
1976	Jaded Lover Ridin 'High	-	Country54 (7 weeks) Country
	It's A Good Night For Singing It's A Good Night For Singing	-	Country88 (5 weeks) Country
1982	Got Lucky Last Night Reunion	-	Country82 (3 weeks) Country
1989	I Feel Like Hank Williams Tonight Live At Gruene Hall	-	Country70 (6 weeks) Country
	The Pickup Truck Song Live At Gruene Hall	-	Country62 (6 weeks) Country
	Trashy Women Live At Gruene Hall	-	Country63 (6 weeks) Country

Web links

• Official website
• Walker at last.fm
• Jerry Jeff Walker at AllMusic (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Bill Friskics-Warren: Jerry Jeff Walker, Who Wrote and Sang 'Mr. Bojangles, 'Dies at 78. In: The New York Times . October 24, 2020, accessed on October 25, 2020 . 
2. ↑ Running Wild With Jerry Jeff. by Roy Blount Jr., May 1979, republished 2001
3. ↑ lyricsfreak.com ( Memento from September 5, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) Biography on Lyricsfreak
4. ↑ http://engineerofknowledge.blogspot.com/2009/11/memories-of-mr-bojangles.html Interview with Walker and a. about his most famous song
5. ↑ https://www.allmusic.com/album/mw0000107831/awards Chart placements by Mr. Bojangles
6. ↑ http://www.coverinfo.de/start.php4 Cover versions by Mr. Bojangles
7. ↑ https://jacklimpert.com/2020/10/jerry-jeff-walker-he-wrote-mr-bojangles-and-became-a-mainstay-of-the-texas-outlaw-movement-that-catapulted-willie -nelson-and-waylon-jennings-to-fame /
8. ↑ http://do512.com/event/2011/03/26/jerry-jeff-walker-texas-bash Texas Bash - an institution in Austin and Green
9. ↑ Archive link ( Memento from July 9, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Invitation to the Texas Bash 2012 on the artist's homepage
10. ↑ https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mn0000845468 Biography of Jerry Jeff Walker
11. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of May 19, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Report on concert activities in Belize
12. ↑ Jerry Jeff Walker Dead at 78 . October 24, 2020.
13. ↑ ^{a b} Chart sources: US
14. ↑ Music Sales Awards: US