Jerry Jeff Walker (born Ronald Clyde Crosby; March 16, 1942 – October 23, 2020) was an American country and folk singer-songwriter. He was a leading figure in the progressive country and outlaw country music movement. He is best known for writing the 1968 song "Mr. Bojangles".
Early life
Walker was born Ronald Clyde Crosby in Oneonta, New York, on March 16, 1942. His father, Mel, worked as a sports referee and bartender; his mother, Alma (Conrow), was a housewife. His maternal grandparents played for square dances in the Oneonta area
After high school, Crosby joined the National Guard, but his thirst for adventure led him to go AWOL, and he was eventually discharged. He went on to roam the country busking for a living in New Orleans and throughout Texas, Florida, and New York, often accompanied by H. R. Stoneback (a friendship referenced in 1970's Stoney). He first played under the stage name of Jerry Ferris, then Jeff Walker, before amalgamating them into Jerry Jeff Walker and legally changing his name to that in the late 1960s. He co-founded a band with Bob Bruno in the late 1960s called Circus Maximus that put out two albums, He settled in Austin, Texas, in the 1970s, associating mainly with the outlaw country scene that included artists such as Michael Martin Murphey, Willie Nelson, Guy Clark, Waylon Jennings, "Jerry Jeff's train songs" (such as "Desperados Waiting for a Train") were cited in the lyrics of Jennings and Nelson's 1977 hit song "Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)". On September 28, 1974, Walker appeared with Doug Sahm at the Main Hall of Carnegie Hall.
A string of records for MCA and Elektra followed Walker's move to Austin, with his wife Susan as president and manager. Susan also founded Goodknight Music as his management company and Tried & True Artists for his bookings. In 2004, Walker released his first DVD of songs from his past performed in an intimate setting in Austin.
Walker married Susan Streit in 1974 in Travis County, Texas. He also made a guest appearance on Ramblin' Jack Elliott's 1998 album of duets Friends of Mine, singing "He Was a Friend of Mine" and Woody Guthrie's "Hard Travelin'".
Walker recorded songs written by others such as "L.A. Freeway" (Guy Clark), "Up Against the Wall Redneck Mother" (Ray Wylie Hubbard), and "London Homesick Blues" (Gary P. Nunn). Walker was who first drove Jimmy Buffett to Key West (from Coconut Grove, Florida in a Packard). The two musicians also co-wrote the song "Railroad Lady" while riding the last run of the Panama Limited.
"Mr. Bojangles"
Walker's "Mr. Bojangles" (1968) is perhaps his best-known and most-often performed song.
He died from throat cancer on October 23, 2020, at a hospital in Austin, Texas, at the age of 78.
Discography
Albums
<small>Source: AllMusic</small>
{| class="wikitable"
!rowspan="2"|Year
!rowspan="2"|Album
!colspan="4"|Chart positions
!rowspan="2"|Label
|-
!width="45"|<small>US Country</small>
!width="45"|<small>US</small>
!width="45"|<small>AUS</small>
!width="45"|<small>CAN Country</small>
|-
|1967
|Circus Maximus
|
|
|
|
|rowspan="2" align="center"|Vanguard
|-
|rowspan="2"|1968
|Neverland Revisited
|
|
|
|
|-
|Mr. Bojangles
|
|
|
|
|align="center"|Atco
|-
|rowspan="2"|1969
|Driftin' Way of Life
|
|
|
|
|align="center"|Vanguard
|-
|Five Years Gone
|
|
|
|
|rowspan="2" align="center"|Atco
|-
|1970
|Bein' Free
|
|
|
|
|-
|1972
|Jerry Jeff Walker
|
|align="center"|208
| 48
|
|rowspan="7" align="center"|MCA
|-
|1973
|Viva Terlingua
|
|align="center"|160
|
|
|-
|1974
|Walker's Collectibles
|
|align="center"|141
|
|
|-
|1975
|Ridin' High
|align="center"|14
|align="center"|119
|
|
|-
|1976
|It's a Good Night for Singin
|align="center"|18
|align="center"|84
|
|
|-
|1977
|A Man Must Carry On
|align="center"|13
|align="center"|60
|
|
|-
|1978
|Contrary to Ordinary
|align="center"|25
|align="center"|111
|
|align="center"|3
|-
|1978
|Jerry Jeff
|align="center"|43
|align="center"|206
|
|
|rowspan="2" align="center"|Elektra/Asylum
|-
|1979
|Too Old to Change
|
|
|
|
|-
|1980
|The Best of JJW
|align="center"|57
|align="center"|185
|
|align="center"|21
|rowspan="3" align="center"|MCA
|-
|1981
|Reunion
|
|align="center"|188
|
|
|-
|1982
|Cowjazz
|
|
|
|
|-
|1987
|Gypsy Songman DoLP
|
|
|
|
|Sawdust Records
|-
|1987
|Gypsy Songman
|
|
|
|
|rowspan="3" align="center"|T&TM/Ryko
|-
|1989
|Live at Gruene Hall
|
|
|
|
|-
|rowspan="2"|1991
|Navajo Rug
|align="center"|59
|
|
|
|-
|Great Gonzos
|
|
|
|
| align="center"|MCA
|-
|1992
|Hill Country Rain
|
|
|
|
|rowspan="3" align="center"|T&TM/Ryko
|-
|rowspan="2"|1994
|Viva Luckenbach
|
|
|
|
|-
|Christmas Gonzo Style
|
|
|
|
|-
|1995
|Night After Night
|
|
|
|
|rowspan="3" align="center"|T&TM
|-
|1996
|Scamp
|
|
|
|
|-
|rowspan="2"|1998
|Cowboy Boots & Bathing Suits
|
|
|
|
|-
|Lone Wolf: Elektra Sessions
|
|
|
|
| align="center"|Warner Bros.
|-
|rowspan="2"|1999
|Best of the Vanguard Years
|
|
|
|
| align="center"|Vanguard
|-
|Gypsy Songman: A Life in Song
|
|
|
|
|rowspan="2" align="center"|T&TM
|-
|rowspan="2"|2001
|Gonzo Stew
|
|
|
|
|-
|Jerry Jeff Walker: Ultimate Collection
|
|
|
|
| align="center"|Hip-O Records
|-
|2003
|Jerry Jeff Jazz
|
|
|
|
|rowspan="2" align="center"|T&TM
|-
|2004
|The One and Only
|
|
|
|
|-
|2009
|Moon Child
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|2018
|It's About Time
|
|
|
|
|
|}
Singles
<small>Source: AllMusic, unless otherwise stated.</small>
{| class="wikitable"
!rowspan="2"|Year
!rowspan="2"|Single
!colspan="3"|Chart Positions
!rowspan="2"|Album
|-
!width="50"|<small>US Country</small>
!width="50"|<small>US</small>
!width="50"|<small>AUS</small>|group=upper-alpha
|
|align="center"|77
|align="center"|22
|Mr. Bojangles
|-
|1972
|"L.A. Freeway"
|
|align="center"|98
|align="center"|98
|Jerry Jeff Walker
|-
|rowspan="2"|1973
|"Desperados Waiting for a Train"
|
|align="center"|
|
|rowspan="2"|Viva Terlingua
|-
|"Up Against the Wall Redneck Mother"
|
|align="center"|
|
|-
|1975
|"Jaded Lover"
|align="center"|54
|
|
|Ridin' High
|-
|1976
|"It's a Good Night for Singing"/"Dear John Letter Lounge"
|align="center"|88
|
|
|It's a Good Night for Singing
|-
|1977
|"Mr. Bojangles" <small>(Live)</small>
|align="center"|93
|
|
|A Man Must Carry On
|-
|1981
|"Got Lucky Last Night"
|align="center"|82
|
|
|Reunion
|-
|rowspan="3"|1989
|"I Feel Like Hank Williams Tonight"
|align="center"|70
|
|
|rowspan="3"|Live at Gruene Hall
|-
|"The Pickup Truck Song"
|align="center"|62
|
|
|-
|"Trashy Women"
|align="center"|63
|
|
|-
|1994
|"Keep Texas Beautiful"
|
|
|
|Single only
|}
Notes
References
External links
- JerryJeff.com
- Unofficial Jerry Jeff Walker Fan Page
- "Local '50s band almost made it big", Mark Simonson, The Daily Star, Oct 1, 2001
- "Official Documentary Film on Jerry Jeff Walker's Life"