Gonzo Texas musician Jerry Jeff Walker dead at 78

[Nevilledog]

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Traces of Texas
@TracesofTexas
As if 2020 couldn't get any worse. RIP Jerry Jeff Walker!

Gonzo Texas musician Jerry Jeff Walker dead at 78
The writer of, "Mr. Bojangles," and countless other folk and country songs roamed the country but made Texas his home.
abc13.com

[maveric]

1. One of the best.

That sucks.

[WhiteTara]

2. I hope they have a beer waiting for him

on the other side.

I watched him slide down the aisle of Cain's Ballroom on spilled beer so drunk he really couldn't stand, get up on stage and then put on an incredible show.

RIP Jerry Jeff

[Docreed2003]

3. Be willing to bet Guy Clark met him at the door

He was an original, for sure

[Brother Buzz]

4. Jerry Walker made it to the storied Ryman Auditorium, and the NGDB helped

There's a great story how a funky Long Beach, California jug band, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, discovered and covered the song; Walker made a ton of money, and some well deserved notoriety.

'Mr. Bojangles' couldn't have happened without the radio
Dave Paulson
The Tennessean

-snip-

Jeff Hanna: Well, we were recording an album, this was like late ‘69, early ‘70, in Los Angeles. … I’m driving home late one night. I’m flipping through the dial and I hear this song that just blew my mind, it was so beautiful, and poignant. Pulled the car over to the side of the road so I could hear better, and cranked it up, of course FM radio late night, no back announcing. I had no idea who it was. I just knew that I was tearing up hearing this tune about this old guy and a dog, you know, and this beautiful story. So I come into rehearsal the next day, “Guys, I heard this tune it’s like, it’s a perfect fit for what we’re doing! I know how to do it! You know, we’ll use a mandolin, we’ll use the accordion, and it’ll work, it’ll be great, and uh, but I don’t know the name of the song.” And I’m describing the tune and Jimmy Ibbotson jumps up and says, “I know the song! I know the song!” We run outside to the parking lot, he pops the trunk on his (car). Under the spare tire in his trunk, in a rusty pool of water, is a 45. Jerry Jeff Walker, “Mr. Bojangles.”

BH: The only record there?

JH: Ibby had it when he left New Castle, Indiana. He went to school at DePauw, and he was driving to Los Angeles to become a star, to make his mark in the music business, you know. And this woman gave him the record, “And this is going to mean something to you someday.” That was her line.

BH: Did you ever tell that story to Jerry Jeff? What did he say?

JH: He just laughed. He said, “It’s just, it’s the folk process.” I got to tell you one quick thing about Ken, though, because this was a scratchy record, and you know, we found a record player that had the big spindle in the middle that you play 45's on. And we’re stacking pennies on the needle of the record player to get it to track cause it’s so just ...

-more-

https://www.tennessean.com/story/entertainment/music/story-behind-the-song/2017/12/08/mr-bojangles-nitty-gritty-dirt-band-jeff-hanna-story-behind-song-jerry-jeff-walker/930339001/

[cry baby]

5. RIP