Category: Music

He said his name, Bojangles

Jerry Jeff WalkerIn the video below, singer-songwriter Todd Snider tells a wonderful story about hanging out with Jerry Jeff Walker, who wrote the classic “Mr. Bojangles.” And then the songwriter himself — who was born born Ronald Clyde Crosby on March 16, 1942 in Oneonta, New York — appears with Snider to sing the song.

Video of Snider and Walker

It’s great to see Snider on stage with Walker, as they are both very talented artists who do not get near the acclaim they deserve. So it makes me happy to think of the two hanging out at a bar. Check it out.

The Inspiration for “Mr. Bojangles”

In the introduction, Snider jokes about how Walker came out of jail with the song. And he is telling the truth.

Although many mistakenly believe that the song is about the dancer Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, Walker was inspired to write the song by a different man.  He met the real “Mr. Bojangles” in a New Orleans jail during the Fourth of July weekend in 1965.

I met him in a cell in New Orleans;
I was down and out;
He looked to me to be the eyes of age,
As he spoke right out;
He talked of life, talked of life,
He laughed, clicked his heels and stepped.

Walker was in the slammer for public intoxication when he met the homeless man who inspired the song. The man did tell Walker the sad story about the dog, and then he danced.

He Said His Name “Bojangles”

According to Wikipedia, the man did tell Walker he went by the name “Mr. Bojangles.”  Apparently, he used the name to conceal his real identity from the police.

A 2000 article in the Post and Courier newspaper, though, claims that after Walker met the man in jail, Walker later added the “Bojangles” name.  The article says that Walker used a common name used by street dancers in New Orleans. By contrast, Walker’s biography supports that the man in jail did use the name “Bojangles.”

Either way, the song is one of the all-time classics. Many also may have been introduced to the song by Sammy Davis Jr.’s wonderful version. But I wonder whatever happened to the man who inspired the song and whether or not he ever knew a great song was written about him?

In the video below, Jerry Jeff Walker talks to Bruce Robison about writing “Mr. Bojangles” and plays the song. Check it out.

What is your favorite Jerry Jeff Walker song? Leave your two cents in the comments.

Buy from Amazon

  • Todd Snider Live in Nashville 2010
  • It’s Been a Long Year
  • “There’s No End to Grief, That’s How We Know There’s No End to Love”: The Story of U2’s “One Tree Hill”
  • Nanci Griffith’s Superstars on Letterman: “Desperados Waiting for a Train”
  • What Is the Murder Ballad That Holly Hunter Sings to Nathan Jr. in “Raising Arizona”?
  • When the World Seems to be Spinnin’ Hopelessly Out of Control

    • (Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

    How Does “Inside Llewyn Davis” Rank In the Coen Brothers Canon? (short review)

    Inside Llewyn Davis For more than two years, I have been anticipating the new Joel and Ethan Coen movie loosely based on the life of folksinger David Van Ronk, Inside Llewyn Davis. Although the Coen Brothers movie may not live up to my expectations of another great integration of story, humor, and music as in O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), Inside Llewyn Davis is another very good film from the Coen Brothers.

    Inside Llewyn Davis follows Llewyn Davis, played by Oscar Isaac, as a struggling folksinger in 1961 Greenwich Village. This review will not give away too much of the story, but the film follows Davis moving around trying to find a couch to sleep on while he struggles to make a living with his music. The movie opens with Davis giving a moving performance of the traditional folk song “Hang Me Oh Hang Me.” In that scene, the actor and musician Isaac immediately conveys the musical soul of Davis.

    But as in several other Coen Brothers movies, we see that the world is not quite fair. Others do not recognize Davis’s talents, while we see other more polished and less soulful groups on the rise. But Davis is not an innocent, as he often contributes to his own troubles.

    In addition to Isaac, the film features a number of excellent performances by Justin Timberlake, Carey Mulligan, and Coen Brothers film regular John Goodman. The music is pretty good too, but not O Brother good even though producer T Bone Burnett was involved in both movies. Perhaps one thing that prevented the music from taking off for me was that the film seemed to want me to distinguish between “bad” folk music and “good” folk music, even as I wanted to enjoy the “bad” songs too, like the ridiculous but fun “Please Mr. Kennedy.”

    Although critics are giving the movie great reviews as show by Rotten Tomatoes 93% rating, I also understand why the Rotten Tomatoes audience rating is almost 20 points lower at only 75%. At times, the lead character’s faults seem to override his charm or the usual Coen Brothers sense of humor (even if that humor does usually carry doses of cynicism and fatalism). Also, one might find that the film plays like a series of vignettes rather than a plot-driven story.

    If I were to rate this film among the Coen Brothers catalog, it would still fit among my top ten Coen Brothers films, although maybe it would be around ninth. On the other hand, even if Inside Llewyn Davis is not in league with movies like Fargo (1996) and No Country for Old Men (2007) that blew me away at the first viewing, I suspect that I may grow to love the movie more on repeated viewings, as has happened with me for films like A Serious Man (2009) and Miller’s Crossing (1990).

    In other words, I look forward to seeing Inside Llewyn Davis again. And I also plan to pick up folksinger David Van Ronk’s memoir that inspired the film, The Mayor of MacDougal Street. Meanwhile, I suggest you check out Inside Llewyn Davis for yourself.

    How would you rank Inside Llewyn Davis among the Coen Brothers catalog? Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • Red Band Trailer for Upcoming Coen Brothers’ Film: “Inside Llewyn Davis”
  • Trailer for Coen Brothers’ Film: “Hail, Caesar!”
  • New Coen Brothers Films Trailer: “Inside Llyewn Davis”
  • The Journey of “Hang Me, Oh Hang Me” From the Scaffold to the Screen
  • The Coolest Thing About the Opening of “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”
  • This Week in Pop Culture Roundup (Nov. 5, 2011)

    • (Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

    Well, Here We Go Again

    Happy New Year! We wish everyone a happy new year, and especially for those who had a long year, we wish the new year brings good changes. One of my favorite songs about struggling through a year is Todd Snider‘s “Long Year,” the lead track from his excellent 2000 CD, Happy to Be Here.

    “Long Year” captures someone struggling with alcohol addiction. The singer tells about attending a meeting and not knowing what to say. In the chorus, he notes “It has been a long, a long, long year” and wonders “How did I get here?” By the end of the song, though, he ends up back in a bar, thinking to himself, “Well, here we go again,” as he faces another long year.

    The above video by Kathy Hatch was shot at Duggan’s Pub in Homer, Alaska on April 27, 2007. Yelp reports that the bar apparently had its own long bad year and is no longer open.

    So be careful in your celebration, and have a good year.

    What is your favorite song with “year” in the title? Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • It’s Been a Long Year
  • Todd Snider Live in Nashville 2010
  • D.B. Cooper and Todd Snider
  • Bringing in a Brand New Year
  • I’ll See You In My Dreams: Goodbye 2020, Hello 2021
  • Picture Show Online Tribute to John Prine

    • (Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

    Salt and Nails

    iodized salt A recent article in the New Yorker recounted how during World War I, U.S. Army doctors doing medical inspections discovered a high incidence of goitre. Because of a lump on their necks from a swelling of a thyroid gland, a number of men could not button the top button of their uniforms. Eventually, doctors also noticed that the recruits were more likely to have the problem if they lived far from the ocean. (Malcolm Gladwell, “Man and Superman,” New Yorker 16 (9 Sept. 2013).)

    Eventually, they determined that an iodine deficiency caused the goitre, as well as deficiencies in intelligence. Those who lived nearer the ocean were getting more iodine in their diet while those elsewhere were not getting enough of it because oceans maintain iodine levels better than soil. Because iodine is not present in a lot of food, the government convinced the Morton Salt Company to start adding iodine to its salt in 1924. And IQ’s rose and incidences of goitre dropped. Iodine supplements have similarly increased IQ’s around the world.

    One of the best songs with “salt” in its title is “Rock Salt and Nails,” written by Utah Phillips. Although YouTube does not have a video of Phillips singing his song, in this video, Tony Norris plays part of the song and tells how Phillips came to write it.

    A number of artists have covered the song, including Joan Baez, Flatt & Scruggs, and Waylon Jennings. The song is not really about iodized salt, and the reference to salt in the title does not appear in the song until the final shocking line. In the song, the singer reveals his sorrow because a lover has betrayed him. The song reflects both his anger and his sadness. Regarding the latter, he cannot help thinking back on happier times: “Now I lie on my bed and I see your sweet face / The past I remember time cannot erase.” But at the end of the song, he exclaims that if ladies were squirrels, he would “fill up his shotgun with rock salt and nails.”

    Steve Young     recorded what many consider a landmark outlaw country album in 1969 that used Phillips’s song for the title track. The album featured guest musicians like Gram Parsons.

    My favorite version, though, is the one by Buddy and Julie Miller from their 2001 album Buddy & Julie Miller. I am a fan of anything by Buddy and Julie, and here Buddy’s powerful voice captures the anger and sadness in the song perfectly.

    So today’s lesson is eat a little salt for your thyroid and to get smarter. But try to get through your day without loading some salt and nails in your shotgun.


    What is your favorite version of “Rock Salt and Nails”? Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • When is Mickey Newbury’s “33rd of August”?
  • The Mavericks Cover Waylon’s “Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way?”
  • Dwight, Lucinda, and Steve: “Dim Lights, Thick Smoke (and Loud, Loud Music)”
  • The Flying Burrito Brothers Song That Includes a Tribute to Bobby Kennedy
  • The Life and Songs of Emmylou Harris
  • Buddy Miller’s Touchstone: “That’s How I Got to Memphis”

    • (Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

    Buy from Amazon

    Wilco Live in Chicago, 1996

    On November 27, 1996, Wilco performed in Chicago, and through the magic of YouTube and JBTV, you may watch the entire video here.

    The band released Being There in 1996, so not surprisingly, the set featured a number of songs from that CD. The songs in the Chicago performance are: 1. I Must Be High; 2. Passenger Side (Country); 3. Passenger Side (Rock); 4. Outta Mind (Outta Sight); 5. Monday; 6. The Lonely 1; 7. Box Full Of Letters; 8. Gun; 9. Someone Else’s Song; 10. Hotel Arizona; 11. Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow; and 12. Sunken Treasure.

    What is your favorite Wilco song? Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • Full Concert of Ray Charles in 1981
  • Uncle Tupelo’s Last Concert on May 1, 1994
  • New Track from Jeff Tweedy: “I’ll Sing It”
  • Son Volt Goes to Bakersfield on “Honky Tonk”
  • Bob Seger Performs New Song “All the Roads” — And a Long Lost Classic
  • Watch Newport Folk Festival Live July 27-29

    • (Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

    Buy from Amazon