Jerry Jeff Walker - Mr. Bojangles - Live in Oneonta, NY 1991

[sevenfingers2001]

I caught his show at Cain's Ballroom in Tulsa back in 1979. It was standing room only and he came out late but he didn't leave the stage for 5 hours. My friends and I were trashed on Coors and weed, left at 2 or 3 am and he never even took a piss break!

I was really impressed.

[RandallJonesey]

Mr Bo Walker; just the extent of my love for you! Respect! / Randall

[iNCNF]

Excellent!!!

[TheGreyguitarist]

Thanks for posting this Playlist, It is awesome

[MrAlbertabuffalo]

Most the time I spend behind these County bars, 'cause I drinks a bit...

[1111blacky]

once upon a time...superrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr­rrrrrr

[coolanddark]

MASTERPIECE SIR!

[aleutianblue]

there is only one Jerry Jeff, and there will always be only one

[MrPhingers]

@aleutianblue ...and with Jerry Jeff one is plenty, don't ya know. He's a good picker 'n a great friend, anytime I play one of Jerry's tunes it's out of thanks for him sharin' it with us all. I don't play music to compete with anyone, just to see 'em smile and cash the checks when BMI adds up the royalties.

Jerry once told me George Burns was the first person he ever heard sing it besides him...they were both doing a radio show in New Orleans "they was" and Walker said he was moved to tears.

[2c4u222]

Looooooooooooooooooooooooooove Jerry Jeff! BRILLIANT lyricist, fabulous musician. xox

[dkstoff1]

I wish John and Bob were still playing with him!

[sloanj11]

A homecoming, I wish he would play here more often.

[TooJames]

jerry jeff is totally coked up. whoever thought one of the best country songwriters ever would come from new york?

[donalso]

I cannot believe that Harry Nilsson's version is not included in this impressive list of covers!

[relnak9]

@donalso I agree. Harry was an incredible singer and gave this song his own character for sure!

[yvotti]

I love both JJW-original and J. Holts rendition of this song.

[you19540824]

最高〜〜〜

[knucklehead0202]

"teach this guy how this song should be sung"? putting your head on the train tracks couldn't possibly do any damage....

[DaTrev100]

CHECK OUT JOHN HOLT'S VERSION IN LONON WITH THE PHILHARMONIC....MR HOLT WILL TEACH THIS GUY HOW THIS SONG SHOULD BE SUNG.............I THANK MR WALKER FOR WRITING THIS FANTASTIC TUNE...I LOVE IT.....

[bocephus3006]

@DaTrev100 what r u talking about did i misunderstand the comment or is it a complete contradiction?john holt is paying his respect to JJW by singing the song.hes not trying to out sing him.

[knucklehead0202]

whoever said Sammy Davis Jr. did this better is a crackhead. WAAAAAAAAYYYY better by Jerry Jeff, the original.

[goldenboy1342]

@knucklehead0202 my friend are you okay you should go to the doctors and get your ears checked out this man may have put the words on the paper but sammy wrote them on peoples hearts and souls in my concern sammy wrote it.

[TooJames]

@goldenboy1342

if you came from where i came from and knew anything about jerry jeff you wouldn't be saying that. jerry jeff didn't just write this song. he lived it. sammy davis was just an actor.

[mardusz]

Jerry Jeff STILL rocks!!!



[TonyBastiano]

hello . . .everybody be quiet. jerry jeff is singing. i hate a loud crowd when he sings this song.

but nobody asked me.

[tim72285]

im kinda sad at the moment as it is this just made it ten times worse

[KutscheetAmsterDam]

sucks so bad!

[mkworkman]

4:51 YouTube video: Jerry Jeff Walker singing his 1968 hit Mr. Bojangles; live in Oneonta, NY; 1991

March 16, 1942: birth of Jerry Jeff Walker, American musician; most famous for writing the song "Mr. Bojangles."

[mysticalla]

Homage to the genius talent who wrote this song. It will live on in perpetuity for all generations to enjoy :)

[korrieagnes]

He wrote this song while in a county jail....

[zebratangozebra]

I think Mr Walker has always underestimated his own self.

Sensitive people do this.

Then more times then not drown themselves in alcohol.

" I Got A Woman In Texas " is a fine song.

Write ten more that good and you will find yourself bigtime.

I know you got it in you.

Just do it.

[SuperJudith1]

I have always love this song takes me back to high school days

[betty14er]

The best that I remember from college

[ASTarantoga]

This lead-guitar guy is great!

[kingvoorhees]

RICKY GONGORA.

[losaface4]

Why are people talking while, one of the greatest songs every written, is playing?!

[curbshoppin]

awesome as it gets right there

[rickcee]

I cry every time I hear this. I first heard the live WBAI radio recording on the old Bob Fass show in NYC because a buddy of mine had a tape of the Five Years Gone album on which that live performance was included. He played it incessantly, and I became addicted to it too. We were in Vietnam together and he wasn't lucky enough to make it back. I think of Gene every time I hear this song, but especially when it's sung by JJW himself. What a waste that was. Visit the memorial in D.C. please.

[okpablomustard]

He wasn't referring to Bill Robinson (The actual Mr.Bojangles). He's referring to a man he met in prison, whom called himself Bonjangles to hide his identity.

[8269998]

Bojangles was a great US black entertainer - like so many others: including Sammy Davis, Harry Belafonte, Robert Johnson, Memphis Slim, Jimmy Witherspoon, Ray Charles.

Sammy Davis was a Cuban American, and his marriage to a white Swedish actress helped demolish the US colour bar on interracial marriage.

These larger than lifesize characters were among Obama's forerunners, at a time when most black men in the USA were " invisible men".

Al Jolson's " blackface" act was a tribute to them.

[Drcman95]

@8269998 The Bojangles in this song is actually about a man Jerry Jeff Walker met in prison in New Orleans, no relation to Bill Robinson

[dave8386]

@8269998

I agree with many parts of your statement. First, I don't think "black" performers should be singled out. Do you hear people say "he was a great US white entertainer"? No - it would be considered racist. Race should be taken out of account for everything. I'm very anti-racist, but I also don't want the racism to reverse. Anyway, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson actually wasn't the theme of this song. This has nothing to do with the dancer. It's about a street performer.

[knucklehead0202]

@8269998 wtf?

[mully65]

Many of you miss out on the fact that the song is autobiographical. Jerry Jeff didn't just write it. He lived it first; then wrote it.

There are some great covers to the song. But no one does it better than JJW.

[AJBluesman]

Rocking version !! Love it !

[blearyeyed09]

one of the artists that made radio unnammable a great radio program in the late sixties.....

[powerkor]

my dog up and died too... when he heard this song.

[Imaslipper]

@powerkor way to be a dick, dick

[powerkor]

@Imaslipper  haha, I dont even have a dog

[MrJojogun]

Saw Jerry Jeff back in 1974 at the celebrity theater in Phoenix...not a dry tear in the house...sang it real slow...then told a loudmouth upstairs to put up or shut up. fn great!!!!!

[MsClitia]

JJ Walker may have written this most amazing song, but there was only ONE person who could really sing this song...make you feel Mr. Bojangles pain and joy:

Sammy Davis Jr. the "one eyed knee grow jew".

N0B0DY sang this song better than Sammy.

Not JJ not Neil Diamond not Frank not Nina Simone.

NOBODY

Rip you legend

[kukubara2007]

@MsClitia My favourite version is by David Campbell (unfortunately not on youtube) Probably I'll upload it one day.....

[exchangeisno]

He must have made a fortune from all the cover versions out there.

Great song....he deserves it.

[RISINGfawnJUNCTION]

That's a song.... you can't show me one that's better! Don't try.... over and out.

[pseank56]

Always my favorite trivia question. Who wrote Mr. Bojangles? J.J. Walker

Up against the wall MFrs.

I too cannot think of a song I like better.

[kurtcobain6266]

luv luv luv it forever thanks jj luv u u u two since i was 12 years old now i am 48 i tried to see you at billy bobs texas got kikked out then went back in dont ever change your music is liFE LOVE FOREVER

[drumspleasenow]

all time hit - timeless

[cleverfeller]

Great song. I love it as much as anything the Beatles ever did.

[floridajeet]

Mr. Bojangles is a popular country song originally written and recorded by artist Jerry Jeff Walker in 1968. Since then, it has been covered by many other artists, including The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, whose version rose to number nine on the Billboard pop chart in 1971.

[kara1464]

SOOOOOOOPERB!

[biarritz59]

Very nice to hear this, thanks to santamara, for sharing.

[6K6R]

Nice song and nice performance

[santamara]

Edit:

For this awesome share."

I got way too excited!

[santamara]

Simply Wow!

Best version I've ever heard!!

Thank you for posting and to StuartStreet

this for awesome share!!

[whiteliketar]

My God - this version is so smooth - like velvet - perhaps the best I have ever heard. This is really special - hard to describe in words.

[kara1464]

@whiteliketar

You just did. Nice one ...x

[bluepastry]

one great new yorker

[wtw88]

I loved this when I was a teenager, and it's nice to see it done so smoothly and yet with some emotion so long after its writing.

JJW is one great songwriter.

[byrdman219]

David Bromberg can sing this song!

[Puddinker]

I worked for the radio station that brought Jerry Jeff and his band back to Oneonta for this concert. It was held in the park where he used to get away and dream as a kid. Fantastic show. I have had the pleasure of interviewing him on several occasions, and supplying him with sound for an impromptu concert at the now defunked Diana Restaurant in Oneonta, NY. One Man, One Guitar, and 100's of stories and songs. It was the best show I have ever seen :-)

[TreasureOne]

@Puddinker I LOVE your spelling of "defunct." That is so hip. So many things are defunked: music, great venues, people :-D

[witchman1]

@Puddinker cheers

[pollyscigoat13]

i think the version by harry chapin is the best

[bumblebeemoi]

I will only listen to his version, the original. If Nitty Gritty Dirt Band version comes on, I change the station. Their version sucks - no feeling or soul.

[probinson1337]

He also didn't drink a drop the whole time the Iranian hostages were in captivity, not really from Texas, but I'll nominate him for honorary Texan anytime

[probinson1337]

Jerry Jeff aka Jacky Jack Doubletrouble (givin' my age away there), ate a watermelon with my ex and I at Willy Nelson's picnic in '79 or '80

[ant2100]

Thats ALMOST correct losaface4. Read Jeff's autobiography. He says that the people in the cells had nicknames. One WHITE tramp called himself Bojangles AFTER the original Mr Bojangles because he also danced.

This song is written about the tramp that Jeff met in the call, NOT the original Mr Bojangles......... unfortunately.... however, both accounts have a very emotional feel to them,

Although I DO prefer SDJ's version, which I'm sure he's referring to the Original when he sings.

[losaface4]

This song is a true story. Jeff was actually put in jail for the night, for public intoxication. and the cell they put him in had Mr. Bonjangles himself in there, and he basically told Jeff his life story.

[marcangel79]

Really thats pretty interesting did you read that somewhere? its a great song...

[losaface4]

This is my teachers second cousin.

[EthanDDavies2K8]

That guitar is a Godin they are awesome i borrowed one from a friend not so long ago

[Doderhultarn89]

fucking people cant shut up

[1canyonguy]

I heard him do this on WBAI  from NYC live before it became the big hit that it would soon become- always preferred just him playing it solo. Cant remember the year

[workingclassman]

Jerry Jeff Walker is legendary, you cannot even compare all these newer artists with him

[Shabannie]

I have always liked Jerry Jeff. Nice post!

[juliusmagic]

Maravilloso, Mr. bojangles, un gran tema.

[shoeboy59]

Wonderful. The greater significance of this clip is that Oneonta, is JJW's hometown, where I live now, where he was born Ronald Clyde Crosby. I've seen him a few times, going back to 1980, but never in Oneonta. He actually looks a little tense playing in his hometown, here.

[blaisepscl]

Fascinating.  Thanks for teaching me that, which I've confirmed.

[bumblebeemoi]

Shame that this original is rarely played, just that cover by whoever they are.

[angelineHful]

Have a pic of you from 1970 Austin Texas, you still rock!!! Thanks! Love ANGEL

[blueskiesblue]

This was an HONOR to get to see Jerry JW do his song. BRod, thanks for having so many songs on YouTube. I just discovered him, (boo-hoo), but am certainly STAR STRUCK! What a great singer.

(I LOVE the way he gently shakes his head when he sings, seemingly to REALLY be gettin' into ALL his songs, throughout the years.  I can't WAIT to read his book.

[santamara]

@blueskiesblue

I love the gentle head shake too:)

He is incredible!

[AndyBoy63]

@santamara

Awesome! Thanks for the share Dori ; )

[FosterJamesScott]

Want to know something awesome? My grandma dated him when she was in highschool. I thought that was pretty kickass, haha.

[blueskiesblue]

James Foster Scott, was her name Katie?

I just discovered JJW .. and am catching a lot on YouTube, before I decide what to buy.

Your Grandma was one lucky lady! It IS kickass ... especially for HER!

Have fun!

[FosterJamesScott]

Nope, her name is Lenore. And yes, it was awesome. :D

[merrillj0327]

This song was 23 years old at that time and it sounds a little like it was getting old for Jerry Jeff to sing it? Anyone?

[wrv993]

no. its a fucking classic

[betherin82]

I like jerry jeff walker, but I still think the nitty gritty dirt bands version is better

[wrv993]

he wrote the song. no one does it better

[bluegrassy1]

This would be good without all the noise from the audience. I'd like to find one that is not live, still searching. I LOVE this song.

[gerry21ni]

Gerry Fontaine does a great noiseless version

[Sointula2]

Well bluegrassy - buy the album.

[bluegrassy1]

Thanks for the suggestion but cannot afford to buy any albums at this time. : )

[blueskiesblue]

bluegrassy1: Get a jar, and save a dollar at a time. Amazon has sales, so make it your goal to buy one.  Then, it will be alllll yours! Well worth it. He's GREAT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[bluegrassy1]

Splendid idea blueskiesblue, I have one but more like nickels and dimes in it . : )

[VA24541]

Few people know it, but Jerry Jeff is not a native born son of Texas.................this was taped in the place he was born: Oneonta, NY, on the banks of the Susquehanna.

[gaiagale]

Wow!

now I understand!!!!!

this sSOoo his song!

Jerry Jeff walker has captured real life in his lyrics and set it to music that invites our souls to dance!

I always wondered why so few are able to sing Mr. Bojangles and make it believable. ...and now I know why...

Mr. Bojangles will live forever where he has always lived

: ) in our ♥s

[slagcity]

a few are able to sing Mr. Bojangles?

Harry Chapin, Sammy Davis Jr., Queen Ifrica, Chet Atkins, Rod McKuen, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Whitney Houston, Harry Nilsson, Bob Dylan, The Byrds, Jim Croce, Harry Belafonte, Frank Sinatra, Dave Jarvis, Elton John, Lulu, Arlo Guthrie, Nina Simone, Esther Phillips, John Denver, David Bromberg, Neil Diamond, Tom T. Hall, King Curtis, Radka Toneff, John Holt, Bermuda Triangle Band, David Campbell, Ray Quinn, Edwyn Collins, Frankie Laine, Cornell Dupree

[fullofbl1ss]

you'd think the people in the audience would stfu during this song

[blueskiesblue]

Oh! fullofbl1ss ~ You got that right! But ... "PURE CLASS" is hard to find sometimes. When he finished Mr. Bojangles, and danced ... and then said "Mr. Bogangles just danced ...", the audience should have rose to their feet, and given him a standing ovation. (So, I did it allllll by my self!)

[supergenius74]

this is the guy who wrote the song

[TheEpicWeezl]

@supergenius74 no its not.

[nsra1933]

@TheEpicWeezl Yes it is....Jerry Jeff wrote Mr. Bojangles.

[TheEpicWeezl]

@nsra1933 my bad i found another version on youtube that sounded much older. but must be a shitty cover.

[Ceaty]

@TheEpicWeezl Well, this is not the original recording. This recording is from a concert in '91, he wrote it late '60s.

[shakeypitt]

@supergenius74 Anybody who can write a song like this can't be all bad!!

[twochaudio]

,Nice job buddy..,this guy,s going places see that coat..he,s a pro,,

[MrMagoo79]

? Are you sure you know who he is? He wrote this song - -and he went many places.