Jerry Jeff Walker Wrote One Of The Biggest Hits Of Your Lifetime

'I knew a man, Bojangles, and he danced for you...'

The year was 1971 and a group called The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band introduced millions of us to this 'Mr. Bojangles'.

Not really truly the Country Music of the day...not really truly the Rock Music of the day...it was, well, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Music.

The song crossed musical borders and had all of us first learning about this magical man named Bojangles, and then singing along.

So who was responsible for this great classic story-song?

A songwriter named Jerry Jeff Walker, originally from the state of New York, but Texas-based now for decades.  And while 'Mr. Bojangles' is certainly his most commercially successful song, Jerry Jeff is considered one of the great 'Texas' singer/songwriters (by me and many others!), in the same realm as Guy Clark, Ed Bruce, Ray Wylie Hubbard, and Willie Nelson.   And personally, I would also put him among the great songwriters of the past half-century.

Jerry Jeff Walker passed away on October 23, 2020. And while we lost another of the great songwriters, he left us with many great songs. Rest In Peace Jerry Jeff. And thank you.