Jerry Jeff Walker

Although born outside the state, Jerry Jeff Walker chose Texas as his home and came to personify its outlaw country ethos along with the storied singer-songwriter circles more fully than nearly any other figure. He never scored a hit single under his own name, yet his composition “Mr. Bojangles” turned into a widely recorded standard interpreted by dozens of performers, while a devoted cult audience sustained a recording career that stretched from the 1960s well into the 2000s. His strongest recordings combined literate observation with boisterous energy; the unruly, high-spirited atmosphere of his live shows was offset by sharply observant songwriting that remained evident even through a sometimes gritty, unvarnished singing voice, frequent humorous asides, and the heavy drinking that characterized his most fertile period. Walker also explored jazz, proved an insightful reader of other writers’ material, and revealed himself a more reflective and seasoned musician than the “gonzo” persona implied. The 1969 album Driftin’ Way of Life, a folk-leaning effort, helped establish his standing as a songwriter; 1972’s Jerry Jeff Walker marked the first clear consolidation of his Texas-centered identity; and 1973’s Viva Terlingua stood as a landmark concert recording that vividly preserved both his sound and his temperament.

Born Ronald Clyde Crosby on March 16, 1942, in Oneonta, New York, he grew up with parents who were enthusiastic square dancers and maternal grandparents who both played music as amateurs. At age twelve he received his first guitar; during high school he performed with a local group called the Tones. After enlisting in the National Guard he was discharged for going AWOL, then spent time drifting across the country, performing on the street and taking whatever engagements came his way. He first used the name Jeff Farris on stage; by the mid-1960s, after settling in New York City, he was known professionally as Jerry Walker. He began on the city’s folk-club circuit before joining the rock band Circus Maximus, whose style blended folk-rock, jazz, and psychedelia. Credited as Jerry Walker, he appeared on the group’s self-titled Vanguard debut in 1967; on their final release, 1968’s Neverland Revisited, the billing had become Jerry Jeff Walker.

Once the second Circus Maximus album appeared, Walker departed to begin a solo career with the 1968 Atco LP Mr. Bojangles, supported by musicians that included David Bromberg and Ron Carter. During 1969 he issued two further albums: the rock-leaning Five Years Gone on Atco and the folk-styled Driftin’ Way of Life on Vanguard. He returned to Atco for Bein’ Free in 1970, the same year the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band reached the Top Ten with their version of “Mr. Bojangles.” Walker’s first visit to Austin, Texas, since the mid-1960s occurred in 1971; he immediately felt at home and was welcomed by the local songwriting community whose music fused country roots with a light psychedelic sensibility. Known as “Cosmic Cowboys,” the circle regarded the Armadillo World Headquarters as its principal venue. The 1972 album Jerry Jeff Walker, cut in Texas, Louisiana, and New York, signaled the arrival of his Austin-inflected approach and became one of his most acclaimed works.

He began traveling with a circle of Austin players he dubbed the Lost Gonzo Band; a performance from August 1973 was captured for the live album Viva Terlingua, which quickly emerged as a touchstone of the Texas outlaw movement. One track, “London Homesick Blues,” written and sung by pianist Gary P. Nunn, later served as the theme for the long-running PBS series Austin City Limits. Although Walker never achieved widespread commercial success, Viva Terlingua solidified his devoted regional following, especially across the Southwest. He and the Lost Gonzo Band recorded several well-regarded albums for MCA during the 1970s, among them Ridin’ High (1975) and A Man Must Carry On (1977), before moving to Elektra for 1978’s Jerry Jeff. He produced his own follow-up, 1979’s Too Old to Change, also on Elektra, yet the record met with limited enthusiasm; he subsequently signed with MCA’s Southcoast imprint for 1981’s Reunion and 1982’s Cowjazz.

Cowjazz marked Walker’s final major-label release. By the late 1970s, prolonged alcohol and drug use had begun to affect his reliability; missed or impaired performances hurt ticket sales, and an IRS demand for unpaid back taxes pushed him deeply into debt. With his wife’s assistance he achieved sobriety, resolved his financial obligations, and started the independent Tried & True Music label. A distribution arrangement with Rykodisc led to 1987’s Gypsy Songman: A Life in Song, on which he revisited a selection of his best-known and most cherished compositions. 1991’s Navajo Rug returned him to the country charts for the first time since 1978, while critics hailed 1992’s Hill Country Rain as a vigorous artistic renewal. He maintained a consistent though unhurried recording schedule through the 1990s and 2000s, continued frequent performances across the Southwest, and saw his birthday marked each year by a series of concerts in Austin that became a local institution. Following 2009’s Moon Child he stopped making records and concentrated on live appearances, but a 2017 throat-cancer diagnosis prompted a return with the self-released 2018 album It’s About Time. He continued treatment until his death on October 23, 2020, at a hospital in Austin; he was 78.