During the late 1950s, Crosby was a member of a local Oneonta teen band called The Tones. The band traveled to Philadelphia to audition for Dick Clark's "American Bandstand", but were turned down. Members of the band found Dick Clark's house and were able to get a recommendation to audition at New York City's Baton Records through the company's lead producer Sol Rabinowitz. The band was given a recording contract, but the studio wanted a quintet backed by studio musicians, which left Crosby and another member out of their recordings.
After high school, Crosby joined the National Guard, but his thirst for adventure led him to go AWOL and roam the country busking for a living in areas like New Orleans, Texas, Florida, and New York. He played mostly ukulele until Harriet Ottenheimer, one of the founders of The Quorum, got him settled on a guitar in 1963. He adopted his stage name "Jerry Jeff Walker" in 1966. He spent his early folk music days in Greenwich Village in the mid 1960s. He co-founded a band with Bob Bruno in the late 1960s called Circus Maximus that put out two albums one with the popular west coast hit "Wind", but Bruno's interest in jazz apparently diverged from Walker's interest in folk music. Walker thus resumed his solo career and recorded the seminal album "Mr. Bojangles" with the help of David Bromberg and other influential Atlantic recording artists. He settled in Austin, Texas, in the 1970s associating mainly with the country-rock outlaw scene that included artists such as Willie Nelson, Guy Clark, Waylon Jennings, and Townes Van Zandt.
"Mr. Bojangles" (written by Walker) is perhaps his most well-known and most-often covered song. It was about an obscure alcoholic but talented tap-dancing drifter, (not the famous stage and movie dancer Bill Robinson, as usually assumed). Bojangles is thought to have been a folk character who entertained informally in the south of the US and California, and some say he might have been one of the most gifted natural dancers ever. Authentic reports of him exist from the 1920s through about 1965. Artists from Nina Simone to Bob Dylan, Philip Glass to the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, have covered the song. Walker has also recorded songs written by others such as "LA Freeway" (Guy Clark), and "Up Against the Wall Red Neck Mother" (Ray Wylie Hubbard).
A string of records for MCA and Elektra followed Jerry Jeff's move to Austin, before he gave up on the mainstream music business and formed his own independent record label. Tried & True Music was founded in 1986, with his wife Susan as President and manager. Susan also founded Goodknight Music as his management company and Tried & True Artists for his bookings. A series of increasingly autobiographical records followed under the Tried & True imprint. Tried & True also sells his autobiography called "Gypsy Songman". In 2004, Jerry Jeff released his first DVD of songs from his past as performed in an intimate setting in Austin, TX.
He interpreted the songs of others like Rodney Crowell, Guy Clark, Keith Sykes, Paul Siebel, Bob Dylan, Todd Snider and even a rodeo clown named Billy Jim Baker.
His son, Django Walker, is also a musician. In addition to his residence in Austin, Walker had a retreat on Ambergris Caye in Belize where he recorded his "Cowboy Boots and Bathing Suits" album in 1998.
Members of his band varied over the years. The Lost Gonzo Band and the Gonzo Compadres have backed him in the past. Key members of his band included Craig Hillis - guitarist and arranger on Viva Terlingua, John Inmon, Freddy Krc, Gary P. Nunn, Bob Livingston, Bobby Rambo, Mitch Watkins, Steve Samuel, David Bromberg and others.
Curly and Lil
Jerry Jeff Walker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Lilly would roll a cigarette
They never sweated the money the made
They get by just fine on anything they get
Curly worked the Dobro for seven long years
Always on the road not at home
He told Lilly one day before it all slips away
Chorus:
It's good times 'tiil they get here
Short time 'til they're gone
Just picking and singing in a family band
Traveling and living off the land
Picking and fishing and meeting other folks
Making home brew and cooking steaks
Wear your old clothes and drive those old country roads
Live your mistakes and make up your own breaks
They traveled this country from L.A. to Maine
Seattle and back to Key West
Through hundreds of gigs and all the miles they did
They say that raising five kids tops the list
Chorus
Curly told me if you want to be free
You got to be your own boss
Be fair with those you like, do what you think is right
If they still don't like you, pack it up and walk
Chorus x2
The lyrics of Jerry Jeff Walker's song, Curly and Lil, are a celebration of a simple life lived by two kindred spirits: Curly and Lilly. Theirs is a life of hard work and dedication, but also of ease and contentment. The song talks of how they make a living by playing music, fishing, and meeting other people. They live frugally, but always find a way to get by.
The song begins by describing Curly driving an old pickup truck while Lilly rolls a cigarette. They do not care much for money, but rather enjoy their life to the fullest. Curly plays Dobro and has been on the road for seven years, and one day he tells Lilly that they should make it on their own. They decide to take their kids with them and start playing music as a family band. They travel the country, playing gigs from L.A. to Maine, and Seattle to Key West. But according to Curly, the best thing they did was to raise their five kids.
Jerry Jeff Walker celebrates the simple life that Curly and Lilly lead. He encourages others to live their lives the way they want to and not worry too much about what others think. This song is a testament to the power of music, the joys of family, and the beauty of a life well-lived.
Line by Line Meaning
Curly would drive that old pickup truck
Curly was the one who drove the old pickup truck
Lilly would roll a cigarette
Lilly liked to roll cigarettes
They never sweated the money they made
They didn't worry too much about how much money they made
They get by just fine on anything they get
They were able to survive on whatever they earned
Curly worked the Dobro for seven long years
Curly played the Dobro for seven years
Always on the road not at home
They were constantly traveling and not spending much time at home
He told Lilly one day before it all slips away
Curly suggested to Lilly that they should take the kids and pursue their dreams before it's too late
Let's take the kids out there and make it on our own
Curly proposed that they go out and try to make a living on their own with their kids
Chorus:
The refrain of the song
It's good times 'til they get here
The good times only last until they arrive
Short time 'til they're gone
The good times don't last very long
Just picking and singing in a family band
The family band played music together
Traveling and living off the land
They lived off the land as they traveled
Picking and fishing and meeting other folks
They enjoyed picking and fishing and meeting new people
Making home brew and cooking steaks
They brewed their own beer and cooked their own steaks
Wear your old clothes and drive those old country roads
They preferred to wear old clothes and drive on country roads
Live your mistakes and make up your own breaks
They believed in learning from their mistakes and creating opportunities for themselves
They traveled this country from L.A. to Maine
They traveled from Los Angeles to Maine and back again
Seattle and back to Key West
They also traveled to Seattle and Key West along the way
Through hundreds of gigs and all the miles they did
They played hundreds of gigs and traveled many miles
They say that raising five kids tops the list
Raising their five kids was one of their greatest accomplishments
Curly told me if you want to be free
Curly believed that if you want to be free
You got to be your own boss
You have to be in charge of your own life
Be fair with those you like, do what you think is right
You should be honest with those you like and do what you believe is right
If they still don't like you, pack it up and walk
If they still don't like you, it's time to move on
Chorus x2
The refrain of the song repeated twice
Contributed by Sophia M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.