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.
It's A Good Night For Singing
Jerry Jeff Walker Lyrics
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It's a good night for singing,
I got too drunk and my ears are still ringing
It's so good to be here, it's a brand new day
We been singing weary midnight tunes,
We started at noon, it's a slip of the moon
And we still got time, it's a brand new day
I wonder where are all the pleasant souls tonight
Indecision made them stay home and wait for daylight
Spherical witness, help me in my flight
Singing hours into the night, over and over 'til we saw the light
The nightime seesaw, the love light we saw
Love at the right time, love at the right time
It's a good night for singing,
I got too drunk and my ears are still ringing
It's so good to see you, it's a brand new day
It took us lifetimes to get this far, back to reality
Wonder where we are tonight, it's a brand new day
Jerry Jeff Walker's "It's A Good Night For Singing" is a lively and celebratory song that draws on the freeing power of music. The first verse speaks to the boisterous, carefree atmosphere of the night. The singer sings, "It's a good night for singing," and confesses to having gotten a little too drunk, causing his ears to ring. Despite this, he expresses his joy at being surrounded by friends and experiencing the freshness of a new day. The second verse grapples with the idea of absence, wondering where all the "pleasant souls" have gone. The lyrics hint at the idea that indecision has held people back or prevented them from joining in the wild and jubilant celebration.
The final verse is both reflective and introspective, with the singer taking stock of his journey and questioning his place in the world. He acknowledges the impermanence of life, singing, "It took us lifetimes to get this far, back to reality/Wonder where we are tonight, it's a brand new day." The song as a whole is a celebration of joy, shared experience, and the power of music to bring individuals together in pursuit of something greater than themselves.
Line by Line Meaning
It's a good night for singing,
Tonight is the perfect night for singing.
I got too drunk and my ears are still ringing
I am so drunk that my ears are still ringing and I can't hear properly.
It's so good to be here, it's a brand new day
I am happy to be here because it is a new day, and we have plenty of time to have fun and enjoy ourselves.
We been singing weary midnight tunes,
We have been singing songs that reflect the sadness of night-time for a long time.
We started at noon, it's a slip of the moon
We started singing in the afternoon, and now the moon has risen slightly in the sky.
And we still got time, it's a brand new day
We still have plenty of time to enjoy ourselves because it is a new day.
I wonder where are all the pleasant souls tonight
I am curious where all the friendly people are tonight.
Indecision made them stay home and wait for daylight
They couldn't decide if they wanted to come out and decided to wait for daylight instead of coming out and enjoying the night-time.
Spherical witness, help me in my flight
Oh, God, please help me feel free and alive tonight and have a good time.
Singing hours into the night, over and over 'til we saw the light
We sang for hours, over and over again until we felt happy and saw the light of a new day.
The nightime seesaw, the love light we saw
The night-time felt like a seesaw, up and down, but we found love and felt its light.
Love at the right time, love at the right time
We found love at the right time and the right place, when we were in the mood to enjoy the moment.
It's a good night for singing,
It is still a perfect night for singing.
I got too drunk and my ears are still ringing
I am still too drunk, and my ears are still ringing.
It's so good to see you, it's a brand new day
It is wonderful to see you again, and it is still a new day full of possibilities.
It took us lifetimes to get this far, back to reality
It took us a long time to get to this point, to be able to enjoy ourselves and have a good time.
Wonder where we are tonight, it's a brand new day
I am wondering where we will end up tonight, but I am not worried because it is still a new day, and we have plenty of time to have fun and explore.
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: ROBERT LYNN LIVINGSTON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind