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.
Just to Celebrate
Jerry Jeff Walker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Would you like to know why I feel like dancin'
Well, I feel like I got a brand new lease on life
I got my baby with me, she didn't up and quit me
So we're out here dancin' just to celebrate
Things have been a little strained at our house lately
We always go out dancin' when we need some new romancin'
So we're out here dancin' just to celebrate
Oh, this life can be taxing, but dancin's so relaxing
And we get in to laughing when we're whirling around the floor
So, boys, play a two-stepper, we'll do the steppin'
If you will make it swing, we'll glide across the floor
A blue denim couple, swaying buckle to buckle
Out here dancin' just to celebrate
Yeah, we'd like a Bob Wills ditty, or maybe one by Conway Twitty
Ah, man you look so pretty wrapped up in daddy's arms
After dancin' all night long with here head on my shoulder
It's time to waltz her home and lay my baby down
With the melody ringing, I hear her softly singing
We've been out here dancin' just to celebrate
In Jerry Jeff Walker's song 'Just to Celebrate,' the lyrics describe the singer's need to celebrate life and love through dancing. The first verse explains that the reason the singer feels like dancing is that he has a new lease on life with his partner, indicating they have gone through rough times and come out stronger. By dancing, they are celebrating this triumph over struggle. In the second verse, the singer describes life as taxing, but dancing is a relaxing way to enjoy it. He also mentions that he and his partner always go out dancing when they need to reignite their romance. The chorus reaffirms that they are dancing to celebrate life and love.
The third verse describes how the couple would like the band to play a two-stepper to which they could dance. With the swing and glide of the dance, the couple is lost in the moment. The lyrics say, "we get in to laughing when we're whirling around the floor" indicating the couple's love and enjoyment of dancing together. The final verse speaks of the couple dancing all night long, with the singer holding his baby. The melody continues to play even after they leave the dance floor, reminding the couple of the moments they shared dancing just to celebrate life and their love.
Line by Line Meaning
Would you like to know why I feel like dancin'
Do you want to understand why I have an urge to dance?
Well, I feel like I got a brand new lease on life
I feel as though I have a new chance at life.
I got my baby with me, she didn't up and quit me
My partner is still in a relationship with me which makes me happy.
So we're out here dancin' just to celebrate
We are dancing just to celebrate our happiness.
Things have been a little strained at our house lately
Our home has been under a bit of tension lately.
But we feel like we've made it through the roughest part
Fortunately, we feel that we have overcome the worst of it.
We always go out dancin' when we need some new romancin'
When we require a fresh start or some new excitement, we go out dancing.
So we're out here dancin' just to celebrate
We are dancing as a means to celebrate our success in getting past a rough time.
Oh, this life can be taxing, but dancin's so relaxing
Life can be challenging yet dance allows for much needed relaxation.
And we get in to laughing when we're whirling around the floor
We chuckle and enjoy ourselves as we dance around the floor.
So, boys, play a two-stepper, we'll do the steppin'
If the band will play a two-step tune, we'll dance the two-step.
If you will make it swing, we'll glide across the floor
We'll dance a gliding motion if the music is in a swaying rhythm.
A blue denim couple, swaying buckle to buckle
We are in a couple's blue denim bonded, with our buckle to buckle movement.
Out here dancin' just to celebrate
We are dancing only to celebrate our present joyous state.
Yeah, we'd like a Bob Wills ditty, or maybe one by Conway Twitty
We prefer a tune from Bob Wills or Conway Twitty.
Ah, man you look so pretty wrapped up in daddy's arms
You appear lovely cuddled up in a father's arms.
After dancin' all night long with her head on my shoulder
After we've danced all night with her resting her head on my shoulder.
It's time to waltz her home and lay my baby down
It's time to take my partner home and lay her down to rest.
With the melody ringing, I hear her softly singing
The sound of the music encompassing us while hearing her soft singing in the background.
We've been out here dancin' just to celebrate
Our dancing tonight is simply to celebrate our happiness together.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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