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.
Lucky Man
Jerry Jeff Walker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Looked over on the pillow, there lay my lady love
And I thought how much we'd grown to love the life we chose to live
Ain't it funny how things fall in line, when you take what life gives
Music people tell me I need to write more sad love songe
But me and lovely Susan get stronger as we roll along
We let the rain roll off our windows, we let lovin' warm our rooms
And all the songs I hear these days, they've got no give and take
The lovers always make the same mistakes
But love will ask a man to find a way to try and work it out
Love can please you, but if it leaves you
It can turn you inside out
So I guess I'll go on counting all my lucky stars
'Cause all the lucky people are the ones who really know they are
You can't have what you want unless you dare to see things through
And I got what I wanted on the day we said I do
[Repeat First Verse]
The song Lucky Man by Jerry Jeff Walker talks about the positive aspects of his life and how he feels lucky to have the love of his life, Susan in his life. He wakes up feeling like a million dollars and finds Susan lying beside him. He expresses his love for the life they chose to live and how they have grown to love each other more every day. He acknowledges that life falls into place when one takes what life gives them.
Jerry Jeff Walker then states that he is advised by music people to write more sad love songs, but he and Susan have grown stronger with time. They face challenges together but overcome them by letting love warm their room and letting rain roll off their windows. He talks about how love is not perfect and can sometimes leave a man feeling lost, but it is essential to try and work things out. He admits that love can be pleasing but can also break a person down.
Jerry Jeff Walker concludes the song by saying that he is aware he is amongst the lucky ones, and it is essential to see things through if one wants to have what they desire. His commitment to Susan is what he desired, and he got it on the day they got married.
Line by Line Meaning
I woke up this morning feelin' like a million bucks
I woke up with a sense of great satisfaction and happiness
Looked over on the pillow, there lay my lady love
I noticed my partner was lying next to me in bed
And I thought how much we'd grown to love the life we chose to live
I realized how much we both have grown to appreciate the life we have chosen to live together
Ain't it funny how things fall in line, when you take what life gives
It's ironic how things happen to work out when we accept what life throws our way
Music people tell me I need to write more sad love songs
People in the music industry suggest that I should write more melancholic love songs
But me and lovely Susan get stronger as we roll along
However, my partner Susan and I continue to grow stronger in our relationship as time passes
We let the rain roll off our windows, we let lovin' warm our rooms
We don't let the outside factors and negative emotions affect us, instead, we let our love and affection for each other warm our hearts and soul
And after all we've lost and found, I'm more in love with you
Despite all the ups and downs and obstacles we faced, I find myself being even more deeply in love with you
And all the songs I hear these days, they've got no give and take
The love songs I hear nowadays don't show the struggles and efforts required to make a relationship work
The lovers always make the same mistakes
The couples always seem to repeat the same mistakes and misunderstandings in their relationships
But love will ask a man to find a way to try and work it out
Love requires both partners to put in an effort and find a way to solve their problems and differences
Love can please you, but if it leaves you, it can turn you inside out
Love can bring happiness and satisfaction, but if it ends, it can leave you with intense emotional distress
So I guess I'll go on counting all my lucky stars
Thus, I am grateful for all the fortunate incidents that lead me to this point in my life
'Cause all the lucky people are the ones who really know they are
As only those who recognize their blessings and appreciate what they have truly are the lucky ones
You can't have what you want unless you dare to see things through
One can't achieve their goals if they are not willing to face and overcome the obstacles that come with them
And I got what I wanted on the day we said I do
I found what I was looking for in life on the day we got married
[Repeat First Verse]
The song ends with the repetition of the opening verse implying the continuation of these feelings and attitudes.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JERRY JEFF WALKER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind