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.
Old Road
Jerry Jeff Walker Lyrics
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Old road she keeps callin' to me,
Travel on down,
Travel on down,
Travel on down and see.
(Harmonica)
13 and 3-0-1,
250 West,
250 West,
250 West to 9.
(Harmonica)
Lonely, so cold and blue,
Lonely, so cold and blue,
Tired and hungery,
Tired and hungery,
Tired and hungery too.
(Harmonica)
The lyrics of Jerry Jeff Walker's song Old Road paint a picture of the singer's longing to hit the open road again. The old road, a metaphor for the singer's carefree and adventurous past, is calling out to him, beckoning him to leave his current life behind and explore the world. The repetition of "travel on down" emphasizes the singer's unrelenting desire to leave and satisfy his wanderlust. The harmonica provides an emotional, melancholic backdrop as the singer reminisces about a simpler, happier time.
The second stanza is a set of directions, beginning with "13 and 3-0-1." These numbers could be coordinates for a specific location, or they could merely be a representation of distance and direction. Regardless, the directions ultimately lead to "250 West to 9," further establishing the idea of a journey towards an unknown destination. The harmonica once again underscores the sense of longing, with its mournful notes evoking the image of a lonesome traveler.
The final stanza paints a picture of the singer's current state of being. He is lonely, cold, and blue, feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders. The repetition of "tired and hungry" reinforces his weariness and the desire for a change of scenery. The harmonica provides one final note of sadness, bringing the song to a contemplative and melancholic close.
Line by Line Meaning
Old road she keeps callin' to me,
The singer is drawn to revisit a familiar road.
Travel on down,
The singer is compelled to continue on the journey down the road.
Travel on down,
The singer is urged to keep traveling down the road.
Travel on down and see.
The artist wants to see what, if anything, has changed since their last visit to the road.
13 and 3-0-1,
The artist is reflecting on a specific route or highway that intersects with the old road.
250 West,
The singer provides more detail on the specific road they are traveling on.
250 West to 9.
The singer is giving driving directions to their traveling partner or listener.
Lonely, so cold and blue,
The artist is feeling melancholy about their current journey.
Tired and hungery,
The artist is physically exhausted and hungry from their travels.
Tired and hungery,
The artist reiterates their physical state of being hungry and tired.
Tired and hungery too.
The singer emphasizes their exhaustion and hunger with an additional level of stress.
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