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.
Pissin' In The Wind
Jerry Jeff Walker Lyrics
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Makin' the same mistakes, we swear we'll never make again
Pissin' in the wind, but it's blowing on all our friends
We're gonna sit and grin and tell our grandchildren
About the time I called this Guy it was four in the morning
Teach me the words to the song I was humming
He just laughed and he said that the ole grey cat is sneakin' down
the hall
But all he wants to know is who in the hell is paying for this call
Oh Pissin' in the wind, bettin' on a losing friend
Makin' the same mistakes, we swear we'll never make again
And we're pissin' in the wind, but it's blowing on all our friends
We're gonna sit and grin and tell our grandchildren
Now this Nunn called me up, it was eight in the morning
Wanted to know how in the world am I doin'
Ohhhh ohh, mmmm mmmm
He just laughed and he said get it together boy, and fall on by the house
Some Gonzo buddies would like to play anything your picking now
Oh pissin' in the wind, bettin' on a losing friend
Makin' the same mistakes, we swear we'll never make again
And we're pissin' in the wind, but it's blowing on all our friends
We're gonna sit and grin and tell our grandchildren
Now we worked and we suffered and struggled
Makin' our record till we got it right
Now we're waiting on the check to come sneaking down the hall
Like that old time feeling
That we never should have ever put the record out at all
Yes pissin' in the wind, bettin' on a losing friend
Makin' the same mistakes, we swear we'll never make again
And we're pissin' in the wind, and it's blowing on all our friends
We're gonna sit and grin and tell our grandchildren
That the answer my friend is just pissin' in the wind
Oh the answer is pissin' in the sink
In "Pissin' In The Wind," Jerry Jeff Walker muses on life's futility and the absurdity of human existence. The opening lines of the song suggest a sense of resignation-I am pissing against the wind, betting on things and people that will always let me down. The refrain of the song-"the answer, my friend, is pissin' in the wind"-reinforces this idea of life as a futile struggle. The verses offer vignettes of the absurd interactions and conversations that happen in life, showcasing the humor and irony of it all.
Walker's lyrics have a cleverly self-deprecating tone that juxtaposes with the song's optimistic chorus. The act of pissing in the wind is a metaphor for life, where individuals can do everything right and still end up with nothing to show for it. Still, the chorus suggests that it's important to be able to laugh at life's ridiculousness and find joy in the little things. The final line of the song-that the answer is "pissing in the sink"-is a humorous and somewhat crude reference to the idea that sometimes, in life, it's enough to just take care of yourself.
Line by Line Meaning
Pissin' in the wind, bettin' on a losing friend
Wasting time and effort on someone who will never be dependable
Makin' the same mistakes, we swear we'll never make again
Repeating similar mistakes over and over despite promising not to do so
Pissin' in the wind, but it's blowing on all our friends
Making bad decisions that affect everyone around us, not just ourselves
We're gonna sit and grin and tell our grandchildren
Looking back on our wrong decisions and finding humor in them despite the consequences
Now this Nunn called me up, it was eight in the morning
A friend, named Nunn, called Jerry Jeff Walker early in the morning
Wanted to know how in the world am I doin'
Asking how Jerry Jeff is doing in life
He just laughed and he said get it together boy, and fall on by the house
Nunn advised Jerry Jeff to get his life together and come visit him
Some Gonzo buddies would like to play anything your picking now
Nunn's friends were ready to play any music Jerry Jeff was interested in
Now we worked and we suffered and struggled
Jerry Jeff and his colleagues endured hardships and exerted great effort
Makin' our record till we got it right
Producing a music record until they felt it was perfect
Now we're waiting on the check to come sneaking down the hall
They are waiting for payment, perhaps for their record
Like that old time feeling
The feeling of anticipation and excitement they used to feel when awaiting success
That we never should have ever put the record out at all
Regretting the decision to publish their record
The answer my friend is just pissin' in the wind
There may not be a real answer to life's problems
Oh the answer is pissin' in the sink
Alternatively, give up and do something completely futile
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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