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.
Shell Game
Jerry Jeff Walker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Someone you'd like to know passed you by
With heartfelt words a chance to speak
But two ladies down the street
Cast off that shell
Don't resist the unknown
Your understandin' is open-handed
Shame ourselves with petty games
Bill folds swells with tight remains
To find a road that leads someplace
When we fasten it everyday
Cast off that shell……
To stand naked for the sun
Well that's the ends of everyone
To be old is to be free
To enclosed as a channel be
Cast off that shell……
So don't you wait until you're stranded
Ask somebody to throw a hand in
Just a ditty in 3/4 patterns
Shackle games in high form matter
Cast off that shell……
The lyrics to Jerry Jeff Walker's song "Shell Game" are about breaking down the barriers that separate people and embracing the unknown. The first verse presents the idea of missed opportunities in life- how often do we let chances to connect with others slip by because we are too afraid to reach out? The answer lies in casting off our "shell," letting go of our fear of the unknown and embracing the idea that understanding is a quality that should be open-handed. If we hold it close or keep it to ourselves, we become isolated and alone.
The second verse is a commentary on the trivial pursuits we often use to distract ourselves from the bigger things in life. We play petty games, hoard our money, and become too focused on finding the "right" path in life when, in reality, we need to be letting go and enjoying the journey we're on. The third verse speaks to the idea of shedding our metaphorical clothing and standing "naked for the sun," or being completely open and vulnerable to experience. The repetition of the chorus throughout the song emphasizes the importance of breaking down the walls we've built around ourselves and being open to the world around us.
Line by Line Meaning
How many times in the lonely night
Reflect on the number of times in the night when you missed an opportunity to know someone you wanted due to fear and reluctance.
Someone you'd like to know passed you by
Someone you would have wanted to know passed you because you were hesitant.
With heartfelt words a chance to speak
A chance to speak to them and express your heartfelt words was wasted.
But two ladies down the street
You chose not to walk down a different path just because you were shy.
Cast off that shell
Shed your inhibitions and conquer your fear.
Don't resist the unknown
Rather than resisting the unknown, take a leap of faith.
Your understandin' is open-handed
You become more open-minded.
Hold it closed and you're alone
Keeping it closed won't let you connect with others and you will be lonely.
Shame ourselves with petty games
We engage ourselves in petty games and shame ourselves in them.
Bill folds swells with tight remains
Our bills keep adding up while we hoard our money.
To find a road that leads someplace
We have to search for a path that leads to a destination.
When we fasten it everyday
We have to practice this habit everyday to achieve it.
To stand naked for the sun
To stand bare and show one's true self to the world.
Well that's the ends of everyone
That is what everyone should aim to do.
To be old is to be free
Being older means being more accepting and carefree.
To enclosed as a channel be
Being too closed-off can become a constraint.
So don't you wait until you're stranded
Don't wait too long to open up.
Ask somebody to throw a hand in
Ask for someone's help.
Just a ditty in 3/4 patterns
This song, though simple, can help you understand this.
Shackle games in high form matter
Stop playing these high form games and take a leap of faith.
Cast off that shell……
Reiterating the song's message of shedding one's inhibitions.
Contributed by Penelope B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.