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.
Up Against The Wall Red Neck
Jerry Jeff Walker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He was born in Oklahoma
And his wife's name's Betty Lou Thelma Liz
And he's not responsible for what he's doing
'Cause his mother made him what he is
And it's up against the wall Redneck MotherMother, who has raised her son so well
He's thirty-four and drinking in a honky tonk
Just kicking hippies asses and raising hell
Sure does like his Falstaff beer
He likes to chase it down with that Wild Turkey liquor
He drives a fifty-seven GMC pickup truck
Got a gun rack, "Goat ropers needs love, too" sticker
And it's up against the wall Redneck Mothers
Mother, who has raised her son so well
He's thirty-four and drinking in a honky tonk
Just kicking hippies asses and raising hell
Oh, babe
Oh, play it for momma
Ooh
M is for the mudflaps you give me for my pickup truck
O is for the Oil I put on my hair
T is for T-bird
H is for Haggard
E is for eggs and
R is for REDNECK
Up against the wall Redneck Mother
Mother, who has raised her son so wellHe's thirty-four and drinking in a honky tonk
Kicking hippies asses and raising hell
Let's go
Yeah, it's up against the wall Redneck Mother (ooh)
Mother, who has raised her son so well
He's thirty-four and drinking in a honky tonk
Just kicking hippies asses and raising hell
What's that spell
Let's go get Oklahoma, USA
The song "Up Against the Wall Redneck Mother" by Ray Wylie Hubbard is a satirical commentary on redneck culture and the youth who propagate that culture. The opening lines of the song introduce the main character as someone who was born in Oklahoma and has a wife named Betty Lou Thelma Liz. The singer is described as being out of control and not responsible for his actions. The mother is ultimately blamed for creating the person he has become. The chorus "up against the wall Redneck Mother" is a reference to the violent attitude towards hippies and other cultural misfits who opposed the Vietnam War and the traditional conservative values of the redneck community.
The song's protagonist is a heavy drinker and is depicted as an unsophisticated, rough and tumble type of guy who likes Falstaff beer, Wild Turkey liquor, and drives a 57 GMC truck. The song is full of witty wordplay and lyrics that poke fun at redneck culture and the perceived bigotry that the culture perpetuates. Ray Wylie Hubbard uses humor as a weapon in this song, the second verse bringing out his wit even more. The use of acronyms in the lyrics such as M for the mudflaps, O for the oil, T for the T-bird, etc. create a fun and charming tone.
Line by Line Meaning
He was born in Oklahoma
The subject was born in the state of Oklahoma.
And his wife's name's Betty Lou Thelma Liz
The subject has a wife named Betty Lou Thelma Liz.
And he's not responsible for what he's doing
The subject is not taking responsibility for their actions.
'Cause his mother made him what he is
The subject attributes their personality and behavior to their mother.
And it's up against the wall Redneck Mother
The subject is expressing defiance toward conservative, rural upbringing.
Mother, who has raised her son so well
The subject is sarcastically praising their own mother's influence.
He's thirty-four and drinking in a honky tonk
At the time of the song's composition, the subject is thirty-four years old and drinking in a country-western bar.
Just kicking hippies asses and raising hell
The subject is engaging in violent altercations with countercultural youth.
Sure does like his Falstaff beer
The subject enjoys Falstaff brand beer.
He likes to chase it down with that Wild Turkey liquor
The subject prefers Wild Turkey bourbon as a chaser for their beer.
He drives a fifty-seven GMC pickup truck
The subject drives a 1957 GMC brand pickup truck.
Got a gun rack, 'Goat ropers needs love, too' sticker
The subject has a gun rack attached to their truck and a humorous sticker on the back endorsing rural lifestyles.
M is for the mudflaps you give me for my pickup truck
The subject is referencing the customization of their truck with mudflaps.
O is for the Oil I put on my hair
The subject is referring to their habit of putting oil in their hair for styling.
T is for T-bird
The subject is discussing their car, a Ford Thunderbird.
H is for Haggard
The subject is paying tribute to country musician Merle Haggard.
E is for eggs and
The subject includes eggs in their list of favorite things beginning with the letter 'E.'
R is for REDNECK
The subject is spelling out the word 'redneck.'
Let's go get Oklahoma, USA
The subject is suggesting a desire to take over their home state of Oklahoma.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Ray Wylie Hubbard
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@gallen2101
I am 69 , a Black woman and I love this song! Proud Southern, no one knows how to party like we do country 😊
@billystewart3605
God bless you!
@keiranstewart95
I'm here cos I heard it on that 70s show😂 but now i feel home😊
@russellsimonds7148
❤❤❤
@joeyocom5087
Why would your color make a difference?
@19MadMike95
@@joeyocom5087 I wonder...
@kennethvoller278
68 year old man here after 50 years still listening and diggin it!!
@suenatewa7472
😊 right behind you man. Every weekend hahahaha
@susancorbridge2829
I’m 69 and this is the 50th Anniversary of this video that my husband Dave and his friends made all those years ago.❤
@bigtex9637
Thanks for this post Susan. I graduated high school in the 70s and this music was epic, see my main post. I would love to hear your stories about this video your husband and friends made. This may be the first music video of all time 😜. It was a different time, more innocent in spite of our outlaw ways. What a time to be alive, what great music and memories. Viva Terlingua, Viva Texas 😎