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 Redneck
Jerry Jeff Walker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
His wife's name is Betty Lou Thelma Liz
He's not responsible for what he's doin' cuz
His mother made him what he is
And it's up against the wall Redneck Mother
Mother who has raised a son so well
He's 34 and drinkin' in a honky tonk
Just kickin hippies asses and raisin' hell
Sure does like his Fallstaff beer
He likes to chase it down with that wild turkey liquer
He drives a 57 GMC pickup truck
Got a gun rack
"Goat ropers need love too" sticker
And it's up against the wall Redneck Mother
Mother who has raised a son so well
He's 34 and drinkin' in a honkey tonk
Just kickin hippies asses and rainin' hell
Aw play it for mama
M is for the Mudflaps you give me for my pick-up 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 a son so well
He's 34 and drinkin' in a honkey tonk
Just kickin' hippies asses and raisin' hell (2X)
What's that spell, Let's go to Oklahoma USA
The lyrics of Jerry Jeff Walker's "Up Against the Wall Redneck Mother" satirize the stereotypical "redneck" character, a working-class, conservative, white man, who is fiercely loyal to his rural upbringing and conservative values. The song portrays this character as a product of his upbringing, blaming his mother for his behavior. The chorus, "Up against the wall, Redneck Mother," is both a phrase of defiance and a term of endearment. The line "Mother who has raised a son so well" is slightly ironic, given the song's portrayal of a drunken, belligerent character.
The characteristics of this character are further emphasized in the verses, describing his love for cheap beer, whiskey, and his GMC truck with a gun rack and a "Goat ropers need love too" bumper sticker. The lyrics also include a humorous breakdown of the word "redneck," with each letter representing a symbol of the character's lifestyle, such as "M" for mud flaps and "H" for Merle Haggard, a famous country singer known for songs about the working-class and rural life.
Despite the comedic nature of the song, it touches on themes of identity, class, and the influence of upbringing on behavior. The lyrics suggest that the redneck character is a product of his environment, and that his behavior and values are rooted in his upbringing and cultural identity.
Line by Line Meaning
He was born in Oklahoma
His birthplace was Oklahoma.
His wife's name is Betty Lou Thelma Liz
His spouse's name is Betty Lou Thelma Liz.
He's not responsible for what he's doin' cuz
His mother made him what he is
He denies responsibility for his actions, attributing them to the impact of his upbringing.
And it's up against the wall Redneck Mother
Mother who has raised a son so well
He's 34 and drinkin' in a honky tonk
Just kickin hippies asses and raisin' hell
He's a product of his mother's parenting and is now causing trouble at the bar, physically assaulting counter-culture and progressive-minded people such as hippies.
Sure does like his Fallstaff beer
He enjoys drinking Fallstaff beer.
He likes to chase it down with that wild turkey liquer
To complement his beer, he drinks wild turkey liquor.
He drives a 57 GMC pickup truck
Got a gun rack
"Goat ropers need love too" sticker
He drives a 1957 General Motors Company pickup truck, equipped with a gun rack and a "Goat ropers need love too" sticker.
Aw play it for mama
He requests the song to be played in honor of his mother.
M is for the Mudflaps you give me for my pick-up 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
He spells out key aspects of his identity, including mudflaps for his truck, hair oil, T-bird car, admiration for Merle Haggard, appreciation for eggs and being a redneck.
What's that spell, Let's go to Oklahoma USA
He concludes by spelling out the word REDNECK, followed by an invitation to go to Oklahoma, USA.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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 😎