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.
Wind
Jerry Jeff Walker Lyrics
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As he struggles with an old dream all night long
And when she awakes, she turns to reassure him
She whispers to a shadow and finds him gone
Way out in the barn a single lamp is burning
She faintly hears a radio play a sad old cowboy song
She watches as he takes, his old saddle from the wall
[Chorus:]
She's losing him, to the rodeo wind
That blows through his soul, when the summer begins
When the winter snow falls, he'll come back again
But his heart always drifts, on the rodeo wind
One sure way to lose him
Is to try and make him stay
He can't explain he don't even know himself
But the force that drew her to him
Has just gotta break away
And the sound of the road and the rolling wheel
Is the only thing that helps
Now it all makes sense, those signs she's been seeing all along
She feels like such a fool, a woman ought to know
Just the other day, she saw him sittin' on the south fence
Throwing stones at prairie dogs, and staring down the road
"Rodeo Wind" by Jerry Jeff Walker is a song about a woman who struggles to come to terms with her lover's need to constantly travel and compete in rodeos. In the first verse, the woman wakes up to find her lover has left in the middle of the night to pursue his dream, leaving her behind. The second verse explores the nature of her lover's restlessness and his desire to be on the road. The chorus draws the connection between the wind, the rodeo, and her lover's unsettled soul, suggesting that she will always lose him to this part of himself. The final verse brings a sense of realization and resignation as she realizes that the signs were there all along that this was part of who he is and that trying to hold him back would only push him further away.
Overall, the song is a poignant exploration of the struggle between love and freedom. It portrays a relationship where one partner cannot help but be drawn to the open road, while the other struggles to reconcile that with their desire for stability and commitment. The song is also notable for its musical style, blending country and folk influences with a somber, reflective tone that perfectly fits the themes of the lyrics.
Line by Line Meaning
Even as she sleeps, she feels his restless turning
She senses his troubled mind, even when he sleeps
As he struggles with an old dream all night long
He wrestles with his thoughts and memories through the night
And when she awakes, she turns to reassure him
She tries to comfort and calm him when she wakes up
She whispers to a shadow and finds him gone
She discovers that he has left without a trace, leaving her behind
Way out in the barn a single lamp is burning
There's only one light on in the barn, indicating that he's preparing to leave
She faintly hears a radio play a sad old cowboy song
The song on the radio reflects their situation and adds to her sadness
She watches as he takes, his old saddle from the wall
She sees him getting his saddle, ready to hit the road
A sudden chill runs through her in the cold of the not quite dawn
She feels an overwhelming sense of loss and emptiness as he leaves, even though it's not yet morning
She's losing him, to the rodeo wind
She knows that he's leaving to pursue his passion for rodeo, and she can't keep him from going
That blows through his soul, when the summer begins
The call of the rodeo is too strong for him, and he can't resist the temptation to leave every summer
When the winter snow falls, he'll come back again
He'll return when the rodeo season ends and winter begins
But his heart always drifts, on the rodeo wind
No matter where he is physically, his heart and soul are always drawn back to the rodeo
One sure way to lose him
Trying to make him stay is a guaranteed way to push him further away
Is to try and make him stay
There's no use in trying to change his mind or make him stay when his heart is set on leaving
He can't explain he don't even know himself
Even he can't quite explain why he's drawn to the rodeo, it's just something he feels he needs to do
But the force that drew her to him
The same passion and drive that brought them together is what's pulling him away
Has just gotta break away
He can't fight the pull of the rodeo any longer, it's time to go
And the sound of the road and the rolling wheel
The noise of the road and the wheels on the pavement is a comfort to him, and it's the only thing that can make him feel better
Is the only thing that helps
The open road and the freedom of the rodeo are the only things that make him feel truly alive
Now it all makes sense, those signs she's been seeing all along
She finally understands why he's been acting out of character lately
She feels like such a fool, a woman ought to know
She regrets not seeing the signs earlier and blames herself for not understanding his passion
Just the other day, she saw him sittin' on the south fence
She remembers a recent moment when she saw him deep in thought, and now she wonders if he was already planning to leave
Throwing stones at prairie dogs, and staring down the road
He was likely considering his decision to leave and was already feeling the pull of the road and the freedom it represented
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: CHRIS WALL, JERRY JEFF WALKER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind