Walker said he was inspired to write the song after an encounter with a street performer in a New Orleans jail. While in jail for public intoxication in 1965, he met a homeless man who called himself "Mr. Bojangles" to conceal his true identity from the police. Mr. Bojangles had been arrested as part of a police sweep of indigent people that was carried out following a high-profile murder. The two men and others in the cell chatted about all manner of things, but when Mr. Bojangles told a story about his dog, the mood in the room turned heavy. Someone else in the cell asked for something to lighten the mood, and Mr. Bojangles obliged with a tap dance.[2][3] The homeless "Mr. Bojangles", who was white, had taken his pseudonym from Bill "Bojangles" Robinson (1878–1949), a Black entertainer.[4]
Notable recordings
The song was first recorded by popular Austin performer Allen Wayne Damron during a live performance at the Chequered Flag folk club in Austin in 1967.[5] Jerry Jeff Walker recorded his single version (with Bobby Woods, Charlie Freeman, Sandy Rhodes, Tommy McClure, Sammy Creason, and a string orchestra) in Memphis, Tennessee on June 7, 1968, and it was released by Atco Records on June 20. He also recorded a non-string version in New York City for his album Mr. Bojangles with David Bromberg, Gary Illingworth, Danny Milhon, Bobby Cranshaw, Jody Stecher, Donny Brooks, Ron Carter, Bill LaVorgna, and Jerry Jemmott. It was released by Atco on September 25, 1968. Other versions including those by Frankie Laine and Harry Belafonte were also recorded.
The band's single version begins with the Uncle Charlie interview (subtitled "Prologue: Uncle Charlie and his Dog Teddy") that also precedes the song on the Uncle Charlie album. It was originally backed with another interview with Uncle Charlie, also taken from the album. When "Mr. Bojangles" started climbing the charts, the B-side was re-pressed with the same song without the interview. NGDB guitarist Jeff Hanna performed most of the lead vocals on the track, with bandmate Jimmy Ibbotson performing harmony vocals; the two switched these roles on the last verse.[6]
Live versions of the song appeared on Walker's 1977 album A Man Must Carry On, and his 1980 album The Best of Jerry Jeff Walker and he sang it with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band on their 2015 concert album entitled Circlin' Back.
Sammy Davis Jr.
The song became one of Sammy Davis Jr.'s "long-loved" signature performances,[7][8] which he recorded for his 1972 album Portrait of Sammy Davis, Jr.[9] and sang at President Richard Nixon's invitation at a concert at the White House the following year.[10] Study of the Davis version, as released on his Greatest Hits, Live album, has formed part of the "Music Studies" syllabus in the UK.[11]
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan recorded a much loved version of the song for his 1973 studio album, Dylan.
The song was performed and recorded by Brendan Grace the Irish entertainer on Ireland’s Late Late Show in the late '70s. The version was later released and did quite well in the Irish and English charts. The song was reissued on Grace’s 2019 posthumous release, Airs & Graces, a 60-song collection of songs he recorded both in studio and live over his 50-year career.
Nina Simone
Nina Simone recorded a soulful version of the song for her 1974 album, It Is Finished.
^The Man Who Was Bojangles. BBC Radio 4. 11.30, August 23, 2008
^Schudel, Matt (October 24, 2020). "Jerry Jeff Walker, Texas troubadour who wrote 'Mr. Bojangles,' dies at 78". Washington Post. Retrieved October 27, 2020.; Hoffman, Jordan (October 24, 2020). "Singer-Songwriter Jerry Jeff Walker Dies at Age 78". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
^The Handbook of Texas: Damron, Allen Wayne Linked 2016-09-16
^Hanna, Jeff (2013). "The Making of The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's 'Mr. Bojangles.' " Grammy.com (December 27, 2013). Retrieved 5-29-2016.
^Inc, Nielsen Business Media (17 August 1974). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 18. {{cite book}}: |last1= has generic name (help)
^Contemporary Musicians. Gale Research, Incorporated. 1989. p. 76. ISBN978-0-8103-2214-1. Davis ... performed a number of signature songs. Chief among these were his tribute to Bill Robinson, "Mr. Bojangles"
^Ruhlmann, William. "Portrait of Sammy Davis, Jr. Review". AllMusic. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
^Company, Johnson Publishing (May 1973). Ebony. Johnson Publishing Company. pp. 98–101.
^Ellis-Williams, Huw; Johnson, Maria; Roberts, Susan (3 February 2017). OCR AS And A Level Music Study Guide. Rhinegold Education. p. 6. ISBN978-1-78323-893-4.
^Whitburn, Joel (2013). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012. Record Research. p. 893.
bojangles, song, 1936, song, swing, time, film, musical, numbers, bojangles, song, written, originally, recorded, american, country, music, artist, jerry, jeff, walker, 1968, album, same, title, jerry, jeff, walker, wrote, bojangles, recorded, song, 1968, albu. For the 1936 song see Swing Time film Musical numbers Mr Bojangles is a song written and originally recorded by American country music artist Jerry Jeff Walker for his 1968 album of the same title Jerry Jeff Walker wrote Mr Bojangles and recorded the song for his 1968 album of the same name Mr Bojangles Single by The Nitty Gritty Dirt Bandfrom the album Uncle Charlie amp His Dog TeddyB side Uncle Charlie Interview 2 Spanish Fandango later replaced with Mr Bojangles w o prologue ReleasedSeptember 1970 1 Recorded1969GenreCountry folkLength5 15 3 35 without prologue LabelLibertySongwriter s Jerry Jeff WalkerProducer s William McEuenThe Nitty Gritty Dirt Band singles chronology Buy for Me the Rain 1967 Mr Bojangles 1970 House at Pooh Corner 1971 Contents 1 Composition 2 Notable recordings 2 1 Nitty Gritty Dirt Band 2 2 Sammy Davis Jr 2 3 Bob Dylan 2 4 Christian McBride Big Band 2 5 Brendan Grace 2 6 Nina Simone 3 Chart history 3 1 Weekly charts 3 1 1 Jerry Jeff Walker 3 1 2 The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band 3 2 Year end charts 3 2 1 Al Cherny 3 2 2 Nina Simone 4 References 5 External linksComposition EditWalker said he was inspired to write the song after an encounter with a street performer in a New Orleans jail While in jail for public intoxication in 1965 he met a homeless man who called himself Mr Bojangles to conceal his true identity from the police Mr Bojangles had been arrested as part of a police sweep of indigent people that was carried out following a high profile murder The two men and others in the cell chatted about all manner of things but when Mr Bojangles told a story about his dog the mood in the room turned heavy Someone else in the cell asked for something to lighten the mood and Mr Bojangles obliged with a tap dance 2 3 The homeless Mr Bojangles who was white had taken his pseudonym from Bill Bojangles Robinson 1878 1949 a Black entertainer 4 Notable recordings EditThe song was first recorded by popular Austin performer Allen Wayne Damron during a live performance at the Chequered Flag folk club in Austin in 1967 5 Jerry Jeff Walker recorded his single version with Bobby Woods Charlie Freeman Sandy Rhodes Tommy McClure Sammy Creason and a string orchestra in Memphis Tennessee on June 7 1968 and it was released by Atco Records on June 20 He also recorded a non string version in New York City for his album Mr Bojangles with David Bromberg Gary Illingworth Danny Milhon Bobby Cranshaw Jody Stecher Donny Brooks Ron Carter Bill LaVorgna and Jerry Jemmott It was released by Atco on September 25 1968 Other versions including those by Frankie Laine and Harry Belafonte were also recorded Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Edit Since then it has been recorded by many other artists including US country rock band Nitty Gritty Dirt Band whose version recorded for the 1970 album Uncle Charlie amp His Dog Teddy was issued as a single and rose to No 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1971 The band s single version begins with the Uncle Charlie interview subtitled Prologue Uncle Charlie and his Dog Teddy that also precedes the song on the Uncle Charlie album It was originally backed with another interview with Uncle Charlie also taken from the album When Mr Bojangles started climbing the charts the B side was re pressed with the same song without the interview NGDB guitarist Jeff Hanna performed most of the lead vocals on the track with bandmate Jimmy Ibbotson performing harmony vocals the two switched these roles on the last verse 6 Live versions of the song appeared on Walker s 1977 album A Man Must Carry On and his 1980 album The Best of Jerry Jeff Walker and he sang it with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band on their 2015 concert album entitled Circlin Back Sammy Davis Jr Edit The song became one of Sammy Davis Jr s long loved signature performances 7 8 which he recorded for his 1972 album Portrait of Sammy Davis Jr 9 and sang at President Richard Nixon s invitation at a concert at the White House the following year 10 Study of the Davis version as released on his Greatest Hits Live album has formed part of the Music Studies syllabus in the UK 11 Bob Dylan Edit Bob Dylan recorded a much loved version of the song for his 1973 studio album Dylan Christian McBride Big Band Edit The song appeared on the 2017 album Bringin It by jazz bassist Christian McBride The album won the Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards Brendan Grace Edit The song was performed and recorded by Brendan Grace the Irish entertainer on Ireland s Late Late Show in the late 70s The version was later released and did quite well in the Irish and English charts The song was reissued on Grace s 2019 posthumous release Airs amp Graces a 60 song collection of songs he recorded both in studio and live over his 50 year career Nina Simone Edit Nina Simone recorded a soulful version of the song for her 1974 album It Is Finished Chart history EditWeekly charts Edit Jerry Jeff Walker Edit Chart 1968 PeakpositionU S Billboard Hot 100 12 77Canada RPM Top Singles 13 51The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Edit Chart 1970 71 PeakpositionAustralia KMR 14 15Canada RPM Top Singles 15 2Netherlands Dutch Top 40 16 28New Zealand Listener 17 2U S Billboard Hot 100 18 9U S Billboard Adult Contemporary 19 10U S Cash Box Top 100 20 9Chart 1991 PeakpositionCanada Country Tracks RPM 21 68 Year end charts Edit Chart 1971 RankAustralia 22 94Canada 23 36US Billboard Hot 100 24 44US Cash Box 25 45 Al Cherny Edit Chart 1972 PeakpositionCanada RPM Top Country Singles 26 45Nina Simone Edit Chart 1988 PeakpositionUK Singles Chart OCC 27 96References Edit Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Mr Bojangles 45cat com Walker Jerry Jeff 2000 Gypsy Songman Woodford Press ISBN 978 0 942627 57 2 The Man Who Was Bojangles BBC Radio 4 11 30 August 23 2008 Schudel Matt October 24 2020 Jerry Jeff Walker Texas troubadour who wrote Mr Bojangles dies at 78 Washington Post Retrieved October 27 2020 Hoffman Jordan October 24 2020 Singer Songwriter Jerry Jeff Walker Dies at Age 78 Vanity Fair Retrieved 27 October 2020 The Handbook of Texas Damron Allen Wayne Linked 2016 09 16 Hanna Jeff 2013 The Making of The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band s Mr Bojangles Grammy com December 27 2013 Retrieved 5 29 2016 Inc Nielsen Business Media 17 August 1974 Billboard Nielsen Business Media Inc p 18 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a last1 has generic name help Contemporary Musicians Gale Research Incorporated 1989 p 76 ISBN 978 0 8103 2214 1 Davis performed a number of signature songs Chief among these were his tribute to Bill Robinson Mr Bojangles Ruhlmann William Portrait of Sammy Davis Jr Review AllMusic Retrieved November 12 2022 Company Johnson Publishing May 1973 Ebony Johnson Publishing Company pp 98 101 Ellis Williams Huw Johnson Maria Roberts Susan 3 February 2017 OCR AS And A Level Music Study Guide Rhinegold Education p 6 ISBN 978 1 78323 893 4 Whitburn Joel 2013 Joel Whitburn s Top Pop Singles 14th Edition 1955 2012 Record Research p 893 RPM Top 100 Singles August 19 1968 PDF Kent David 1993 Australian Chart Book 1970 1992 illustrated ed St Ives N S W Australian Chart Book p 219 ISBN 0 646 11917 6 RPM100 Singles PDF RPM 27 February 1971 Retrieved 1 June 2020 Nederlandse Top 40 Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in Dutch Dutch Top 40 Flavour of New Zealand 31 May 1971 The Hot 100 Billboard 27 February 1971 Retrieved 1 June 2020 Whitburn Joel 1993 Top Adult Contemporary 1961 1993 Record Research p 177 Cash Box Top 100 Singles February 27 1971 Archived from the original on June 7 2015 Retrieved July 26 2017 Top RPM Country Tracks Issue 1592 RPM Library and Archives Canada August 10 1991 Retrieved September 8 2013 Kent David 1993 Australian Chart Book 1970 1992 Australian Chart Book St Ives N S W ISBN 0 646 11917 6 Item Display RPM Library and Archives Canada collectionscanada gc ca Archived from the original on 20 October 2012 Top 100 Hits of 1971 Top 100 Songs of 1971 Archived from the original on 2016 10 11 Retrieved 2017 07 26 Cash Box Year End Charts Top 100 Pop Singles December 25 1971 Archived from the original on October 6 2016 Retrieved July 26 2017 RPM Top 65 Country Singles December 16 1972 PDF mr bojangles full Official Chart History Officialcharts com External links Edit Lyrics at oldielyrics com Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Mr Bojangles on YouTube Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mr Bojangles song amp oldid 1128508382, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
