#music, Thursday’s Oldie-Goldie: «Mr. Bojangles»

Apparently they called him “Bojangles” because he was a man of a rather explosive personality and argued quite loudly… His name was Luther Robinson and he was born in Richmond, Virginia on the 25th of May of 1878. His grandmother, who raised him, had been a slave… By the age of 5 he was already singing and dancing in minstrel shows. At twelve years old he ran away to Washington D.C. and joined Al Jolson and performed as a singing and dancing duo. He served his country by joining the Army and fighting in the Spanish-American War… At the age of 71 years he had a series of heart attacks. He died in 1949. Although he was thought of as The “World’s Greatest Tap-Dancer” and had earned over $2 million (USD), he died dirt poor. Ed Sullivan, who was his long time friend, paid for his funeral to the which more than half a million people attended.

So, was it on him that the song «Mr. Bojangles» is modelled after?

The song was written and originally performed by American country music artist Jerry Jeff Walker (1968). Afterwards it has been recorded by The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (1970) and by Sammy Davis Jr. (1972).

But what about Robinson, the original Mr. Bojangles? Was the song about him? Apparently not, but…

Walker said the song was truly based upon a street performer he met in a New Orleans jail, (1965), a white guy who called himself «Mr. Bojangles» so as to not give his real name to the police. This Mr. Bojangles began talking about performing with his dog and that the dog had been killed by a car. This saddened the men and to lighten the mood Mr. Bojangles got up and danced. He did say that he had taken the name from the original Bill «Bojangles» Robinson.

So, there you have it, the story of a very nice and classic song from the days of good music. What do you think?

In 1971 Nina Simone recorded the song. It may not be the most popular cover, being that the most known is the version by the American country-rock band The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, but I like this version. However, I will include both so you can choose. And, if you really like this song, look it up as there are many interesting covers, including the one by Sammy Davis Jr., Bob Dylan, and Harry Belafonte…

CHEERS