Mr. Bojangles

"Mr. Bojangles" was written and recorded by Jerry Jeff Walker in 1968 and covered by many other artists. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band took the song to #9 on the Billboard pop chart in 1971.

The song was inspired by an encounter with a street performer in the New Orleans First Precinct jail. According to Walker, a murder on the 4th of July weekend in 1965 precipitated the arrest of all the street people in the area. In the crowded cell, a disheveled homeless old man began to talk to Walker, who had been arrested earlier for drunkenness. The man told various stories of his life, but the tone darkened after 'Mr. Bojangles' recalled his dog that'd been run over. Someone then asked for something to lighten the mood, and the man obliged with a tap dance.

Many assume that the song is about Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, an actor and tap dancer, but this is not the case as Robinson died penniless in New York City in 1949 at the age of 71, many years before Walker’s encounter with the man in a New Orleans jail cell which at that time was segregated. Walker also mentions that all the men in the cell had nicknames to prevent easy identification by the police and the dancer's nickname was 'Mr. Bojangles' - his real name unknown to Walker.

However, Bill Robinson's influence had passed into the "folk culture" by inspiring talented, but poor, individuals to dance, thus sharing in his legacy so in that respect the song is a tribute to that man.