Comments on: Jerry Jeff Walker :: Driftin’ Way Of Life

By: Kim

Kim — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 04:23:49 +0000

Jerry Jeff is the singer-songwriter of my lifetime. Sorry to see the comment about playing with Buffett, because they are very similar, and have proven that throughout the years. “It’s A Good Night For Singing” is my personal favorite, but doesn’t matter, I love em all. Jerry Jeff’s voice has been a constant for over 40 years for me, and I’ll be damned if he didn’t give me the best concert in a lifetime of going to concerts….in a small venue in Davenport, Iowa in 1982,,,,,,two weeks before my first daughter was born. The man was born to wander……and entertain.

By: Fred A

Fred A — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 18:20:30 +0000

Does anybody know how someone could learn to play the harmonica solo in “Old Road?”

By: Mark

Mark — Wed, 05 May 2010 04:50:59 +0000

I agree that Jerry Jeff Walker has a place in many Texans, including me. But I think the single most defining Texas song is The Road Goes on Forever by Robert Earl Keen, any live version is incredible.

By: Casino Man

Casino Man — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 11:00:55 +0000

C’est pas faux!

By: Aubrey Prospal

Aubrey Prospal — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:36:13 +0000

Thx for this well written article.

By: jon

jon — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 02:14:54 +0000

viva luckenbach is my personal favorite. i’m pretty sure JJW was the entertainment at my high school Junior Symphony Ball.

i wish he’d tour more seriously. you see him around texas, but only at Southern Junction dinner/show type places and Choctaw Bingo casinos.

I know he didn’t write it, but his version of Guy Clark’s Desparados Waiting For A Train DEFINES “Texas Country”.

By: Tom

Tom — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 16:37:08 +0000

The main reason JJW did not become a “household name” is because he turned his back to the Nashville establishment. And the Texans are very correct–he is extremely popular and to know his songs is a rite of passage in Texas and much of the South (most people in honky tonks throughout Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the good parts of Florida definitely know him well still). And don’t go trashing NY now either–upstate New York is more “country” than most of Georgia.

Great post though. Everyone should listen to his songs and everyone should go see him live. It’s amazing to see him perform–he’s got more energy than most performers half his age. Great post.

By: ben

ben — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 17:43:08 +0000

cool post. i love this site. it’s fun to see attention given to african music, elvis, and jerry jeff walker all in close proximity. i love jerry jeff too, though it took me a long time to come around to him. i thought for a long time, based on an appearance he made on The Texas Connection in the early 90s with Jimmy Buffet, that I only just happened to catch when I was a teenager, that he was a god-awful cheeseball. That and the fact that Texas frat boys worship him. But once I started listening to his records I realized I’d found a new favorite. I devoured them all – it was so sad to run out of music by him, because there’s so much good stuff that it seemd like it’d go on forever. I loved just discovering one great record after another. He was a great songwriter, of course. But his covers rule too. I only realized recently that Jesse Winchester wrote Mississippi You’re On My Mind, from Ridin’ High (the knowledge that Winchester was stuck in the snows of Canada at the time and pining for home definitely gave that song new meaning for me). JJW’s version of Rodney Crowell’s Song for the Life is my favorite version of that song, to mention another of his great covers. The footage of him with the Lost Gonzo band at Willie Nelson’s birthday party concert is amazing. I made my brother a cdr of my favorite JJW songs for xmas a few years ago and I realized I couldn’t even fit close to all of the songs I think are great on one disc. I can say unequivocally, that, to quote the Michael Bolton-loving efficency expert in the movie Office Space, when it comes to Jerry Jeff Walker, “I celebrate the man’s entire catalog.”

By: Ryan

Ryan — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 19:21:52 +0000

Helluva tribute my friend.
My dad used to throw on Jerry Jeff Walker records when I was little; my brothers and I danced around the living room in our underoos more than a few times to those albums, and they’ll always be a part of my soul.
If you haven’t had a chance, Live at Gruene Hall is a great one too.
Thanks again!

By: Duncan Walls

Duncan Walls — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 19:01:44 +0000

Yes, JJW is from Oneonta, NY; a classmate of an old friend of mine who identified him as Ron Colby.

By: Twang Nation » Blog Archive » News Round Up: New Roky Erickson/Okkervil River in April

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 18:55:05 +0000

[...] Drunkard posts a fine ode to the greatness that is Jerry Jeff [...]

By: Jeff

Jeff — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 16:25:02 +0000

Great post. Growing up in Texas of course I knew all about the Viva Terlingua material, and while that stuff is great, it’s popularity masks some of the quality of his songwriting that you can find on albums like this. Good stuff.

By: Jarvin

Jarvin — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 04:40:44 +0000

As a native Texan, JJW is birthright. Yet another reason to be happy you’re a Texan…

Too bad “It’s A Good Night For Singin” is out of print – that was a great album as well.

By: Mark

Mark — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 01:18:12 +0000

Jerry Jeff has always been a household name down in Corpus Christi, TX…my parents have had him playing since I was a baby