Mr. Bojangles, a song written in 1968 by country artist Jerry Jeff Walker. The original 45 can be heard here. Many have sung this bittersweet ballad, including Bob Dylan and The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.
The song is based on a real man called Bill Robinson. Born in Richmond, Virginia, just after the Civil War, The brilliant tap dancer rose to fame and fortune in New York during the Harlem Renaissance. Harlem. However, Walker wrote the song met the legendary joyful tap dancer in a New Orleans jail. The late great Sammy Davis Junior, who describes the song as very special to him, performed it in Germany in 1985. With deep feeling, the inimitable Nina Simone sings this poignant ballad.
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