Jerry Jeff Walker was born Ronald Clyde Crosby in 1942. He started playing music as a teenager in Greenwich Village, and in 1964 wrote 'Mississippi You're On My Mind' while hitchhiking through Louisiana. That song became his most recognizable piece, a straightforward ballad about Southern landscape that stuck with people.
His first album came out in 1968, simply called 'Jerry Jeff Walker.' He kept recording through the 1970s with albums like 'Five Fingered Songbook' and 'Mr. Bojangles.' His writing had a plainspoken quality, whether on 'Til I Gain Control Again' or the wry 'Alright Guy.'
Walker played with various musicians over time, including guitarist David Bromberg and keyboardist Bobby Emmons. He died in 2020 at 78.
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