Bill "Mr. Bojangles" Robinson
Ranked #2,233 in Music, #64,083 overall
Mr. Bojangles, Entertainer, Tap Dancer and Actor
Is it possible that anybody hasn't heard the lyric: I knew a man Bojangles/And he danced for you/In worn out shoes...
The popular but enigmatic tap dancer, born Luther "Bill" Robinson, also known as Mr. Bojangles was a real-life folk character who entertained across the south of the US , New York and California, and some say he might have been one of the most gifted natural dancers ever.
Read on to learn more about Robinson and the song that was written about him by Jerry Jeff Walker and recorded by many artists. My favorite recording of "Mr Bojangles" is by The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.
The popular but enigmatic tap dancer, born Luther "Bill" Robinson, also known as Mr. Bojangles was a real-life folk character who entertained across the south of the US , New York and California, and some say he might have been one of the most gifted natural dancers ever.
Read on to learn more about Robinson and the song that was written about him by Jerry Jeff Walker and recorded by many artists. My favorite recording of "Mr Bojangles" is by The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.
Bill "Bojangles" Robinson
Mr. Bojangles: The Biography of Bill Robinson
From Publishers Weekly
An elegantly dressed man who could neither read nor write until he was in his 40s, honorary mayor of Harlem and one of the best-known black entertainers of his time, Bill Robinson (1878-1949) grew up an orphan in Richmond, Va., where he earned a living by shining shoes and shelling peas. Based on Robinson's papers and on interviews with his wives and friends, this dutiful biography tries to explain the character and personality of the popular but enigmatic tap dancer but is more successful at chronicling his career. Here are glimpses of his struggles to overcome the color barrier on his way to stardom in white vaudeville, musicals (especially The Hot Mikado), films and radio, his addiction to gambling and compulsive need to live on borrowed money, his generosity (he performed at more than 3000 benefits) and his love for his native city. Haskins is the author of Queen of the Blues; Mitgang is a black-theater historian. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Mr. Bojangles: The Biography of Bill Robinson
Amazon Price: $88.00 (as of 02/16/2012)
TAP DANCE HALL OF FAME
Click the following link to read the Bio of Bill "Bojangles" Robinson.
- Bill "Bojangles" Robinson
- Bill "Bojangles" Robinson was a founding member of the Negro Actors Guild of America, Robinson was also named "Mayor of Harlem" in 1933. Hailed as "The Dark Cloud of Joy" on the Orpheum Circuit, he performed in vaudeville from 1914-1927 without a single season's layoff. Broadway fame came with the all-black revue, Blackbirds of 1928, in which he sang and danced "Doin' the New Low Down." Success was instantaneous. He was hailed as the greatest of all dancers by at least seven New York newspapers. Brown Buddies (1930), Blackbirds of 1933, All in Fun (1940) and Memphis Bound (1945) followed. The Hot Mikado (1939) marked Robinson's sixty-first birthday, which he celebrated by dancing down Broadway, one block for each year.
Sammy Davis On The Importance Of Mr. Bojangles
Sammy Davis describes how the song Mr Bojangles relates to himself, with montage footage of his life. From 60th anniversary tribute.
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Sammy Davis Jr.'s Version of "Mr. Bojangles"
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Important!
This song is a true story, written by Ronald Clyde Crosby originally of Oneonta, NY, but you know him better as Jerry Jeff Walker. It seems Mr. Walker was in New Orleans, and he spent a few days talking with his cell mate in the parish jail. The song, of course is Mr. Bojangles.
Mr. Bojangles Lyrics
I knew a man Bojangles and he'd dance for you in worn out shoes
Silver hair, ragged shirt and baggy pants, that old soft shoe
He'd jump so high, he'd jump so high, will he likely touch down ?
Mr. Bojangles, Mr. Bojangles, dance.
I met him in a cell in New Orleans, I was down and out
He looked to me to be the eye of age as he spoke right out
He talked of life, he talked of life, laughing slapped his leg stale
Mr. Bojangles, Mr. Bojangles, dance.
He said the name Bojangles and he danced a lick all across the cell
He grabbed his pants for a better stance, oh he jumped so high and he clicked
up his heels
He let go laugh, he let go laugh, shook back his clothes all around
Mr. Bojangles, Mr. Bojangles, dance, yeah, dance.
He danced for those at minstrel shows and county fairs throughtout the south
He spoke with tears of 15 years of how his dog and him but just travelled all about
Hid dog up and died, he up and died, and after 20 years he still grieves
Mr. Bojangles, Mr. Bojangles, dance.
He said I dance now at every chance at honky-tonks for drinks and tips
But most of the time I spend behind these county bars,Ocause I drink so bitO
He shook his head, yes he shook his head, I heard someone ask him, OpleaseO,
Mr. Bojangles, Mr. Bojangles, dance, dance, Mr Bojangles, dance.
Silver hair, ragged shirt and baggy pants, that old soft shoe
He'd jump so high, he'd jump so high, will he likely touch down ?
Mr. Bojangles, Mr. Bojangles, dance.
I met him in a cell in New Orleans, I was down and out
He looked to me to be the eye of age as he spoke right out
He talked of life, he talked of life, laughing slapped his leg stale
Mr. Bojangles, Mr. Bojangles, dance.
He said the name Bojangles and he danced a lick all across the cell
He grabbed his pants for a better stance, oh he jumped so high and he clicked
up his heels
He let go laugh, he let go laugh, shook back his clothes all around
Mr. Bojangles, Mr. Bojangles, dance, yeah, dance.
He danced for those at minstrel shows and county fairs throughtout the south
He spoke with tears of 15 years of how his dog and him but just travelled all about
Hid dog up and died, he up and died, and after 20 years he still grieves
Mr. Bojangles, Mr. Bojangles, dance.
He said I dance now at every chance at honky-tonks for drinks and tips
But most of the time I spend behind these county bars,Ocause I drink so bitO
He shook his head, yes he shook his head, I heard someone ask him, OpleaseO,
Mr. Bojangles, Mr. Bojangles, dance, dance, Mr Bojangles, dance.
Jerry Jeff Walker Bojangles
Mr Bojangles
Amazon Price: $125.99 (as of 02/16/2012)
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band "Country Gold" - Mr. Bojangles
Live in Aso, Kumamoto, Japan in 1990
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Dirt, Silver & Gold -Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
[IMPORT] [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED] 2 discs set
2003 reissue of 1976 compilation that features some of The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's greatest moments up to this point in their career. 37 tracks representing the largest anthology ever done on NGDB, originally released on 3 LPs.
Mr. Bojangles is presented here in the original A side version of the song. The song was issued on both sides of the original 45, one with a minute and a half long prelude, then the song kicks in. When you flip the 45 over you get a shorter "B" side version, which actually starts differently than the version on the A side 45.
Mr. Bojangles is presented here in the original A side version of the song. The song was issued on both sides of the original 45, one with a minute and a half long prelude, then the song kicks in. When you flip the 45 over you get a shorter "B" side version, which actually starts differently than the version on the A side 45.
Dirt Silver & Gold
Amazon Price: $12.78 (as of 02/16/2012)
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In The Movies
"Bojangles" starred in more than a dozen movies. He appeared as a dancing butler in movies with young Shirley Temple and in movies with Will Rogers and other famous film stars. The Little Colonel
Shirley Temple & Bill "Bojangles" Robinson
Shirley Temple - America's Sweetheart Collection, Vol. 3 (Dimples / The Little Colonel / The Littlest Rebel)
Amazon Price: $15.63 (as of 02/16/2012)
Check Out This Lens
Funeral of Bill "Bojangles" Robinson (1949)
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Are you a fan of Mr. Bojangles
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Susan52
Aug 9, 2011 @ 6:20 pm | delete
- Thanks for featuring my Shirley Temple lens. I love that video with Shirley and Mr. Bojangles!
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Trina Thompson
Apr 20, 2011 @ 9:18 pm | delete
- yes, i thank Mr. Robinson for what he did for the arts, i grow up driving pass his statue in Richmond, VA and only when i bought my daughter home for her spring break did we stop take pictures and then i googled him. Thanks again Mr. Robinson
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Wolf
Mar 28, 2010 @ 12:12 pm | delete
- Thank you very much for writing about 'Bojangles', it is very informative!
Personally I like the versions by Sammy Davis,Jr. and by Neil Diamond best. I also like the version by Nina Simone.
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Oosquid
Jan 15, 2010 @ 1:52 am | delete
- I always had the impression that Mr. Bojangles was a character from the late nineteenth century. Well I learned a lot from this lens, thanks for making it. 5 stars.
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Laniann
Oct 14, 2009 @ 12:40 pm | delete
- What a wonderful lens. I enjoyed watching all your videos. 5*s
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Mr. Bojangles has been a favorite song for many years.
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