His former folk-rock band is probably best known for its version of the Jerry Jeff Walker song “Mr. Bojangles.” The hit is about an old soft-shoe dancer who is reminiscing about his life while being locked up in a jail cell for drinking a bit too much. It’s a touching tune that includes the lines:
He talked with tears of 15 years how his dog and he traveled about
Dog up and died, up and died. After 20 years he still grieves.
I still perform the song as part of my repertoire of covers.
Several famous artists recorded the tune, but none of them seemed to catch the public’s attention like McEuen’s group. As far as how Nitty Gritty came across the song, McEuen recalls that band member had a 45 recording of the tune in his trunk. He pitched it to his bandmates as “a dead dog song,” even though the loss of the cherished pet was mentioned in one of the four verses.
McEuen said “Mr. Bojangles” began climbing the charts in 1970 but stalled at number 13. It then started going down and management told them it would never make it to the top 10, a milestone of success they truly craved.
The problem was that the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) radio in New York City wouldn’t play the song. Getting a tune on the air there at that time guaranteed that other stations in big cities across the nation would also give it airtime. They found out that the ABC programming director’s daughter went to a private Catholic school and that other artists who had performed there subsequently had success getting on the station. Some of those included Aretha Franklin, John Lennon, and The Jackson Five. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band joined those esteemed ranks and low and behold they were finally able to crack the Top Ten in 1971.
One of the band members jokingly referred to the quid pro quo arrangement as “playola,” a reference to the “payola” scandal that saw radio deejays being paid to put songs on the air.
Walker said he didn’t mind the band changing a few lyrics because the success of their record bought him a house.
As McEuen performed a number of songs on guitar, fiddle, and banjo at The White Horse he told stories about them as well. He provided a behind the scenes look at the famous “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” sessions that produced a classic three-album collection of traditional songs. It was an unusual collaboration among long-haired hippies and clean-cut traditional artist such as Maybell Carter, Doc Watson, and Roy Acuff. McEuen’s brother produced the album.
Listening to John McEuen play and reminisce was like hearing an entertaining oral history of folk music.