Mr. Bojangles - Sammy Davis Jr. 

If he felt the emotion we all feel when Mr. Davis sings this song. Then he must've felt honored!

Sammy made him a rich man. That much we know.

Be a good guess he'd be quite happy with it

@collageartist do you know what year “Mr Bojangles” was written? Or the yr Jerry Jeff Walker was born? Was he ever in a minstrel show, do you know? Maybe Christy Minstrels? There was a minstrel group who performed in the White House as well as performing throughout the South & in Europe, they were identified as ______ Serenaders. Did Mr Walker play a banjo? I think history indicates the banjo was created by a black man. There was a man who played a banjo & either he or another black man danced. They referred to it as “Jump Jim Crowe”. To me, it’s obvious Mr Bojangles was a performer, possibly in Louisiana. Maybe what is referred to today as a street performer. Or maybe Mr Bojangles was the handicapped black man who cared for the animals & danced & laughed to cheer up Thomas D Rice, possibly in early 1800’s(I would have to review my notes for names & dates), who was depressed & walking through a barn or stable at the time. I haven’t completed my research but have been noting an abundance of names & dates, that’s reason I can’t recall all the names & dates off the top of my head. I have been listening to various artists singing “Mr Bojangles” in various styles.(The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Jim Stafford, Sammy Davis, Jr. & I’m searching for more..someone said Roger Miller may have sang a version, too) If you know of any others, I would appreciate info. Thank You for info on Mr Walker. I connected Mr Bojangles to Minstrel Shows right away. Too, have you any info of a street performer known as “Banjo”,many, many yrs ago? 😊

Didnt know him. Respect!

D mutz

I agree...

Nitty gritty does it with emotion, Sammy blew this one. He has many other things he was good at

Nothing to Nina Simone

@@simondallow6771 I agree, Nina said it true and didn't candy coat it.

@@simondallow6771 No ! No! No! Not one of Nina's best songs. Her studio version makes her sound like a sister of Don and Phil Everly Jezze Louise! Sammy vocalizes dancing' redemptive-ness from life's' anxiety and stress. Full Stop.

Look bak n smile yup its tough

Grown man and I cry every single time. That’s after just watching another video of the same song too lol

Sorry Jerry Jeff's is the best and Sammy Davis Jrs interpretation and reason for covering it is well meant but factually wrong. Jerry Jeff said that the man he met was Caucasian because jails were segregated at the time

Unforgettable

You speak the truth, I never appreciated him in my youth, now my eyes are open and I can see how great he was.

@@rollie3383 that has nothing to do with it. It doesn’t need to be factual, it’s a song. Stop being a racist idiot.

Not at all racist the man Jerry Jeff met in jail was Caucasian that is a fact jails were segregated

@stanleystrong9591 maybe 30 or so years ago, I saw him in person here in MA. darn, can't remember the venue nor the town, ::sigh:: though I was in a show myself in Boston and sang into a tape, brought into the front desk saying, "Mr Davis wanted me to leave this here for him to listen to" my stage name was Edna Davis - hey I did things like that once in awhile, I did have a ticket to his show, some people have that "it" special energy spirit ?? so yes his performance was great - then the encore, "Mr Bojangles" oh a different whole change in the atmosphere ~ Mr Davis was in a space where his voice was different, the gentle angelic movements that still had such a solid pronounce statement of the lyrics, I was crying the tears just maybe the combination of Sammy's real life experiences and though I didn't know about his take on who Mr Bojangles was, oh now I get it - he had them all with him. Never will I feel that ever again and I just saw Dionne Warwick, love it and felt her, love music and fill up with some of the songs, dance to them, music is the best - he certainly with that song was the connection of the universe and this world. He embodies the lyric, "I love you in place where there's no space or time" 🌠

Real

Itz real peace friend

Me too, every single time!!

14 years and I still cry for my dog miss her every day I love you babygirl

And me too, I'm almost 74 and have loved every single dog I have been blessed to be their friend ❤

@@jeanineshiman8228 yes me too miss them till this day and forever Blessings 😎♥️

Still miss my Dog too..6 years ago he died....❤🧡

Amen...😭

That's right I remember now. Thankyou for reminding me.❤

I remember that too,

Im a red head white man segrigation is disintergration ov a civlised socioty

D real deal

ABSOLUTELY!!! A true Class Act ! He paved the way for many ! The entertainers of this era are gone ... Liza is still around, but I miss all of them, Nobody today has what they had.... time to end the world , I guess ..... 😉👍🍸

I have believed it all along that Sammy is THE GREATEST ENTERTAINER OF ALL TIME, barring NONE!

I saw a clip of the original Rat Pack show Sammy was singing and dancing and then effortlessly launched into this amazing jump really something.

Incredibly talented ... What a special artist and person. Every phrase, every movement is right!

Love ya Sammy, RIP ☮️❤️

the rat pack! thy were all legends - all of them. but i can never get tire of hearing sammy davis jr singing mr bojangels. make sure you hear frank sinatra's watertown in its entirety (totally not related to this song in particular but to this 'pack' of performers. and i wish i still had his book 'yes i can'. read that as a teenager and it had quite an impact on me.

You are right on.

But sadly if it wasn't for Frank we wouldn't know Sammy, Frank stood up for Sammy many many times, just on his name. Frank was the king. Him Dino and Sammy were the best of friends, all 3 kings in there own right. Nobody could beat Sammy he could act, sing, dance, comedy, carry his own show, hang with those guys, nit easy back then.

Class top man

Its real u n me keep smillin

Real as sunshine

Got to know about him wen he introduced a award for Mj in a video from 1989. I loved how Classy he was the way he talked .

I miss my dog too. Just like the guy in the song Mr Bojanglesj

He was the best and the most humbling and the super glue that hold the ratpack together. Not to forget one of the fastest pistol draw

Epic, just epic!

Always!!

True😍😍😍😍😍😍

He slowed it down, and made it legendary.

Sammy sang it like a story teller. You can know all the words to a song and not get the message from it. The way Sammy delivered it, there’s no way you’d miss it. Thank you Mr.Davis. ❤️

The writer, Jerry Jeff Walker, did it best.

Sammy would come over to the UK and appear on chatxhows, like Wogan or Parkinson, and guested on "Sunday Night at the London Palladium", I would wat h them as a kind, and was always in thrall to him and his performances. I remember a skit he did when on 'Palladium', with the host, Bruce Forsyth (later to be SIR Bruce Forsyth) where he mimicked Bruce (who was a bit of a national treasure) and he was hilarious. He was my favourite from the rat pack.

D J Viva the memory and the music of Sammy. 👍

Love and respect to legacy of Sammy Davis, Jr.; his storytelling of the great Bill "Bojangles" Robinson. Nina Simone has a great version of the song, too. God bless everyone who ever sang this song paying respect; truly bless the songwriters.

Your damm skipie

you're probably right...if you don't include the author of the song Jerry Jeff Walker... RIP

@@traceywillard5553 Writer....JERRY JEFF WALKER... Just passed away Saturday... RIP Jerry Jeff... Loved your genius

4561z my number i hav a grandson hendrix mr bo jangles is in all ov us let him out n smile

4561 z my number iv a grandson hendrix so yes lifes sweet not mud

4561z my number n hav a grandson hendrix so yes lifes sweet not mud keep smillin

4561z my number n av a grandson hendrix so yes life is sweet not mud peace

4561z my number n hav a grandson hendrix so yes life is sweet not mud

Mike Moore So lucky

Dang , i wish i could have seen him perform live, must have been nice, what a talent he was.:-)

Lucky

No really 🤗

I'm sitting here watching Sammy thinking I wish I had the chance. Enjoy your memories.

This song makes me sad

I basically listened to all the versions he made. My favourite though is one he is wearing very tight brown suit

@@Regimeshifts I must watch out for that version as I go thru.

I love you sammy Rip

@@Regimeshifts Saw a few seconds of that version in a documentary and it was out of this world, been looking for that version ever since. It looked like he disappeared into the moment.

I was lucky, we knew the head of security at Caesar’s so he got us tickets when we went to Vegas. We were sat in a VIP booth in front of the stage. We found out the people sharing the booth was a famous banker & his wife. We were 30 and just regular people. The lights dimmed and someone sat next to me..Altovise Davis! Then a spotlight on a Sammy’s head wearing a bowler hat, whistling. Magic…pure magic. We were so mesmerized by the synchronization of the hands, the feet and the music turned into a story. Afterwards, when the lights went up , we saw that another person had sat down…Bill Cosby. I have to say..tears were going down my face..Sammy was magical

P E R F E C T, DON!!!

who was it that sang 'noboby does it better'? definitely applies to sammy davis jr and this song. he owned it.

The quote was... "At least i can say, (when speaking about Elvis) he performed for me, man, he gave it his all".

Yes always in the next room

AMEN

Word......

And he had to enter some of the Vegas places through the back door ........ even after becoming famous. Racists don't die easily. Still see it today (2022)

@Havana Kool Machine. Well said .

No one did it like Sammy, no one ever will.

So well said Bess you Havana!

I saw that exact statement on a bumper sticker the other day

@@dopeytripod They stole my text! :)

leo bonita I agree ☝️

Well damn! We now know jerry jeff walker wrote the damn song! Every other comment...jerry jeff walker

@@goldie627 That's because he never gave credit to Jerry Jeff for writing it. If you polled most people they would think Sammy davis wrote the damn song.

@@goldie627 Well damn!

I've always wanted my brothers to really listen to this song but I guess I blew it by in a way trying to force it on them... 😬 But like it happened to you, I still hope it will happen to them. One of the best songs ever written.

I cry everytime--at least 50 times. I love Samy Davis and Jeff Walker wrote such a wonderful song