Clarence Williams
Jerry The Junker
Born in the Mississippi Delta in the late 1890s, pianist Clarence Williams was Creole and Choctaw Indian. As an adult, he produced and performed on thousands of recordings with artists who became legends — Bessie Smith, Fats Waller, Sidney Bechet, Louis Armstrong and more — but he took credit for composing a long list of jazz standards.
This Inimitable track "Jerry The Junker", Clarence Williams performs with his washboard band. After New Orleans he moved on to Chicago and then ultimately New York. He worked with Armstrong and Bechet and accompanied Bessie Smith and Sippie Wallace. This track one of many he's famous for shows him in a humourous and wicked style. One to check out.
JERRY THE JUNKER
You heard about Minnie the Moocher
and about Smokey Joe,
Well, gather 'round me while i tell ya' 'bout a boy you should know
Folk all call him 'Jerry the Junker' down in China Town
His mean, dumb, blonde and lean but still he kicks the gong around
Oh Jerry the Junker
[Jerry The Junker
(Jerry the Junker)
Jerry the Junker
(Jerry the Junker)
Jerry the Junker,
Raggedy clothes and torn shoes
Oh that boy can sing the blues
Everything just seems to loose on Jerry the Junker
(On Jerry the Junker)