who wrote mr bojangles song
Mr. Bojangles by The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Songfacts. Mr. Bojangles was the nickname used by Bill Robinson, a black tap dancer who appeared in many movies in the 1930s, including with Shirley Temple in Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. After Robinson's success, many black street dancers became known as Bojangles.. This was written and originally released by the singer/songwriter Jerry Jeff Walker, who wrote the song in the mid-'60s and recorded it in 1968. Walker left his home in upstate New York and traveled the country playing music.