Jerry Jeff Walker March 16, 1942 – October 23, 2020
Mr. Bojangles
1968, the song reached number 77 on U.S. Billboard Hot 100
Over the years that followed, Mr. Bojangles was covered by a number of musicians and returned to the charts.
From Wikipedia: Walker said he was inspired to write the song after an encounter with a street performer in a New Orleans jail. While in jail for public intoxication in 1965, he met a homeless man who called himself "Mr. Bojangles" to conceal his true identity from the police. Mr. Bojangles had been arrested as part of a police sweep of indigent people that was carried out following a high-profile murder. The two men and others in the cell chatted about all manner of things, but when Mr. Bojangles told a story about his dog, the mood in the room turned heavy. Someone else in the cell asked for something to lighten the mood, and Mr. Bojangles obliged with a tap dance.