Jerry Jeff Walker, Texas singer and songwriter, dies at 78

Texas country singer and songwriter Jerry Jeff Walker, who wrote the pop song “Mr. Bojangles," has died at age 78. Family spokesman John T. Davis says Walker died Friday of cancer after battling throat cancer and other health issues for several years. Walker emerged from New York’s Greenwich Village folk scene in the 1960s and was a founding member of the band Circus Maximus. He moved to Texas in the 1970s and in 1972 scored a hit with his version of the Guy Clark song “L.A. Freeway.” Walker and the Lost Gonzo Band in 1973 recorded an album live in Texas called “Viva Terlingua” that became a classic of the country/rock scene. He had since released more than 30 albums.