By the mid-1980s, Jerry Jeff Walker’s career had left his family with a serious financial problem: an American Express balance of about $90,000 tied to touring costs, alongside unpaid taxes sought by the IRS. Hotels, flights, meals and the expense of keeping a band on the road had accumulated faster than the income could reliably cover them. His wife, Susan, was left to help deal with the bills—and rethink how the career was being run.
The cost of life on the road
Jerry Jeff had become a central figure in Texas progressive country. His 1973 album ¡Viva Terlingua!, recorded in Luckenbach, helped cement that reputation, while “Mr. Bojangles” was among the songs that defined his work. From 1972 to 1978, he recorded eight albums and sometimes played as many as 200 dates a year.
That pace demanded constant spending, while income from performances and records could be uneven. Jerry Jeff later acknowledged that drugs and alcohol were part of those years. The business problems also included taxes, contracts and a catalog of recordings that became difficult for listeners to find. When record sales and performance fees weakened in the early 1980s, the old way of operating was no longer sustainable.
Susan, who had studied at the University of Texas and worked in the Texas legislature, began learning the mechanics of the music business. She took on contracts, copyright, publishing, bookings and tour logistics—not as peripheral chores, but as decisions that shaped whether shows paid off and whether the music remained available.
Building an independent operation
In 1986, Susan and Jerry Jeff founded Tried & True Music, a company that brought recording, management, publishing, publicity and booking under one roof for its sole artist: Jerry Jeff. They cut the touring operation back, and he spent several years performing alone with a guitar, a less costly arrangement than carrying a full band.
The couple also faced a practical obstacle: much of his older catalog was out of print. Tried & True assembled 24 songs into Gypsy Songman, a cassette that Jerry Jeff could sell after solo shows. Rykodisc later took it on for international CD distribution. Susan also built a mailing list and sent newsletters to listeners who became known as the Tried & True Warriors, giving the family a direct line to the audience.
A different kind of comeback
In December 1988, Jerry Jeff recorded Live at Gruene Hall with a band. Released the next year, it helped bring renewed concert demand; three singles from the album appeared on the country chart. He could tour with musicians again, but now within a business structure designed to keep the work viable.
Tried & True went on to release more albums and preserve later chapters of Jerry Jeff’s career. Susan’s work did not erase the unruly spirit associated with his music. It gave that music a way to remain available—and gave the career behind it a more durable foundation.
