RIP, Shakey Jake

Shakey JakeOriginally uploaded by jds293

I can’t remember exactly when I first saw Shakey Jake in downtown Ann Arbor. I’m almost certain it was within weeks of moving there in September 1997. I do know that I quickly noticed the reverence he inspired among Ann Arborites.

I saw him downtown often – sometimes every couple of days. Usually, he was wearing the straw hat, the dark sunglasses and carrying his guitar. Somewhere along the way, he started wearing a full-length fur coat, summer and winter. He was a constant presence, hanging out by Kilwin’s on a Friday night, or at Espresso Royale, sometimes at the corner of Main and Liberty, strumming on his guitar, the one or two strings so loose they rarely produced a note. Not that anyone cared. We’d say hi and drop a dollar in the bucket.
People speculated that he was secretly rich; Shakey Jake enjoyed that rumor and generally enhanced the pool with a few rumors of his own. But he lived off of his earnings on the street, social security, and the generosity of store owners downtown, who made sure Jake had what he needed, no payment required.

I’m sure his life wasn’t easy, but Ann Arborites generally treated him like a star, their Man About Town, and I’ve always thought that said as much about people in Ann Arbor as it said about the very gentlemanly Jake Woods.

You can read more about him here, as well as thoughts from many others who knew him or knew of him.

UPDATE: The number of comments is growing and growing here… a beautiful tribute to Shakey Jake.