www.hillmanweb.com Two tracks were omitted from the original recording. Anthony James Donegan was born in Glasgow, Scotland on April 29, 1931, the son of a classical violinist who had played with the Scottish National Orchestra. After his return, he formed a band of his own, which initially consisted of jazz guitarist Denny Wright, Micky Ashman on bass, and Nick Nichols on drums. The word, according to Donegan, was suggested by Ken Colyer's brother Bill, who remembered an outfit called the Dan Burley Skiffle Group, based in Chicago in the '40s. He first became interested in the guitar at age nine, but it was to be another five years before he took matters into his own hands and bought his first guitar for 12.50 (about $70 American in those days). Acts who have peaked at every position in the Top 10, LONNIE DONEGAN PRESENTS KENNY BALL AND HIS JAZZMEN, Eurovision 2023: Who is the UK's 2023 entry? Wright, a jazz player devoted to Django Reinhardt, proved to be one of the best blues axemen in England at the time, while Ashman and Nichols made up an exceptionally tight rhythm section. Smith&Co SSCD1172 LD9, April 12, 1953 Hotel Gentofte, Copenhagen, Denmark (Donegan & Barber), Hard Time Blues (KC 9) Storyville unissued CD1, July 13, 1954 Decca Studios, West Hampstead, London, Rock Island Line (DR 19299-1) Decca FJ 10647 CD1, Wabash Cannonball (DR 19306) unissued CD1, September 27, 1954 Abbey Road Studios, London, October 1, 1954 Concert Hall, Aarhus, Denmark, Precious Lord (JJ 48) Storyville unissued, October 9, 1954 University, Copenhagen, Denmark, Precious Lord, Lead Me On (CB 3) Tempo A116, Storyville A45003 CD1, October 10, 1954 Odd Fellow's Palais, Copenhagen, Denmark, Over In The New Burying Ground (JJ 84) Storyville A45005 CD8, Wabash Cannonball (JJ 86) Storyville unissued, October 30, 1954 Royal Festival Hall, London, Bury My Body (DR 20034) Decca FJ 10695 CD8, c.late October/early November, 1954 Elstree Studios, Hertfordshire, November 9, 1954 Abbey Road Studios, London, Take My Hand, Precious Lord Columbia DB3850 CD1, December 13, 1954 "Jazz Club"(? Donegan's attempt at a recording comeback late in the '60s was unsuccessful, but in 1974, a new boomlet for skiffle music in Germany brought him on tour and into the studio anew, and the following year he and Chris Barber toured together and recorded a new long-player, The Great Re-Union Album. With a washboard, a tea-chest bass and a cheap Spanish guitar, Donegan entertained audiences with folk and blues songs by artists such as Leadbelly and Woody Guthrie. After his release from the army in 1951, he found a new source of blues and folk music in London, in the library at the American Embassy, which allowed visitors to listen to any recordings that were on hand. Before the smoke cleared, "Rock Island Line" also managed to reach the Top 20 in America, a major feat for a British artist at that time. I'm Alabammy Bound Bottle of Wine 3. Boll Weevil Blues unissued LD9 April 12, 1953 Hotel Gentofte, Copenhagen, Denmark (Donegan & Barber) Hard Time Blues (KC 9) Storyville Wright, a jazz player devoted to Django Reinhardt, proved to be one of the best blues axemen in England at the time, while Ashman and Nichols made up an exceptionally tight rhythm section. The album sold 60,000 copies in its first month of release, a huge number in England at that time for a debut album by a homegrown jazz group. In the late '90s, his musical credibility came around again to perhaps the highest level of respect of his life, with several multi-disc hits and career-wide compilations available. In six months, "Rock Island Line" sold three million copies, 50 times the initial sales of the album it came from, an extraordinary figure in anyone's accounting. This proved so popular that in July 1954 he recorded a fast-tempoed version of Leadbelly's "Rock Island Line", featuring a washboard but not a tea-chest bass, with "John Henry" on the B-side. The album sold 60,000 copies in its first month of release, a huge number in England at that time for a debut album by a homegrown jazz group. This interrupted his stay in Barber's band but proved a godsend when he was stationed in Vienna for a year, which put him in direct contact with American troops and, even more important, the American Forces Radio Network, which broadcast lots of American music. A If anyone has additions or corrections Id be pleased to know of them. Donegan cut his first album, Showcase, in the summer of 1956, featuring songs by bluesmen Leadbelly and Leroy Carr, not to mention moody traditional blues like "I'm a Ramblin' Man" and A.P. Cumberland Gap He's relatively little remembered outside of England, but Donegan shares an important professional attribute with Elvis Presley, Bill Haley, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and the Sex Pistols -- he invented a style of music, skiffle, that completely altered the pop culture landscape and the youth around him, and for a time, completely ruled popular music through that new form. BINGO! ), BBC Radio, London (with Dickie Bishop), Going Down The Road Feeling Bad (DB vcl) LD10, August 2, 1956 IBC Studios, London (Denny Wright, gtr), August 22, 1956 IBC Studios, London ("Lonnie Donegan Showcase"), January 25, 1957 Conway Hall, London ("Donegan On Stage"), Brother Moses Smote The Water unissued CD8, February 2, 1957 "Jazz Saturday", Royal Albert Hall, London, March 25/26, 1957 poss. WebLonnie Donegan Pop - Released by Castle Communications on 1/01/1985 16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo Starting at $117.99 My Old Man's A Dustman - The Singles As & Bs 1954 - 1961 Lonnie Donegan Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by Jasmine Records on 10/12/2012 16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo Starting at $18.99 The album, New Orleans Joy, featured songs representative of the group's live set, including a selection from Donegan's skiffle repertory -- the skiffle group, consisting of Donegan, Barber on bass, and their friend Beryl Bryden playing rhythm on washboard, recorded its vocal numbers only after arguing vociferously with the Decca producer, who wanted an instrumental number. The Ken Colyer Jazzmen, as they were called, specialized in Dixieland jazz, and built a formidable reputation, their shows popular in every club they played. Jim Currie - Guitars, Vocals 1957 above March 1958 sessions, Pye Studios, London, Baby Don't You Know That's Love unissued CD3, c.October 1958 poss Pye Studios, London (Les Bennetts, gtr), Lonnie's Skiffle Party - Pt.1 N 15165 CD3, Bewildered ("Relax with Lonnie") NEP 24107 CD3, c.November 1958 Scottish TV Studios, Glasgow, Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavour N 15181, P 2042107 CD4, My Only Son Was Killed In Dublin (Dying Rebel) unissued CD4, Battle Of New Orleans ("ruddy British") N 15206 LD2, Battle Of New Orleans ("bloomin' British") N 15206 CD4, c. early September, 1959 Royal Aquarium, Great Yarmouth, September 10/11, 1959 Pye Studios, London (Clyde Valley Stompers), October 22, 1959 Pye Studios, London ("Lonnie Rides Again"), Talking Guitar Blues (British version) N 15237 CD4, c.February 1960 Gaumont Cinema, Doncaster, My Old Man's A Dustman (alt) Polydor 2042 107 LD8, March 5, 1960 New York City ("Yankee Doodle Donegan"), Nobody Understands Me NEP 24127, Atl 2063 CD5, March 10, 1960 New York City (George Barnes, gtr), Sorry, But I'm Gonna Have To Pass NEP 24127, Atl 2123 CD5, Black Cat (Crossed My Path Today) N 15312 CD5, c.August 1961 Winter Gardens Pavilion Theatre, Blackpool, I'll Never Fall In Love Again N 15446 CD6, I'll Never Fall In Love Again (alt) unissued CD6, c.May 1962 Pye Studios, London ("Sing Hallelujah") (Denny Wright, gtr), Good News, Chariot's A'Comin' NPL 18073 CD6, Noah Found Grace In The Eyes Of The Lord " CD6, c.November 1962 poss Brighton, Sussex (w. Max Miller), Cajun Joe (The Bully of the Bayou) (F639) Hick 1345 CD7, Fisherman's Luck (F640) N 15679, Hick 1267 CD7, Louisiana Man (F641) N 15893, Hick 1299 CD7, Interstate Forty (alt) (F642) NPL 18126 CD7, There's A Big Wheel (F644) N 15679, Hick 1267 CD7, Lovey Told Me Goodbye (F647) Hick 1299 CD7, c. early 1965 IBC or Marquee Studios, London ("The Folk Album"), Where In This World Are We Going " , N 15993 CD7, c.June 1965 IBC or Marquee Studios, London, c.October 1966 poss London (Joe Brown, bjo), Who Knows Where The Time Goes " ,F12984 LD1, Come To Australia (Great Uncle Albert Is Dead) Intercord 145001 LP, Jump Down, Turn Around (Pick A Bale of Cotton) Ariola 12604 LD5, 1974 Peer Studios, Hamburg, Germany ("Lonnie Donegan Meets Leinemann"), Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavour " LP, 1975 Peer Southern Studio ("Lonnie Donegan Meets Leinemann - Country Roads"), 1975 Bonn, Germany (Chris Barber Great Reunion Concert), June 5, 1975 Fairford Hall, Croydon ("The Great Reunion Album"), Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavour Intercord 145 001 LP, Hit Me Across The Head With A Spoon Mama " LP, March 2, 1977 Air Recording Studios, Oxford St., London (Wrigley's Jingles), 1981 ("The Shakin' Pyramids & Lonnie Donegan" EP), June 5, 1981 ("Lonnie Donegan Jubilee Concert"), 1984 ("Hooked On Number Ones - 100 Non-stop Hits"), 1987 (Monty Sunshine - "Mama Don't Allow"), Ma, He's Making Eyes At Me Pinorrekk HB-P-7012, Issued 1998 ("Muleskinner Blues") (with Van Morrison *), This album was originally called Rock Island Line Rolls On. WebLonnie Donegan remains a beloved pioneer of English rock & roll, and the king of skiffle. He was coaxed into his first band one night when someone approached him on the train, saying that they'd heard he was a good banjo player, and invited him to audition for a new group. In six months, "Rock Island Line" sold three million copies, 50 times the initial sales of the album it came from, an extraordinary figure in anyone's accounting. Wright, a jazz player devoted to Django Reinhardt, proved to be one of the best blues axemen in England at the time, while Ashman and Nichols made up an exceptionally tight rhythm section. He moved with his mother to London at an early age, after his parents divorced. Lonnie made his chart debut in January 1956 with Rock Island Line. It was catchy, earthy, even bluesy (after a fashion) American music played in a way that the British kids could master without an enormous amount of trouble -- a guitar or two, and maybe a banjo, an upright bass (or even one made from a washtub or tea chest, a broom handle, and a piece of rope), and a washboard-and-thimble for percussion. Colyer quit the group early in 1954, and Barber took over the leadership. Discography. The album, New Orleans Joy, featured songs representative of the group's live set, including a selection from Donegan's skiffle repertory -- the skiffle group, consisting of Donegan, Barber on bass, and their friend Beryl Bryden playing rhythm on washboard, recorded its vocal numbers only after arguing vociferously with the Decca producer, who wanted an instrumental number. The single had a 22-week run on the English charts, peaking at number eight. By the spring of 1955, he was signed to Pye Records, and his single, "Lost John," hit number two in England, although it never hit in America. Sequel Records has decided to honor Lonnie Donegan with its Lonnie 2000 series, reissuing all of his classic Pye/Nixa sides from 1955 through 1962, and ShowcasePlus is the place to begin. The name stuck. WebLonnie Donegan, MBE (born April 29, 1931, Bridgeton, Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland died November 3, 2002, Market Deeping, Lincolnshire, England) was a Scottish skiffle vocalist, In concert, the group's sound was fuller still, with Donegan and Wright sharing guitar chores with bearded, bespectacled Dick Bishop, who had played on Donegan's earliest records. Gloryland 7. And he did it in 1954, before Elvis was known anywhere outside of Memphis and before Bill Haley was perceived as anything but a Western swing novelty act. Encouraged by the initial sales of New Orleans Joy, the company decided to push its luck by lifting individual songs off the album as singles.
