Jump to content

Lonnie Donegan: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
m correct name, replaced: Allmusic → AllMusic using AWB
Text tightening; no factual changes
Line 22: Line 22:
}}
}}


'''Lonnie Donegan''' is the stage name of '''Anthony James Donegan''' (29 April 1931 – 3 November 2002).<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums" /> He was a British singer, songwriter and musician and is revered as the [[List of honorific titles in popular music|King of Skiffle]]. He greatly influenced many famous 1960s [[United Kingdom|British]] pop musicians.<ref name=obit>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/2400229.stm |title=Entertainment &#124; 'Skiffle king' Donegan dies |publisher=BBC News |date=4 November 2002 |accessdate=27 November 2013}}</ref><ref name=harperint>{{cite web |url= http://www.popmatters.com/pm/feature/64093/hats-off-an-interview-with-roy-harper/|title=Hats Off: An Interview with Roy Harper |accessdate=20 October 2008 |author=Jennifer Kelly |date=20 October 2008 |publisher=Pop Matters}}</ref> The ''[[Guinness Book of British Hit Singles & Albums]]'' states that Donegan was "[[United Kingdom|Britain]]'s most successful and influential recording artist before [[The Beatles]]". He had 31 [[United Kingdom|UK]] [[Top 40|Top 30]] single [[hit record|hits]], 24 being successive and three being number ones. He was the first British male singer to score 2 [[United States|U.S.]] Top 10 hits.<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums" /> Donegan received an Ivor Novello lifetime achievement award in 1997 and in 2000 he was made an [[Order of the British Empire|MBE]].<!--ref: http://www.theguardian.com/news/2002/nov/05/guardianobituaries.artshttp: //www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1412195/Lonnie-Donegan.html-->
'''Lonnie Donegan''' was the stage name of '''Anthony James Donegan''' (29 April 1931 – 3 November 2002).<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums" /> He was a British singer, songwriter and musician and is referred to as the [[List of honorific titles in popular music|King of Skiffle]] and influenced 1960s [[United Kingdom|British]] pop musicians.<ref name=obit>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/2400229.stm |title=Entertainment &#124; 'Skiffle king' Donegan dies |publisher=BBC News |date=4 November 2002 |accessdate=27 November 2013}}</ref><ref name=harperint>{{cite web |url= http://www.popmatters.com/pm/feature/64093/hats-off-an-interview-with-roy-harper/|title=Hats Off: An Interview with Roy Harper |accessdate=20 October 2008 |author=Jennifer Kelly |date=20 October 2008 |publisher=Pop Matters}}</ref> The ''[[Guinness Book of British Hit Singles & Albums]]'' lists him as "[[United Kingdom|Britain]]'s most successful and influential recording artist before [[The Beatles]]". He had 31 [[United Kingdom|UK]] [[Top 40|Top 30]] single [[hit record|hits]], 24 being successive and three at number one. He was the first British male singer with two [[United States|U.S.]] Top 10 hits.<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums" /> Donegan received an Ivor Novello lifetime achievement award in 1997 and in 2000 he was made an [[Order of the British Empire|MBE]].<!--ref: http://www.theguardian.com/news/2002/nov/05/guardianobituaries.artshttp: //www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1412195/Lonnie-Donegan.html-->


== Life ==
== Life ==
Lonnie Donegan was born '''Anthony James Donegan''' in [[Bridgeton, Glasgow]], [[Scotland]] on 29 April 1931. He was the son of an Irish mother and a Scots father, a professional [[violin]]ist who had played with the [[Scottish National Orchestra]]. In 1933 he moved with his family to [[East Ham]], [[Essex]], which is now in [[Greater London]].<ref name="AMG">{{cite web |first= |last= |url={{Allmusic|class=artist|id=p8434/biography|pure_url=yes}} |title=Biography by Bruce Eder |publisher=Allmusic.com |accessdate=23 June 2009}}</ref> Donegan was evacuated to [[Cheshire]] to escape [[the Blitz]] in [[World War II]], and he attended [[St Ambrose College]], initially at the school's original site in Dunham Road, [[Altrincham]].
Lonnie Donegan was born '''Anthony James Donegan''' in [[Bridgeton, Glasgow]], [[Scotland]], on 29 April 1931. He was the son of an Irish mother and a Scots father, a professional [[violin]]ist who had played with the [[Scottish National Orchestra]]. In 1933 he moved with his family to [[East Ham]], [[Essex]], which is now in [[Greater London]].<ref name="AMG">{{cite web |first= |last= |url={{Allmusic|class=artist|id=p8434/biography|pure_url=yes}} |title=Biography by Bruce Eder |publisher=Allmusic.com |accessdate=23 June 2009}}</ref> Donegan was evacuated to [[Cheshire]] to escape [[the Blitz]] in [[World War II]], and he attended [[St Ambrose College]], initially at the original site in Dunham Road, [[Altrincham]].


=== Family ===
=== Family ===
Line 31: Line 31:


=== Death ===
=== Death ===
Lonnie Donegan died on 3 November 2002, aged 71, after suffering a [[Myocardial infarction|heart attack]] in [[Market Deeping]] mid-way through a UK tour and shortly before he was due to perform at a memorial concert for [[George Harrison]] with [[The Rolling Stones]]. He had suffered from cardiac problems since the 1970s and had several heart attacks in his last years.
Donegan died on 3 November 2002, aged 71, after a [[Myocardial infarction|heart attack]] in [[Market Deeping]] mid-way through a UK tour and before he due to perform at a memorial concert for [[George Harrison]] with [[The Rolling Stones]]. He had had cardiac problems since the 1970s and had several heart attacks.


== Trad jazz ==
== Trad jazz ==
In the early 1940s Donegan listened mostly to [[Swing music|swing jazz]] and vocal acts, and became interested in the [[guitar]].<ref name="AMG" /> [[Country music|Country & western]] and [[blues]] records, particularly by [[Frank Crumit]] and [[Josh White]], attracted his interest and he bought his first guitar at the age of fourteen in 1945.<ref name="AMG" /> Donegan began learning songs such as "[[Frankie and Johnny (song)|Frankie and Johnny]]", "[[Puttin' On the Style]]", and "[[The House of the Rising Sun]]" in the following years by listening to [[BBC radio]] broadcasts.<ref name="AMG" /> By the end of the 1940s he was playing guitar around London and visiting small jazz clubs.<ref name="MTV">{{cite web |url=http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/donegan_lonnie/artist.jhtml |title=Lonnie Donegan: Music Artist: Videos, News, Photos & Ringtones: MTV |author=Bruce Eder |date= |work=[[AllMusic]] |publisher=MTV |accessdate=19 September 2008}}</ref>
In the early 1940s Donegan listened mostly to [[Swing music|swing jazz]] and vocal acts, and became interested in the [[guitar]].<ref name="AMG" /> [[Country music|Country & western]] and [[blues]] records, particularly by [[Frank Crumit]] and [[Josh White]], attracted his interest and he bought his first guitar at 14 in 1945.<ref name="AMG" /> He learned songs such as "[[Frankie and Johnny (song)|Frankie and Johnny]]", "[[Puttin' On the Style]]", and "[[The House of the Rising Sun]]" by listening to [[BBC radio]] broadcasts.<ref name="AMG" /> By the end of the 1940s he was playing guitar around London and visiting small jazz clubs.<ref name="MTV">{{cite web |url=http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/donegan_lonnie/artist.jhtml |title=Lonnie Donegan: Music Artist: Videos, News, Photos & Ringtones: MTV |author=Bruce Eder |date= |work=[[AllMusic]] |publisher=MTV |accessdate=19 September 2008}}</ref>


Donegan first played in a big band after Chris Barber had heard that Donegan was a good [[banjo]] player and, on a train, asked him to audition; in fact, Donegan had never played the banjo, but he bought one and bluffed his way through the audition, more on personality than playing.<ref name="AMG" /> His stint with [[Chris Barber]]'s [[Trad Jazz]] Band was interrupted when he was called up for [[National Service]] in 1949, but while serving in the army at Southampton, UK he was the drummer in Ken Grinyer's Wolverines Jazz Band at a local pub. <!--ref: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1412195/Lonnie-Donegan.html http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=mvetAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT39&lpg=PT39&dq=Wolverines+jazz+band+lonnie+donegan&source=bl&ots=BDhCp0cq1y&sig=v22w-zZ0N_VCHfJyiEWybvsGBLw&hl=en&sa=X&ei=4vMvVNynLMTZ7gbM-YGAAg&ved=0CDwQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=Wolverines%20jazz%20band%20lonnie%20donegan&f=false The band was named after the 1920s Wolverines US jazz band-->A posting to [[Vienna]] brought him into contact with [[United States|American]] [[military personnel|troops]], and access to US records as well as the opportunity to listen to the [[American Forces Network]] [[radio station]].<ref name="MTV" />
Donegan first played in a big band after Chris Barber heard that he was a good [[banjo]] player and, on a train, asked him to audition. Donegan had never played the banjo but he bought one for the audition and succeeded more on personality than talent.<ref name="AMG" /> His stint with [[Chris Barber]]'s [[Trad Jazz]] Band was interrupted when he was called up for [[National Service]] in 1949, but while in the army at Southampton, UK, he was the drummer in Ken Grinyer's Wolverines Jazz Band at a local pub. <!--ref: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1412195/Lonnie-Donegan.html http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=mvetAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT39&lpg=PT39&dq=Wolverines+jazz+band+lonnie+donegan&source=bl&ots=BDhCp0cq1y&sig=v22w-zZ0N_VCHfJyiEWybvsGBLw&hl=en&sa=X&ei=4vMvVNynLMTZ7gbM-YGAAg&ved=0CDwQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=Wolverines%20jazz%20band%20lonnie%20donegan&f=false The band was named after the 1920s Wolverines US jazz band-->A posting to [[Vienna]] brought him into contact with [[United States|American]] [[military personnel|troops]], and access to US records and the [[American Forces Network]] [[radio station]].<ref name="MTV" />


In 1952 he formed his first group, the Tony Donegan Jazzband, which played around London. On 28 June 1952 at the [[Royal Festival Hall]] they opened for the blues musician [[Lonnie Johnson (musician)|Lonnie Johnson]].<ref name="AMG" /> Donegan was a [[fan (person)|fan]] of Johnson and had adopted his first name as a tribute. Donegan is known to have used the name Lonnie at a concert at the Royal Albert Hall on 2 June 1952.<ref>{{cite book|first=Pete|title=The Restless Generation|year=2007|isbn=978-0-9529540-7-1|pages=57–78}}</ref>
In 1952 he formed the Tony Donegan Jazzband, which played around London. On 28 June 1952 at the [[Royal Festival Hall]] they opened for the blues musician [[Lonnie Johnson (musician)|Lonnie Johnson]].<ref name="AMG" /> Donegan had adopted his first name as a tribute. He used the name at a concert at the Royal Albert Hall on 2 June 1952.<ref>{{cite book|first=Pete|title=The Restless Generation|year=2007|isbn=978-0-9529540-7-1|pages=57–78}}</ref>


In 1953 [[cornet]]ist [[Ken Colyer]] was a hero after being imprisoned in [[New Orleans, Louisiana|New Orleans]] because of a visa problem. After returning to England and joining Chris Barber's band, he became a moving figure in it. With a new name, Ken Colyer's Jazzmen, the band made its initial public appearance on 11 April 1953 in [[Copenhagen]]. The following day, [[Chris Albertson]] recorded Ken Colyer's Jazzmen and the Monty Sunshine Trio, comprising Sunshine, Barber, and Donegan, for [[Storyville Records]]. These were Donegan's first commercially released recordings.{{Citation needed|date=September 2008}}
In 1953 [[cornet]]ist [[Ken Colyer]] was imprisoned in [[New Orleans, Louisiana|New Orleans]] for of a visa problem. He returned to England and joined Chris Barber's band. That changed name to Ken Colyer's Jazzmen and made its first public appearance on 11 April 1953 in [[Copenhagen]]. The following day, [[Chris Albertson]] recorded Ken Colyer's Jazzmen and the Monty Sunshine Trio - Sunshine, Barber, and Donegan - for [[Storyville Records]]. These were Donegan's first commercial recordings.{{Citation needed|date=September 2008}}


== Skiffle ==
== Skiffle ==
While playing in [[Ken Colyer]]'s Jazzmen with [[Chris Barber]], Donegan [[singing|sang]] and played both [[guitar]] and [[banjo]] as part of their [[Dixieland]] jazz set. He also began playing with two other band members during the intervals, to provide what was called on their posters a "skiffle" break, a name suggested by Ken Colyer's brother, Bill, after recalling the [[Dan Burley]] Skiffle Group of the 1930s.<ref name="AMG" /> In 1954 Colyer left, and the band became Chris Barber's Jazz Band.<ref name=MTV />
While in [[Ken Colyer]]'s Jazzmen with [[Chris Barber]], Donegan [[singing|sang]] and played [[guitar]] and [[banjo]] in their [[Dixieland]] set. He began playing with two other band members during the intervals, to provide what posters called a "skiffle" break, a name suggested by Ken Colyer's brother, Bill, after the [[Dan Burley]] Skiffle Group of the 1930s.<ref name="AMG" /> In 1954 Colyer left, and the band became Chris Barber's Jazz Band.<ref name=MTV />


With a [[washboard]], a [[tea-chest bass]] and a cheap Spanish guitar, Donegan entertained audiences with folk and blues songs by [[musician|artists]] such as [[Lead Belly]] and [[Woody Guthrie]].<ref name="AMG" /> This proved so popular that in July 1954 he recorded a fast-tempo version of Leadbelly's "[[Rock Island Line (song)|Rock Island Line]]", featuring a [[washboard]] but not a tea-chest bass, with "[[John Henry (folklore)|John Henry]]" on the [[A-side and B-side|B-side]].<ref name="AMG" /> It was an enormous hit in 1956<ref>Cf. Price, 2010.</ref> (which also later inspired the creation of a full [[album]], ''An Englishman Sings American Folk Songs'', released in America on the [[Mercury Records|Mercury]] [[record label|label]] in the early 1960s), but ironically, because it was a band recording, Donegan made no money from this recording beyond his original session fee. It was the first debut record to go [[music recording sales certification|gold]] in the [[United Kingdom|UK]], and reached the Top Ten in the [[United States]].<ref name="AMG" /> His next [[single (Music)|single]] for [[Decca Records|Decca]], "Diggin' My Potatoes", was recorded at a [[concert]] at the Royal Festival Hall on 30 October 1954.<ref name="AMG" /> Decca dropped Donegan thereafter, but within a month he was at the [[Abbey Road Studios]] in London recording for [[EMI]]'s [[Columbia Records|Columbia]] label. He had left the Barber band by then, and by the spring of 1955, Donegan signed a [[recording contract]] with [[Pye Records|Pye]]. His next single "Lost John" reached #2 in the [[UK Singles Chart]].<ref name="AMG" />
With a [[washboard]], [[tea-chest bass]] and a cheap Spanish guitar, Donegan played folk and blues songs by [[musician|artists]] such as [[Lead Belly]] and [[Woody Guthrie]].<ref name="AMG" /> This proved popular and in July 1954 he recorded a fast version of Leadbelly's "[[Rock Island Line (song)|Rock Island Line]]", featuring a [[washboard]] but not a tea-chest bass, with "[[John Henry (folklore)|John Henry]]" on the [[A-side and B-side|B-side]].<ref name="AMG" /> It was a hit in 1956<ref>Cf. Price, 2010.</ref> (which also later inspired the creation of a full [[album]], ''An Englishman Sings American Folk Songs'', released in America on the [[Mercury Records|Mercury]] [[record label|label]] in the early 1960s), but , because it was a band recording, Donegan made no money beyond his session fee. It was the first debut record to go [[music recording sales certification|gold]] in the [[United Kingdom|UK]], and it reached the Top Ten in the [[United States]].<ref name="AMG" /> His next [[single (Music)|single]] for [[Decca Records|Decca]], "Diggin' My Potatoes", was recorded at a [[concert]] at the Royal Festival Hall on 30 October 1954.<ref name="AMG" /> Decca dropped Donegan thereafter, but within a month he was at the [[Abbey Road Studios]] in London recording for [[EMI]]'s [[Columbia Records|Columbia]] label. He had left the Barber band, and by spring 1955, signed a [[recording contract]] with [[Pye Records|Pye]]. His next single "Lost John" reached #2 in the [[UK Singles Chart]].<ref name="AMG" />


He travelled to the United States, where he appeared on television on both the ''[[Perry Como]] Show'' and the ''[[Paul Winchell]] Show''.<ref name="AMG" /> Returning to the UK, Donegan recorded his debut [[album]], ''Lonnie Donegan Showcase'', in the summer of 1956, which featured songs by [[Lead Belly]] and [[Leroy Carr]], plus "I'm a Ramblin' Man" and "[[Wabash Cannonball]]". The LP was a hit, securing sales in the hundreds of thousands.<ref name="AMG" /> The popular skiffle style encouraged amateurs to get started, and one of the many skiffle groups that followed was [[The Quarrymen]] formed in March 1957 by [[John Lennon]]. Donegan's "[[Gamblin' Man]]" / "[[Puttin' On the Style]]" single was number one on the UK chart in July 1957, when Lennon first met [[Paul McCartney]].<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums" />
He appeared on television in the United States on the ''[[Perry Como]] Show'' and the ''[[Paul Winchell]] Show''.<ref name="AMG" /> Returning to the UK, he recorded his debut [[album]], ''Lonnie Donegan Showcase'', in summer 1956, with songs by Lead Belly and [[Leroy Carr]], plus "I'm a Ramblin' Man" and "[[Wabash Cannonball]]". The LP sold hundreds of thousands.<ref name="AMG" /> The skiffle style encouraged amateurs and one of many groups that followed was [[The Quarrymen]], formed in March 1957 by [[John Lennon]]. Donegan's "[[Gamblin' Man]]" / "[[Puttin' On the Style]]" single was number one in the UK in July 1957, when Lennon first met [[Paul McCartney]].<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums" />


Donegan went on to make a series of popular records with successes including "[[Cumberland Gap (folk song)|Cumberland Gap]]" and particularly "[[Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavour (On the Bedpost Overnight?)]]", his biggest hit song in the U.S., released on [[Dot Records|Dot]].<ref name="AMG" /> He turned to a [[music hall]] style with "[[My Old Man's a Dustman]]" which was not well received by skiffle fans, or in an attempted but ultimately unsuccessful American release by [[Atlantic Records|Atlantic]] in 1960, but it reached number one in the UK Singles Chart. Donegan's group had a flexible line-up, but was generally formed by [[Denny Wright]] or Les Bennetts (of Les Hobeaux and Days of Skiffle, led by singer Dave George), playing lead guitar and singing harmony vocals, Micky Ashman or Pete Huggett – later Steve Jones – on [[upright bass]], Nick Nichols – later Pete Appleby, Mark Goodwin, and Ken Rodway (now a born again Christian author and minister) on drums or percussion, and Donegan playing acoustic guitar or banjo and singing the lead.<ref name="AMG" />
Donegan went on to successes such as "[[Cumberland Gap (folk song)|Cumberland Gap]]" and "[[Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavour (On the Bedpost Overnight?)]]", his biggest hit in the U.S., on [[Dot Records|Dot]].<ref name="AMG" /> He turned to [[music hall]] style with "[[My Old Man's a Dustman]]" which was not well received by skiffle fans and unsuccessful in America on [[Atlantic Records|Atlantic]] in 1960. But it reached number one in the UK. Donegan's group had a flexible line-up, but was generally [[Denny Wright]] or Les Bennetts (of Les Hobeaux and Days of Skiffle, led by singer Dave George), playing lead guitar and singing harmony, Micky Ashman or Pete Huggett – later Steve Jones – on [[upright bass]], Nick Nichols – later Pete Appleby, Mark Goodwin, and Ken Rodway (now a Christian author and minister) on drums or percussion, and Donegan playing acoustic guitar or banjo and singing the lead.<ref name="AMG" />


He continued to appear regularly in the UK charts until 1962, before succumbing to the arrival of [[The Beatles]] and [[beat music]].<ref name="AMG" />
He continued in the UK charts until 1962, before succumbing to the [[The Beatles]] and [[beat music]].<ref name="AMG" />


== Later career ==
== Later career ==
Donegan recorded sporadically during the 1960s, including some sessions at [[Hickory Records]] in [[Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville]], [[Tennessee]] with [[Charlie McCoy]], [[Floyd Cramer]] and [[The Jordanaires]]. After 1964, he was primarily occupied as a [[record producer]] for most of the decade at Pye Records. Among those he worked with during this period was [[Justin Hayward]].<ref name="AMG" />
Donegan recorded sporadically during the 1960s, including sessions at [[Hickory Records]] in [[Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville]], [[Tennessee]] with [[Charlie McCoy]], [[Floyd Cramer]] and [[The Jordanaires]]. After 1964, he was as a [[record producer]] for most of the decade at Pye Records. Among those he worked with was [[Justin Hayward]].<ref name="AMG" />


Donegan was unfashionable and generally ignored through the late 1960s and 1970s (although his "[[I'll Never Fall in Love Again (Lonnie Donegan song)|I'll Never Fall in Love Again]]" was recorded by [[Tom Jones (singer)|Tom Jones]] (in 1967) and [[Elvis Presley]] among others), and he began to play on the American [[cabaret]] circuit. A notable departure from his normal style was an [[a cappella]] recording of "[[The Party's Over (1956 song)|The Party's Over]]". There was a reunion concert with the original Chris Barber band in [[Croydon]] in June 1975 – notable for a bomb scare, meaning that the recording had to be finished in the studio, though patrons were treated to an impromptu concert in the car park. {{Citation needed|date=September 2008}} The resultant release was entitled ''The Great Re-Union Album''.<ref name="AMG" />
Donegan was unfashionable through the late 1960s and 1970s (although his "[[I'll Never Fall in Love Again (Lonnie Donegan song)|I'll Never Fall in Love Again]]" was recorded by [[Tom Jones (singer)|Tom Jones]] in 1967 and [[Elvis Presley]]), and he began to play the American [[cabaret]] circuit. A departure from his normal style was an [[a cappella]] recording of "[[The Party's Over (1956 song)|The Party's Over]]".


There was a reunion concert with the original Chris Barber band in [[Croydon]] in June 1975. A bomb scare meantat the recording had to be finished in the studio, after an impromptu concert in the car park. {{Citation needed|date=September 2008}} The release was entitled ''The Great Re-Union Album''.<ref name="AMG" />
⚫
He suffered his first [[myocardial infarction|heart attack]] in 1976 while in the [[United States]] and underwent [[quadruple bypass]] surgery. He returned to the public's attention in 1978, when he made a record of his early songs with such figures as [[Rory Gallagher]], [[Ringo Starr]], [[Elton John]] and [[Brian May]] called ''Putting on the Style''.<ref name="AMG" /> A follow-up album featuring [[Albert Lee]] saw Donegan working in a less familiar [[Country music|country and western]] vein. By 1980, he was making regular concert appearances again, and another album with Barber followed. In 1983 Donegan toured with [[Billie Jo Spears]], and in 1984, he made his theatrical debut in a revival of the 1920 musical ''[[Mr. Cinders]]''. More concert tours followed, along with a move from [[Florida]] to [[Spain]]. In 1992 Donegan underwent further [[Coronary artery bypass surgery|bypass]] surgery following another heart attack.<ref name="AMG" />


⚫
He had his first heart attack in 1976 while in the [[United States]] and had [[quadruple bypass]] surgery. He returned to attention in 1978 when he recorded his early songs with [[Rory Gallagher]], [[Ringo Starr]], [[Elton John]] and [[Brian May]]. The album was called called ''Putting on the Style''.<ref name="AMG" /> A follow-up featuring [[Albert Lee]] saw Donegan in less familiar [[Country music|country and western]] vein. By 1980, he was making regular concert appearances again, and another album with Barber followed. In 1983 Donegan toured with [[Billie Jo Spears]], and in 1984, he made his theatrical debut in a revival of the 1920 musical ''[[Mr Cinders]]''. More concert tours followed, with a move from [[Florida]] to [[Spain]]. In 1992 he had further bypass surgery following another heart attack.<ref name="AMG" />
⚫
In 1994, the Chris Barber band celebrated 40 years, with a tour with both bands. [[Pat Halcox]] was still on trumpet (a position he retained until July 2008). The reunion concert and the tour were recorded on CD and DVD.


⚫
In 1994, the Chris Barber band celebrated 40 years with a tour with both bands. [[Pat Halcox]] was still on trumpet (a position he retained until July 2008). The reunion concert and the tour were on CD and DVD.
⚫
Donegan experienced another late renaissance when in 2000 he appeared on [[Van Morrison]]'s album ''[[The Skiffle Sessions – Live in Belfast 1998]]'', a critically acclaimed album featuring Donegan sharing vocals with Van Morrison and also featuring Chris Barber, with a guest appearance by [[Dr. John]]. Donegan also played at the [[Glastonbury Festival]], and was awarded the [[Order of the British Empire|MBE]] in 2000.


⚫
Donegan had a late renaissance when in 2000 he appeared on [[Van Morrison]]'s album ''[[The Skiffle Sessions – Live in Belfast 1998]]'', an acclaimed album featuring Donegan singing with Van Morrison and Chris Barber, with a guest appearance by [[Dr John]]. Donegan also played at the [[Glastonbury Festival]], and was made an [[Order of the British Empire|MBE]] in 2000.
⚫
Lonnie Donegan also appeared at Fairport Convention's annual music festival on 9 August 2001 <[[Fairport's Cropredy Convention appearances#2001]]>

⚫
Donegan also appeared at Fairport Convention's annual music festival on 9 August 2001 <[[Fairport's Cropredy Convention appearances#2001]]>


Donegan's final CD was ''This Yere de Story''
Donegan's final CD was ''This Yere de Story''


== Legacy ==
== Legacy ==
[[Mark Knopfler]] released a tribute song to Donegan entitled "Donegan's Gone" on his 2004 album, ''[[Shangri-La (Mark Knopfler album)|Shangri-La]]'', and said that he was one of his greatest musical influences.<ref name=obit /> Donegan's music formed the basis for a [[musical theatre|musical]] starring his two sons. ''Lonnie D – The Musical'' took its name from the [[Chas & Dave]] tribute song which started the show. Subsequently, [http://www.peterdonegan.com/ Peter Donegan] formed a new band that performed his father's material and has since linked up with his father's band from the last 30 years with newcomer Eddie Masters on bass. They released an album together in 2009 entitled "Here We Go Again". Donegan's eldest son, Anthony, also formed his own band, under the name Lonnie Donegan Jnr.
[[Mark Knopfler]] released a tribute to Donegan entitled "Donegan's Gone" on his 2004 album, ''[[Shangri-La (Mark Knopfler album)|Shangri-La]]'', and said he was one of his greatest influences.<ref name=obit /> Donegan's music formed a [[musical theatre|musical]] starring his two sons. ''Lonnie D – The Musical'' took its name from the [[Chas & Dave]] tribute song which started the show. Subsequently, [http://www.peterdonegan.com/ Peter Donegan] formed a band to perform his father's material and has since linked with his father's band from the last 30 years with newcomer Eddie Masters on bass. They made an album together in 2009 entitled "Here We Go Again". Donegan's eldest son, Anthony, also formed his own band, as Lonnie Donegan Jnr.


On his album ''[[A Beach Full of Shells]]'', [[Al Stewart]] paid tribute to Donegan in the song "Katherine of Oregon". Additionally, in the song "Class of '58", he describes a seminal British entertainer who is either Donegan or a composite including him.
On his album ''[[A Beach Full of Shells]]'', [[Al Stewart]] paid tribute to Donegan in the song "Katherine of Oregon". In "Class of '58" he describes a British entertainer who is either Donegan or a composite including him.


[[Peter Sellers]] recorded a track ''Puttin' on the Smile'' featuring an musician "Lenny Goonagain", who travels to the "[[Deep South]]" of [[Brighton]] and who finds an "obscure folk song hidden at the top of the American hit parade", re-records it, and reaches number one in the UK.
[[Peter Sellers]] recorded ''Puttin' on the Smile'' featuring "Lenny Goonagain", who travels to the "[[Deep South]]" of [[Brighton]] and finds an "obscure folk song hidden at the top of the American hit parade", re-records it, and reaches number one in the UK.


=== Quotations ===
=== Quotations ===

Revision as of 06:42, 22 December 2014

Lonnie Donegan
MBE
Lonnie Donegan in the 1970s
Lonnie Donegan in the 1970s
Background information
Birth nameAnthony James Donegan
Also known asThe King of Skiffle
Born(1931-04-29)29 April 1931
Glasgow, Scotland
Died3 November 2002(2002-11-03) (aged 71)
Market Deeping, England
GenresSkiffle, traditional pop music, blues, folk, country
Occupation(s)Musician, singer, songwriter
Instrument(s)Guitar, vocals, banjo
Years active1949–2002
LabelsPye Records
Decca Records
United Artists Records
Virgin Records

Lonnie Donegan was the stage name of Anthony James Donegan (29 April 1931 – 3 November 2002).[1] He was a British singer, songwriter and musician and is referred to as the King of Skiffle and influenced 1960s British pop musicians.[2][3] The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles & Albums lists him as "Britain's most successful and influential recording artist before The Beatles". He had 31 UK Top 30 single hits, 24 being successive and three at number one. He was the first British male singer with two U.S. Top 10 hits.[1] Donegan received an Ivor Novello lifetime achievement award in 1997 and in 2000 he was made an MBE.

Life

Lonnie Donegan was born Anthony James Donegan in Bridgeton, Glasgow, Scotland, on 29 April 1931. He was the son of an Irish mother and a Scots father, a professional violinist who had played with the Scottish National Orchestra. In 1933 he moved with his family to East Ham, Essex, which is now in Greater London.[4] Donegan was evacuated to Cheshire to escape the Blitz in World War II, and he attended St Ambrose College, initially at the original site in Dunham Road, Altrincham.

Family

Donegan married three times. He had two daughters by his first wife, Maureen Tyler (divorced 1962), a son and a daughter by his second wife, Jill Westlake (divorced 1971), and three sons by his third wife, Sharon, whom he married in 1977.

Death

Donegan died on 3 November 2002, aged 71, after a heart attack in Market Deeping mid-way through a UK tour and before he due to perform at a memorial concert for George Harrison with The Rolling Stones. He had had cardiac problems since the 1970s and had several heart attacks.

Trad jazz

In the early 1940s Donegan listened mostly to swing jazz and vocal acts, and became interested in the guitar.[4] Country & western and blues records, particularly by Frank Crumit and Josh White, attracted his interest and he bought his first guitar at 14 in 1945.[4] He learned songs such as "Frankie and Johnny", "Puttin' On the Style", and "The House of the Rising Sun" by listening to BBC radio broadcasts.[4] By the end of the 1940s he was playing guitar around London and visiting small jazz clubs.[5]

Donegan first played in a big band after Chris Barber heard that he was a good banjo player and, on a train, asked him to audition. Donegan had never played the banjo but he bought one for the audition and succeeded more on personality than talent.[4] His stint with Chris Barber's Trad Jazz Band was interrupted when he was called up for National Service in 1949, but while in the army at Southampton, UK, he was the drummer in Ken Grinyer's Wolverines Jazz Band at a local pub. A posting to Vienna brought him into contact with American troops, and access to US records and the American Forces Network radio station.[5]

In 1952 he formed the Tony Donegan Jazzband, which played around London. On 28 June 1952 at the Royal Festival Hall they opened for the blues musician Lonnie Johnson.[4] Donegan had adopted his first name as a tribute. He used the name at a concert at the Royal Albert Hall on 2 June 1952.[6]

In 1953 cornetist Ken Colyer was imprisoned in New Orleans for of a visa problem. He returned to England and joined Chris Barber's band. That changed name to Ken Colyer's Jazzmen and made its first public appearance on 11 April 1953 in Copenhagen. The following day, Chris Albertson recorded Ken Colyer's Jazzmen and the Monty Sunshine Trio - Sunshine, Barber, and Donegan - for Storyville Records. These were Donegan's first commercial recordings.[citation needed]

Skiffle

While in Ken Colyer's Jazzmen with Chris Barber, Donegan sang and played guitar and banjo in their Dixieland set. He began playing with two other band members during the intervals, to provide what posters called a "skiffle" break, a name suggested by Ken Colyer's brother, Bill, after the Dan Burley Skiffle Group of the 1930s.[4] In 1954 Colyer left, and the band became Chris Barber's Jazz Band.[5]

With a washboard, tea-chest bass and a cheap Spanish guitar, Donegan played folk and blues songs by artists such as Lead Belly and Woody Guthrie.[4] This proved popular and in July 1954 he recorded a fast version of Leadbelly's "Rock Island Line", featuring a washboard but not a tea-chest bass, with "John Henry" on the B-side.[4] It was a hit in 1956[7] (which also later inspired the creation of a full album, An Englishman Sings American Folk Songs, released in America on the Mercury label in the early 1960s), but , because it was a band recording, Donegan made no money beyond his session fee. It was the first debut record to go gold in the UK, and it reached the Top Ten in the United States.[4] His next single for Decca, "Diggin' My Potatoes", was recorded at a concert at the Royal Festival Hall on 30 October 1954.[4] Decca dropped Donegan thereafter, but within a month he was at the Abbey Road Studios in London recording for EMI's Columbia label. He had left the Barber band, and by spring 1955, signed a recording contract with Pye. His next single "Lost John" reached #2 in the UK Singles Chart.[4]

He appeared on television in the United States on the Perry Como Show and the Paul Winchell Show.[4] Returning to the UK, he recorded his debut album, Lonnie Donegan Showcase, in summer 1956, with songs by Lead Belly and Leroy Carr, plus "I'm a Ramblin' Man" and "Wabash Cannonball". The LP sold hundreds of thousands.[4] The skiffle style encouraged amateurs and one of many groups that followed was The Quarrymen, formed in March 1957 by John Lennon. Donegan's "Gamblin' Man" / "Puttin' On the Style" single was number one in the UK in July 1957, when Lennon first met Paul McCartney.[1]

Donegan went on to successes such as "Cumberland Gap" and "Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavour (On the Bedpost Overnight?)", his biggest hit in the U.S., on Dot.[4] He turned to music hall style with "My Old Man's a Dustman" which was not well received by skiffle fans and unsuccessful in America on Atlantic in 1960. But it reached number one in the UK. Donegan's group had a flexible line-up, but was generally Denny Wright or Les Bennetts (of Les Hobeaux and Days of Skiffle, led by singer Dave George), playing lead guitar and singing harmony, Micky Ashman or Pete Huggett – later Steve Jones – on upright bass, Nick Nichols – later Pete Appleby, Mark Goodwin, and Ken Rodway (now a Christian author and minister) on drums or percussion, and Donegan playing acoustic guitar or banjo and singing the lead.[4]

He continued in the UK charts until 1962, before succumbing to the The Beatles and beat music.[4]

Later career

Donegan recorded sporadically during the 1960s, including sessions at Hickory Records in Nashville, Tennessee with Charlie McCoy, Floyd Cramer and The Jordanaires. After 1964, he was as a record producer for most of the decade at Pye Records. Among those he worked with was Justin Hayward.[4]

Donegan was unfashionable through the late 1960s and 1970s (although his "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" was recorded by Tom Jones in 1967 and Elvis Presley), and he began to play the American cabaret circuit. A departure from his normal style was an a cappella recording of "The Party's Over".

There was a reunion concert with the original Chris Barber band in Croydon in June 1975. A bomb scare meantat the recording had to be finished in the studio, after an impromptu concert in the car park. [citation needed] The release was entitled The Great Re-Union Album.[4]

He had his first heart attack in 1976 while in the United States and had quadruple bypass surgery. He returned to attention in 1978 when he recorded his early songs with Rory Gallagher, Ringo Starr, Elton John and Brian May. The album was called called Putting on the Style.[4] A follow-up featuring Albert Lee saw Donegan in less familiar country and western vein. By 1980, he was making regular concert appearances again, and another album with Barber followed. In 1983 Donegan toured with Billie Jo Spears, and in 1984, he made his theatrical debut in a revival of the 1920 musical Mr Cinders. More concert tours followed, with a move from Florida to Spain. In 1992 he had further bypass surgery following another heart attack.[4]

In 1994, the Chris Barber band celebrated 40 years with a tour with both bands. Pat Halcox was still on trumpet (a position he retained until July 2008). The reunion concert and the tour were on CD and DVD.

Donegan had a late renaissance when in 2000 he appeared on Van Morrison's album The Skiffle Sessions – Live in Belfast 1998, an acclaimed album featuring Donegan singing with Van Morrison and Chris Barber, with a guest appearance by Dr John. Donegan also played at the Glastonbury Festival, and was made an MBE in 2000.

Donegan also appeared at Fairport Convention's annual music festival on 9 August 2001 <Fairport's Cropredy Convention appearances#2001>

Donegan's final CD was This Yere de Story

Legacy

Mark Knopfler released a tribute to Donegan entitled "Donegan's Gone" on his 2004 album, Shangri-La, and said he was one of his greatest influences.[2] Donegan's music formed a musical starring his two sons. Lonnie D – The Musical took its name from the Chas & Dave tribute song which started the show. Subsequently, Peter Donegan formed a band to perform his father's material and has since linked with his father's band from the last 30 years with newcomer Eddie Masters on bass. They made an album together in 2009 entitled "Here We Go Again". Donegan's eldest son, Anthony, also formed his own band, as Lonnie Donegan Jnr.

On his album A Beach Full of Shells, Al Stewart paid tribute to Donegan in the song "Katherine of Oregon". In "Class of '58" he describes a British entertainer who is either Donegan or a composite including him.

Peter Sellers recorded Puttin' on the Smile featuring "Lenny Goonagain", who travels to the "Deep South" of Brighton and finds an "obscure folk song hidden at the top of the American hit parade", re-records it, and reaches number one in the UK.

Quotations

I'm trying to sing acceptable folk music. I want to widen the audience beyond the artsy-craftsy crowd and the pseudo intellectuals – but without distorting the music itself.

NME – June 1956[8]

  • "In England, we were separated from our folk music tradition centuries ago and were imbued with the idea that music was for the upper classes. You had to be very clever to play music. When I came along with the old three chords, people began to think that if I could do it, so could they. It was the reintroduction of the folk music bridge which did that." — Interview, 2002.
  • "He was the first person we had heard of from Britain to get to the coveted No. 1 in the charts, and we studied his records avidly. We all bought guitars to be in a skiffle group. He was the man." — Paul McCartney
  • "He really was at the very cornerstone of English blues and rock." — Brian May.[2]
  • "I wanted to be Elvis Presley when I grew up, I knew that. But the man who really made me feel like I could actually go out and do it was a chap by the name of Lonnie Donegan." — Roger Daltrey
  • "Remember, Lonnie Donegan started it for you." — Jack White's acceptance speech at the Brit Awards.[9]

Discography

Singles

  • "Rock Island Line" / "John Henry" (1955) – UK #8 †
  • "Diggin' My Potatoes" / "Bury My Body" (1956) †
  • "Lost John" / "Stewball" (1956) – UK #2 †
  • "Bring A Little Water, Sylvie" / "Dead or Alive" (1956) ‡
  • "On A Christmas Day" / "Take My Hand Precious Lord" (1956) ‡
  • "Don't You Rock Me Daddy-O" (1957) – UK #4 ‡
  • "Cumberland Gap" (1957) – UK #1 ‡
  • "Gamblin' Man" / "Puttin' On the Style" (1957) – UK #1 ‡
  • "My Dixie Darlin'" / "I'm Just a Rolling Stone" (1957) – UK #10 ‡
  • "Jack O' Diamonds" / "Ham 'N' Eggs" (1957) – UK #14 ‡
  • "The Grand Coulee Dam" / "Nobody Loves Like an Irishman" (1958) – UK #6 ‡
  • "Midnight Special" / "When The Sun Goes Down" (1958) ‡
  • "Sally Don't You Grieve" / "Betty, Betty, Betty" (1958) – UK #11 ‡
  • "Lonesome Traveller" / "Times are Getting Hard, Boys" (1958) – UK #28 ‡
  • "Lonnie's Skiffle Party" / "Lonnie Skiffle Party Pt.2" (1958) – UK #23 ‡
  • "Tom Dooley" / "Rock O' My Soul" (1958) – UK #3 ‡
  • "Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavour (On the Bedpost Overnight?)" / "Aunt Rhody" (1959) – UK #3 ‡
  • "Fort Worth Jail" / "Whoa Buck" (1959) – UK #14 ‡
  • "Bewildered" / "Kevin Barry" / "It is No Secret" / "My Laggan Love" (1959) ‡
  • "Battle of New Orleans" / "Darling Corey" (1959) – UK #2 ‡
  • "Sal's Got A Sugar Lip" / "Chesapeake Bay" (1959) – UK #13 ‡
  • "Hold Back Tomorrow" - UK #26 ¶
  • "San Miguel" / "Talking Guitar Blues" (1959) – UK #19 ‡
  • "My Old Man's a Dustman" / "The Golden Vanity" (1960) – UK #1 ↑
  • "I Wanna Go Home (Wreck Of the 'John B')" / "Jimmy Brown The Newsboy" (1960) – UK #5 ↓
  • "Lorelei" / "In All My Wildest Dreams" (1960) – UK #10
  • "Rockin' Alone" - UK #44 ♠
  • "Lively" / "Black Cat (Cross My Path Today)" (1960) – UK #13 ↑
  • "Virgin Mary" / "Beyond The Sunset" (1960) – UK #27
  • "(Bury Me) Beneath The Willow" / "Leave My Woman Alone" (1961)
  • "Have A Drink on Me" / "Seven Daffodils" (1961) – UK #8 ↑
  • "Michael, Row the Boat" / "Lumbered" (1961) – UK #6 ↑
  • "The Comancheros" / "Ramblin' Round" (1961) – UK #14
  • "The Party's Over" / "Over the Rainbow" (1962) – UK #9
  • "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" / "Keep on the Sunny Side" (1962)
  • "Pick A Bale of Cotton" / "Steal Away" (1962) – UK #11 ↑
  • "The Market Song" / "Tit-Bits" (1962)
  • "Losing By A Hair" / "Trumpet Sounds" (1963)
  • "It Was A Very Good Year" / "Rise Up" (1963)
  • "Lemon Tree" / "I've Gotta Girl So Far" (1963)
  • "500 Miles Away From Home" / "This Train" (1963)
  • "Beans in My Ears" / "It's a Long Road to Travel" (1964)
  • "Fisherman's Luck" / "There's A Big Wheel" (1964)
  • "Get Out Of My Life" / "Won't You Tell Me" (1965)
  • "Louisiana Man" / "Bound For Zion" (1965)
  • "World Cup Willie" / "Where In This World are We Going?" (1966)
  • "I Wanna Go Home" / "Black Cat (Cross My Path Today)" (1966)
  • "Aunt Maggie's Remedy" / "(Ah) My Sweet Marie" (1967)
  • "Toys" / "Relax Your Mind" (1968)
  • "My Lovely Juanita" / "Who Knows Where the Time Goes?" (1969)
  • "Speak To The Sky" / "Get Out of My Life" (1972)
  • "Jump Down Turn Around (Pick a Bale of Cotton)" / "Lost John Blues" (1973 – Australia only release)
  • "Censored"/"Ive lost my little Willie" {1976}

[1]

Albums

  • Lonnie Donegan Showcase (December 1956) – UK # 2; UK #26 ‡
  • Lonnie (November 1957) – UK # 3
  • Tops with Lonnie (September 1958)
  • Lonnie Rides Again (May 1959)
  • Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavour (On The Bedpost Overnight) (1961)
  • More! Tops with Lonnie (April 1961)
  • Sing Hallelujah (December 1962)
  • The Lonnie Donegan Folk Album (August 1965)
  • Lonniepops – Lonnie Donegan Today (1970)
  • The Great Re-Union Album (1974)
  • Lonnie Donegan Meets Leinemann (1974)
  • Country Roads (1976)
  • Puttin' on the Style (February 1978)
  • Sundown (May 1979)
  • Muleskinner Blues (January 1999)
    • The song "Lost John" was used to open the John Peel tribute album
  • The Skiffle Sessions – Live in Belfast (2000) – UK #14 †
  • This Yere de Story (2004)
  • The Last Tour (2006) [1]
  • Jubilee Concert 1st Half (2007)
  • Jubilee Concert 2nd Half (2007)
  • Lonnie Live! Rare Tapes from the Late Sixties (2008)
  • Donegan On Stage – Lonnie Donegan at Conway Hall

Compilation albums

  • Golden Age of Donegan (1962) – UK #3
  • Golden Age of Donegan Volume 2 (1963) – UK #15
  • Putting On the Style (1978) – UK #51
  • King of Skiffle (1998)
  • Puttin' On the Style – The Greatest Hits (2003) – UK #45

[1]

EPs

  • Skiffle Session (EP) (1956) – UK #20 †
    • "Railroad Bill" / "Stockalee" / "Ballad of Jesse James" / "Ol' Riley"

Billing

Most of the above records were accredited to Lonnie Donegan; except, as follows:
† Billed as the Lonnie Donegan Skiffle Group
‡ Billed as Lonnie Donegan and his Skiffle Group
¶ Billed as Lonnie Donegan meets Miki & Griff with the Lonnie Donegan Group
↑ Billed as Lonnie Donegan and his Group
↓ Billed as Lonnie Donegan and Wally Stott's Orchestra
♠ Billed as Miki and Griff with the Lonnie Donegan Group

[1]

References

Jeremy Price, "Lonnie Donegan, « Rock Island Line » et la corne d’abondance", Volume!, n° 7-2, Nantes, Éditions Mélanie Seteun, 2010.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. pp. 164–165. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  2. ^ a b c "Entertainment | 'Skiffle king' Donegan dies". BBC News. 4 November 2002. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
  3. ^ Jennifer Kelly (20 October 2008). "Hats Off: An Interview with Roy Harper". Pop Matters. Retrieved 20 October 2008.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u "Biography by Bruce Eder". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 23 June 2009.
  5. ^ a b c Bruce Eder. "Lonnie Donegan: Music Artist: Videos, News, Photos & Ringtones: MTV". AllMusic. MTV. Retrieved 19 September 2008.
  6. ^ The Restless Generation. 2007. pp. 57–78. ISBN 978-0-9529540-7-1. {{cite book}}: |first= missing |last= (help)
  7. ^ Cf. Price, 2010.
  8. ^ Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (1st ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 27. CN 5585.
  9. ^ Peel, John (2005). Margrave of the marshes (1st ed.). London: Bantam Press. p. 47. ISBN 0-593-05252-8.

Template:Z148

Template:Persondata

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lonnie_Donegan&oldid=639150748"