Top Ten Songs by Lonnie Donegan
Lonnie Donegan is known very well among the British as the most prominent figure in the UK Skiffle Revival of the 1950s. Skiffle is a genre where people use relatively simple instruments like the acoustic guitar, the washboard, the tea chest bass, and the banjo. He is important to the development of British rock and roll because he inspired a whole generation of kids to play guitar and form their own groups. Most of the songs in his repertoire are based on American folk songs. If I missed your favorite song, you can add it to the list.
This one starts off soft and slow, and it gradually gets louder and more intense.
This one's more of a music hall number. It's hilarious!
This song was collected from oral tradition in the Catskills and in Virginia, and it was first recorded in 1925. Lonnie had a big hit with it in 1957.
Lonnie Donegan...Now THERE'S a name you don't hear everyday. My dad played a lot of his years ago. I remember laughing at My Old Man's a Dustman, but over the years Rock Island Line has become my favourite (although I like them all)
Lonnie Donegan list... Who'd've thunk it... Nice one, Gg2000!
His first big hit. People cite it as the song that kicked off the British skiffle movement.
The song was his biggest hit in America. The original version had the word "spearmint" in the title, but when Lonnie recorded it, he had to change it to "chewing gum" because "spearmint" is a registered trademark in the UK, and the BBC had a strict ban on product placement.
This one's more of a blues number. It actually got banned by the BBC, and from reading the lyrics, I'm not surprised (it was 1954, after all).
This one's a Woody Guthrie cover. Woody was commissioned to write it for the Bonneville Power Administration, who had him write some new songs for a documentary promoting the advancement of hydroelectric power.
This song is about a man who buys a guitar and drives his family crazy with it.
This song is about a man who has lots of bad luck and complains about it. He eventually talks to a songwriter about it, who turns his story into a hit song.
This is one of his most energetic performances. It's about a man who is stuck in prison for the rest of his life.
