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Lonnie DoneganBritish jazz musician
Date of Birth: 29.04.1931
Country:  Great Britain |
Content:
Biography of Lonnie Donegan
Early Life and InfluencesLonnie Donegan, born Anthony James Donegan on April 29, 1931, in Glasgow, was a British jazz musician who is often referred to as the "King of Skiffle" and the founder of the English style in this genre, which changed popular music as a whole. Donegan had a significant influence on popular British performers of the 1960s, including The Beatles, Rolling Stones, and Led Zeppelin. Over 20 of his own songs reached the top of the UK charts. His father was a violinist who had performed with the Scottish National Orchestra. Despite his musical background, Donegan was not encouraged to pursue music in his childhood due to his father's struggles during the economic downturn of the 1930s. In 1933, the family moved to London. Donegan became interested in the guitar at the age of nine but was only able to buy his first instrument five years later. In the early 1940s, Donegan primarily listened to swing masters and vocal music on the radio, such as Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, The Ink Spots, and The Andrews Sisters. He also enjoyed jazz musicians like Louis Armstrong and Gene Krupa, but he was particularly drawn to country and blues recordings, especially those by Frank Crumit and Josh White. Donegan began learning to play the blues on the guitar through BBC broadcasts and soon became the most knowledgeable about blues in London. He started giving concerts and visiting small jazz clubs.
Early Career
Donegan joined his first band thanks to a misunderstanding. One day, a man approached him on a train and praised his banjo playing skills, inviting him to an audition. The invitation came from Chris Barber himself, a promising young jazz musician at the time. Although Donegan had never played the banjo in his life, he agreed to come and then bought an instrument, attempting to imitate the technique during the audition. While his lack of experience was quickly exposed, the other musicians liked him and accepted him into the group. Donegan had to practice constantly on the banjo and listen to old recordings to learn the technique. In 1949, he was called up for military service and left Barber's ensemble. During his year in Vienna, Donegan was inspired by American soldiers, listening to their records and American music on the military's entertainment radio. After his demobilization, he continued listening to records in the library of the American embassy. Donegan admitted to having listened to every record, even stealing some, absorbing every note.
Rise to Fame
In 1952, Donegan formed his own jazz ensemble, the Tony Donegan Jazz Band. The group performed so successfully that they were invited by the National Jazz Federation to perform at the Royal Festival Hall with American pianist Ralph Sutton and legendary musician Lonnie Johnson. The emcee mistakenly introduced them as "Tony Johnson" and "Lonnie Donegan," and the nickname stuck to Donegan. Later, Donegan and his band joined forces with Chris Barber, and eventually, both old friends became part of the supergroup led by Ken Colyer, The Ken Colyer Jazzmen, specializing in Dixieland jazz and achieving great popularity. During breaks in concerts, Donegan started performing his own versions of American standards in blues and country styles, as well as folk songs, giving them his own rhythm and accents while accompanying himself on the acoustic guitar or banjo. This new style was named "skiffle" at the suggestion of Colyer's brother, who remembered the Dan Burley Skiffle Group that performed in Chicago in the 1930s. Donegan's performances became as popular as the main program. After Colyer's departure in early 1954, Barber took over the group, which became known as The Chris Barber Jazz Band. They recorded an album called "New Orleans Joys," which sold an astounding 60,000 copies at the time. The record company Decca released singles from the album, and Donegan's recording of "Rock Island Line" achieved great success, reaching the 8th spot on the UK charts and lasting 22 weeks. It also made the top 20 in the United States, selling over 3 million copies in six months. Donegan earned only a few pounds from the record and did not receive a percentage of the sales, but he gained instant fame as the frontman of The Lonnie Donegan Skiffle Group.
Solo Career and Later Years
After parting ways with Barber's group, Donegan embarked on a solo career, signing with Pye Records in 1955. His single "Lost John" reached the second spot on the UK charts but did not gain recognition in America. However, he was popular enough to be invited to the United States for television appearances. Donegan's manager was soon flooded with offers for concerts with fees of £1500 per week, a significant sum for that time in England when £800 was considered a decent annual income. After touring the United States, Donegan returned to the UK and formed his own group, which initially consisted of jazz guitarist Denny Wright, bassist Mickey Ashman, and drummer Nick Nichols. In 1956, Donegan released his first album, "Showcase," which included blues songs by artists such as Lead Belly and Leroy Carr, as well as traditional blues recordings. Within three years, he recorded a series of hits, including "Bring A Little Water, Sylvie," "Don't You Rock Me, Daddy-O," "Cumberland Gap," and "Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavor On the Bedpost Overnight?," all of which reached high positions on the charts. By the late 1950s, thousands of skiffle groups had emerged, and many performers, including Tommy Steele, Cliff Richard, and future members of The Beatles, marked their start in this genre before transitioning to other styles of music. Skiffle gradually lost commercial appeal, but Donegan remained present in the charts until 1962 when the new wave of British rockers took over the music scene.
In the 1960s, Donegan worked as a producer at Pye Records. After an unsuccessful attempt at a comeback at the end of the decade, he resumed performing in 1974 when skiffle experienced a renewed interest in Germany. A year later, he toured with Chris Barber and recorded the full album "The Great Re-Union Album" with him. In 1976, after more performances and studio work in Germany, Donegan suffered a heart attack and moved to the United States to focus on his health. He returned to the studio in 1978, recording the album "Putting On the Style," featuring collaborations with Ringo Starr, Brian May, Elton John, and other rock stars whose interest in music had been sparked by Donegan's song "Rock Island Line." He followed up with another album, recorded with Albert Lee, in which Donegan performed country-style songs. By 1980, he had resumed his concert activity and recorded another album with Barber. Donegan continued to perform until health problems and a heart operation in 1992 forced him to slow down. On November 3, 2002, Donegan passed away from a heart condition, leaving behind a vast musical legacy.
