Donegan was born as Anthony James Donegan in Glasgow, Scotland, the son of a professional violinist. His ethnic mix was Scottish/Irish. He moved with his mother to London at an early age, after his parents divorced. Inspired by blues music and New Orleans jazz bands he heard on the radio, he resolved to learn the guitar, and bought his first at the age of fourteen.
The first band he ever played in was the trad jazz band led by Chris Barber, who approached him on a train asking him if he wanted to audition for his group. Barber had heard that Donegan was a good banjo player; in fact, Donegan had never played the banjo at this point, but he bought one and managed to bluff his way through the audition. His stint in this group was interrupted, however, when he was called up for National Service in 1949. He also played in Ken Colyer's group
In 1952, he formed his first own group, the Tony Donegan Jazzband, which found some work around London. On one occasion they opened for the blues musician Lonnie Johnson at the Royal Festival Hall. Donegan was a big fan of Johnson, and took his first name as a tribute to him. The story goes that the host at the concert got the musicians' names confused, calling them "Tony Johnson" and "Lonnie Donegan", and Donegan was happy to keep the name.
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. 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. It was an enormous hit in 1956 (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 ironically, because it was a band recording, Donegan made no money from this recording beyond his original session fee. (Nevertheless, Donegan received considerable music publishing royalties from "Rock Island" simply by claiming the British copyright on an unregistered song which was considered to be in the Public Domain. This led to the peculiar situation that any "cover" version of "Rock Island Line" which was released on record in Britain from 1956 showed the song composition credited to Lonnie Donegan.) It was the first debut record to go gold in the UK, and reached the Top Ten in the United States. 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 by then, and by the spring of 1955, Donegan signed a recording contract with Pye. His next single "Lost John" reached #2 in the UK Singles Chart.
His success at the time saw Donegan sent to the United States, where he appeared on television on both Perry Como Show and Paul Winchell Show. 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.[4] 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.
Donegan went on to make a series of popular records with successes including "Cumberland Gap" and, particularly "Does Your Chewing Gum Lose It's Flavour (On The Bedpost Over Night)", his only hit song in the U.S., released on Dot. 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 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 Chas McDevitt's skiffle groups) playing lead guitar and singing harmony vocals, Micky Ashman or Pete Huggett - later Steve Jones - on upright bass, Nick Nichols - later Pete Appleby and Mark Goodwin - on drums or percussion and Donegan playing acoustic guitar or banjo and singing the lead.
He continued to appear regularly in the UK charts until 1962, before succumbing to the arrival of The Beatles and beat music.
Add 1: In the early fifties after Donegan was demobbed from National Service he joined Chris Barber and Ken Colyer and others called Ken Colyer's Jazzmen which consisted of Ken Colyer (trumpet), Chris Barber (trombone), Monty Sunshine (clarinet), Lonnie Donegan (banjo), Jim Bray (bass) Dickie Bishop (Guitar) and Ron Bowden (drums). This group recorded two excellent blues numbers with Lonnie Donegan as vocal called "In the evening when de sun go down" and "The Midnight Special" After a year, Ken colyer stormed out of the group and Chris Barber took over.
http://www.p.griggsy.btinternet.co.uk/Untitled/Lonnie.html (Memories of Lonnie Donegan by Paul Griggs)
Gamblin' Man
Lonnie Donegan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I've gambled up in Maine
I'm going down into Georgia
To knock down my last game
I'm a gambling man, man, man
I'm a gambling man
When I fell on love with a pretty little girl
And she fell in love with me
I'm a gambling man
I'm a gambling man
I'm a gambling man, man, man
I'm a gambling man, man, man
I'm a gambling man, man, man
I'm a gambling man
I'm a gambling man, man, man
I'm a gambling man, man, man
I'm a gambling man, man, man
I'm a gambling man
She took me in her parlour
Cooled me with her fan
She said , "Oh mother mother
I'm in love with a gambling man
He's a gambling man, man, man
He's a gambling man"
She said, "Oh daughter, daughter
How could you treat me so
And leave your dear old mother
And with that gambler go"
He's a gambling man, man, man
He's a gambling man
He's a gambling man, man, man
He's a gambling man, man, man
He's a gambling man, man, man
He's a gambling man
He's a gambling man, man, man
He's a gambling man, man, man
He's a gambling man, man, man
He's a gambling man
"I would not marry a farmer
He's always in the red
I'd rather marry a gambling man
With a gold watch and chain"
He's a gambling man
He's a gambling man
"And I would not marry a railroad man
Here's the reason why
I never knew a railroad man
Who wouldn't tell his wife a lie"
He's a gambling man
He's a gambling man
He's a gambling man, man, man
He's a gambling man, man, man
He's a gambling man, man, man
He's a gambling man
He's a gambling man, man, man
He's a gambling man, man, man
He's a gambling man
…..(How about Jimmy)
He's a gambling man, man, man
He's a gambling man, man, man
He's a gambling man, man, man
He's a gambling man
I hear that train a-coming
Coming round the curve
Whistling and a-screaming
Straining every nerve
He's a gambling man
He's a gambling man
He's a gambling man, man, man
He's a gambling man, man, man
He's a gambling man, man, man
He's a gambling man…………………………
The lyrics to Lonnie Donegan's song Gamblin' Man depict a man who enjoys gambling and is traveling all over the United States to gamble. He has been to Washington and Maine, but now he is going down to Georgia to participate in his last game. The chorus of the song indicates that he is a gambling man, and this is something that he seems to be proud of.
The second part of the song introduces a love interest. The man falls for a pretty young girl while in Washington. However, her mother disapproves of him because he is a gambling man. On the other hand, the girl reveals that she does not want to marry a farmer because they are always in debt. Instead, she would prefer a gambling man with a gold watch and chain. She also disapproves of railroad men, as all of them lie to their wives.
The song references gambling and how it can impact people's lives. The singer of the song is traveling across the country, eager to gamble and presumably win big. However, his love life is suffering because of it, as he struggles to convince the girl's mother to let them be together. The song also sheds some light on how society viewed different professions and what people believed were desirable traits.
Line by Line Meaning
I've gambled down in Washington
I have previously played games of chance in Washington
And I've gambled up in Maine
I have also engaged in gambling activities in Maine
I'm going down into Georgia
I am planning to travel to Georgia
To knock down my last game
To play one final game of chance before leaving Georgia
I'm a gambling man, man, man
I am someone who frequently participates in gambling activities
Well I had not been in Washington many more weeks than three
When I was in Washington, I fell in love with a lady
When I fell on love with a pretty little girl
I found myself attracted to a lovely young woman
And she fell in love with me
The woman reciprocated my romantic feelings
She said , "Oh mother mother
She addressed her mother
I'm in love with a gambling man
She revealed her attraction to me as a frequent gambler
He's a gambling man, man, man
She described me as someone who loves playing games of chance
She said, "Oh daughter, daughter
Her mother addressed her loving daughter
How could you treat me so
She questioned her daughter's behavior
And leave your dear old mother
She expressed her disappointment towards her daughter for leaving her
And with that gambler go"
She disapproved of her daughter's choice in me
"I would not marry a farmer
I do not want to marry a farmer
He's always in the red
As they have financial troubles
I'd rather marry a gambling man
I prefer a husband who plays games of chance
With a gold watch and chain"
I would like to marry someone wealthy
"And I would not marry a railroad man
I am also opposed to marrying a railroad worker
Here's the reason why
This is the explanation for my opinion
I never knew a railroad man
I have never met a railroad worker
Who wouldn't tell his wife a lie"
Railroad workers are notorious for not being truthful to their spouses
I hear that train a-coming
I can hear the approaching train
Coming round the curve
The train is turning around the bend
Whistling and a-screaming
The train is making loud, high-pitched sounds
Straining every nerve
The train is putting in a lot of effort to maintain speed
…..(How about Jimmy)
Unknown. The meaning is unclear and lacking context.
He's a gambling man
Jimmy is a man who enjoys playing games of chance
He's a gambling man, man, man
Jimmy is an enthusiastic gambler
He's a gambling man, man, man
Jimmy is an expert in games of chance
He's a gambling man, man, man
Jimmy is an individual who frequently engages in gambling activities.
He's a gambling man, man, man
Jimmy identifies himself as a die-hard gambler.
He's a gambling man, man, man
Jimmy is someone who loves to take risks and engage in games of chance
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Appaiah Biddu, BIDDU
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@PMexPAT
As a 13 year old in London at this time,to me,Lonnie Donegan was ,compared to the cheesy middle of the road British singers of the time, a fucking visitor from outer space ! He was the reason I begged for a guitar, and now ,as an 80 year old, can look back on a life,and career, in music ,which goes on ,even today.
Thank you Lonnie, for leading all us future guitar based musicians, on a path to fun and satisfaction!
@sasatek
Can we just take a second to admire those drums?
@lukehauser1182
1:29
@UrNameIsToby
Sold his soul to Christ Caligula, he did!!!
@RKS-01
if the blacklist brought you here u have my respect❤️
@PMexPAT
I’ll add to my comment…… this man is the most important influence on British music than all your fancy,classical,and especially Jazz musicians,who,mostly didn’t make the average kid want to make music !
@matthewcaldwell267
Lonnie Donegan ....once viewed....NEVER FOTGOTTEN.Britain's BEST SHOWMAN.
@Yuri-iz3cd
Excellent!!16.2.2023!!!
@beachcomber4141
That guy and group ROCKED!!!! I can see where he was a huge influence on most of my favorite bands and guitarist!
@Piecekidd
I can see why he was Rory Gallaghers hero.