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)
Light from the Lighthouse
Lonnie Donegan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Let your light from the lighthouse shine on me
Let it shine on, let it shine on
Let your light from the lighthouse shine on me
My Lord he done just what he said
Let your light from the lighthouse shine on me
He healed the sick and he raised the dead
I know I got religion and I ain't ashamed
Let your light from the lighthouse shine on me
Angels in heaven gonna call my name
Let your light from the lighthouse shine on me
One of these days, 'bout twelve o'clock
Let your light from the lighthouse shine on me
This ol' world gonna reel and rock
Let your light from the lighthouse shine on me
Lonnie Donegan's "Light from the Lighthouse" is a Gospel-inspired tune about the light of God shining on us all. The song is a plea to God to let his light shine upon us, and for us to have faith in that light. The lyrics use Biblical imagery to reflect the idea of guidance from the Lord, as well as the idea of being "saved" by one's faith.
The first verse reiterates the song's central metaphor, calling on God to let his light from the lighthouse shine on the singer. The second verse references Jesus' miracles of healing and resurrection, affirming the power of faith in the Lord's ability to help us in our times of need. The third verse is most personal, with the singer expressing their own religious conviction and hope for eternal salvation.
The final verse is the most dramatic, with the singer envisioning the end of the world, and a time when the faithful will be called to heaven. The song ends on an exalting note of triumph, with the singer celebrating the knowledge that they are saved by God's grace.
Overall, the lyrics to "Light from the Lighthouse" express a deep personal faith and a desire for the light of God to guide and save us.
Line by Line Meaning
Let it shine on, let it shine on
Hoping to hold on to the light of hope, requesting to let it shine on.
Let your light from the lighthouse shine on me
I ask that the light from the lighthouse always shine on me and guide me home.
My Lord he done just what he said
God did exactly as he promised according to the lyrics.
He healed the sick and he raised the dead
Christ healed the sick and gave life to the dead, empowering humans with faith.
I know I got religion and I ain't ashamed
Proud to follow religion and showing no remorse about it.
Angels in heaven gonna call my name
After his life on earth, the man believes that the angels in heaven would welcome him.
One of these days, 'bout twelve o'clock
Expecting a significant event that could never forget one of these days.
This ol' world gonna reel and rock
The earth will undergo a massive transformation and face significant changes.
Contributed by Bentley V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Frank Kelch
Beautiful.
Matthew Tuttlebee
Amazing wow my dad past way last week he loved Lonnie
flatroofer
Timeless.
Mary Ringshall
Excellent
Paul Wood
how to feel fifty years younger.... thanks