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)
Michael Row The Boat
Lonnie Donegan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Michael row the boat ashore, hallelujah
Michael row the boat ashore, hallelujah
Michael row the boat ashore, hallelujah
Sister help to trim the sail, hallelujah
Sister help to trim the sail, hallelujah
Michael row the boat ashore, hallelujah
Michael row the boat ashore, hallelujah
River Jordan is chilly and cold, hallelujah
Chills the body but not the soul, hallelujah
Michael row the boat ashore, hallelujah
Michael row the boat ashore, hallelujah
Jordan river is deep and is wide, hallelujah
I've got a home on the other side, hallelujah
Michael row the boat ashore, hallelujah
Michael row the boat ashore, hallelujah
Michael's Boat is a music boat , hallelujah
Michael's Boat is a music boat , hallelujah
Michael row the boat, the boat ashore, hallelujah
Michael row the boat ashore, hallelujah
Lonnie Donegan's song "Michael Row The Boat" is a spiritual song that is based on the story of Michael, who is rowing a boat across the River Jordan to reach his home on the other side. The song is a call and response, with the leader singing the first two lines and the group responding with "hallelujah." The lyrics are simple, but the meaning behind them is powerful.
The first verse of the song talks about Michael rowing the boat ashore and invokes the word "hallelujah" as a form of celebration and praise. The second verse calls on his sister to help trim the sail, emphasizing the importance of teamwork and cooperation. The third verse talks about the River Jordan, which is described as "chilly and cold," but is also said to only affect the body, not the soul. The fourth verse talks about the width and depth of the Jordan river, and how despite the challenges it poses, there is still a home waiting on the other side.
The metaphorical meaning behind the song is that Michael represents a person who is trying to reach a spiritual or metaphorical "home" in their life. The River Jordan represents the challenges and obstacles that one must face and overcome to reach that home. The song encourages teamwork and cooperation in overcoming those challenges, and the "hallelujahs" repeated throughout the song encourage a sense of celebration and praise for the journey.
Line by Line Meaning
Michael row the boat ashore, hallelujah
Michael, row the boat to the shore amidst singing hallelujah
Sister help to trim the sail, hallelujah
Sister, assist in adjusting the sails while chanting hallelujah
River Jordan is chilly and cold, hallelujah
The Jordan River is frigid and icy, nevertheless, hallelujah remains the jubilant anthem
Chills the body but not the soul, hallelujah
Even though it numbs the body, hallelujah still warms the soul
Jordan river is deep and is wide, hallelujah
The Jordan river is broad and vast, but hallelujah adds festivity
I've got a home on the other side, hallelujah
My eternal dwelling is on the opposite side which calls for a joyous hallelujah
Michael's Boat is a music boat , hallelujah
Michael's boat is one of music and praise, so we sing hallelujah
Michael row the boat, the boat ashore, hallelujah
Michael, row the boat to the shore, and then we celebrate with hallelujah
Contributed by Mia O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Midas KnowledgeBase
Try as I might you simply cannot find the correct lyrics to Lonnie's brilliant interpretation so if anyone is interested I have shared them here, feel free to correct me if you think I'm wrong.
Michael row the boat ashore hallelujah
Michael row the boat ashore hallelujah
Well the Jordan river is muddy and wide hallelujah
Well it’s all my friends on the other side hallelujah
Michael row the boat ashore hallelujah
Michael row the boat ashore hallelujah
Hold that tiller straight and true hallelujah
The trusty good Lord is gonna’ see you through hallelujah
Michael! row the boat ashore hallelujah
Michael row the boat ashore hallelujah
Unfurl the sail and catch the wind hallelujah
Be not afraid though you have sinned hallelujah
Michael row the boat ashore…
Michael row the boat ashore…
Michael row the boat ashore…
hallelujah
Well the Jordan river is muddy and wide! hallelujah
Well it’s all my friends on the other side hallelujah
Michael row, row, row, yeah row the boat ashore!
Michael row the boat ashore hallelujah
Michael row the boat ashore……..
Michael row the boat ashore……….
Michael row the boat ashore……….
Hallelujah!!
stillrestless99
What a great version... it has character. I love it.
Mic
+stillrestless99
Well, that was Donegan all right: character. Unique.
kidneythief91
I wish I could bust out a jam like this. Gotta love the skiffle way.
MysticDragons
Now i'm glad i'm having music history, made me discover this gem.
ross hollywood
childhood memories here..best version ever
Aileen Lightbody
The Highwaymen got in first with their version, but I think Lonnie's is much better. Got more life and feeling to it.
Robin Wilson
I much prefer Lonnie's version!
Bammers
Me too
Bammers
I grew listening to this!!
LewisBurner
if you dig this please check out my version I recorded at home the other day, based on Lonnies awesome rendition. cheers X