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)
Tom Dooley
Lonnie Donegan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Written about the Eternal Triangle.
This next one tells the story of a Mr. Grayson,
A beautiful woman, and a condemned man named Tom Dooley.
When the sun rises tomorrow, Tom Dooley must hang.
Hang down your head, Tom Dooley
Hang down your head and cry
Poor boy, you're bound to die
I met her on the mountain, there I took her life
Met her on the mountain, stabbed her with my knife
Hang down your head, Tom Dooley
Hang down your head and cry (ah-uh-eye)
Hang down your head, Tom Dooley
Poor boy, you're bound to die
This time tomorrow reckon where I'll be
Hadn't-a been for Grayson, I'd-a been in Tennessee (well now, boy)
Hang down (your head) your head (Dooley) and cry
Hang down your head and cry (ah poor boy, ah well-ah)
Hang down (your head) your head (Dooley) and cry
Poor boy, you're bound to die (ah well now boy)
Hang down (your head) your head (Dooley) and cry
Hang down your head and cry (ah poor boy, ah well-ah)
Hang down (your head) your head (Dooley) and cry
Poor boy, you're bound to die
This time tomorrow reckon where I'll be
Down in some lonesome valley hangin' from a white oak tree
Hang down your head, Tom Dooley
Hang down your head and cry (ah-uh-eye)
Hang down your head, Tom Dooley
Poor boy, you're bound to die (ah well now boy)
Hang down your head, Tom Dooley
Hang down your head and cry (poor boy ah well uh)
Hang down your head, Tom Dooley
Poor boy, you're bound to die
Poor boy, you're bound to die
Poor boy, you're bound to die
Poor boy, you're bound to die
The lyrics to Lonnie Donegan's song Tom Dooley tell the story of an infamous murder that occurred in the late 1800s in North Carolina. The song describes the condemned man, Tom Dooley, who must hang for the murder of a woman he met on the mountain and stabbed with his knife. The lyrics are addressed directly to Tom Dooley, urging him to hang down his head and cry as he is bound to die. These lyrics evoke a sense of sadness and tragedy, as the condemned man reflects on his fate and the consequences of his actions.
The lyrics also mention Mr. Grayson, who appears to be involved with the same woman as Tom Dooley. It is unclear whether Grayson played a role in the murder, but the lyrics suggest that he may have been a factor in Tom Dooley's arrest and subsequent sentencing. The use of the "Eternal Triangle" motif in the first verse further reinforces the idea of a love triangle gone wrong.
Overall, the lyrics to Tom Dooley paint a vivid picture of a condemned man facing his fate and an ill-fated love affair. The melancholy melody and the repetitive chorus emphasize the sense of regret and sorrow that permeates the song.
Line by Line Meaning
Hang down your head, Tom Dooley
Tom Dooley, lower your head in shame
Hang down your head and cry
Display your sorrow through your physical actions
Poor boy, you're bound to die
You will lose your life due to your actions
I met her on the mountain, there I took her life
I killed her on the mountain
Met her on the mountain, stabbed her with my knife
I used a knife to take her life
This time tomorrow reckon where I'll be
By this time tomorrow, contemplate my whereabouts
Hadn't-a been for Grayson, I'd-a been in Tennessee (well now, boy)
If it wasn't for Grayson, I would have been elsewhere (Tennessee)
Down in some lonesome valley hangin' from a white oak tree
I will hang from a white oak tree in a lonely valley
Poor boy, you're bound to die (ah well now boy)
You are condemned to death, there is no avoiding it
Poor boy, you're bound to die
You are condemned to death, there is no avoiding it
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Dave Guard
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Mark Walker
Wow, how amazing would it have been to see him play live!
A. Duncan
To say Lonnie's a great entertainer is stating the obvious. There will never be another like him. And his backup trio, the best.
zorba nongreco
Fabulous document !!
Lead guitarist is great ! 👍🏼Great old murder song.
🐂💨 💨 💨 💨
Bryt25
Yes,turned a lot of us on to starting rock bands. Funny tho that the Beeb was banning other songs that mentioned death yet here we had the graphic "stabbed her with my knife"! Lonnie opened a lot of doors for musicians.
Bryt25
Ex-banjo player from Chris Barber's jazz band if I recall. Amazing.
Firebrand55
Hear the record........a very unusual drumbeat; rapid, staccato ..but totally infectious!
Steven Schaffer
One of the greatest
lintym
Loved this.
Derek Kess
I sure do miss the 70s, 80s and 90s. The music today is not even the same. Sometimes I wish I could find a time machine and go back in time. Life was much easier and everyone enjoyed life! Is this your favorite song?
lintym
If you live in England we have Boom Radio which plays music for the Boomer generation, 50s 60s 70s