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)
When the Sun Goes Down
Lonnie Donegan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Baby when the sun goes down
In the evening in the evening
Baby when the sun goes down
Oh ain't it lonesome ain't it lonesome
When your lover cant be found
When the sun goes down
Thinking to myself
Last night I lay a-sleeping
Thinking to myself
Well I thought she loved me
Found she loved somebody else
When the sun went down
Well the sun rises in the east
Sets down in the west
Well the sun rises in the east
Sets down in the west
Lord ain't it hard to tell hard to tell
Which one will treat you the best
When the sun goes down
Goodbye my sweet and loving baby
You know I'm going away
Be back to see you
Some old rainy day
Well in the evening in the evening
When that ruby sun goes down
When the sun goes down
Lonnie Donegan's song When The Sun Goes Down is a somber reflection on the loneliness and heartache that can arise when one's romantic partner is absent. The repetition of "in the evening, when the sun goes down" signifies a time of day when the singer becomes particularly aware of his loneliness. He bemoans the fact that he cannot be with his lover in these moments, which underscores his sense of isolation. The verse that follows this one has a particularly poignant message, as it describes the moment when the singer realizes that his lover has betrayed him for someone else. This realization leads to a sense of betrayal and sadness, which is compounded by the times when the sun goes down.
The final verse of the song is a farewell to the absent lover. The ending is particularly poignant, as the singer promises to return to her "some old rainy day." This suggests that he is not giving up on their relationship entirely, but rather he is accepting the fact that they may have to spend some time apart. When the sun goes down, he will be reminded of their separation, but ultimately he hopes to reunite with her.
Overall, When The Sun Goes Down is a mournful reflection on the loneliness and heartache that can arise when one's romantic partner is absent. The repeated phrase "in the evening, when the sun goes down" serves as a constant reminder of the singer's loneliness, while the final verse offers a glimmer of hope for the future.
Line by Line Meaning
In the evening in the evening
Lonnie is setting the scene for his song, emphasizing that the events he will describe occur in the evening.
Baby when the sun goes down
Lonnie indicates that the events he will describe occur specifically when the sun goes down and probably under its cover.
Oh ain't it lonesome ain't it lonesome
Lonnie bemoans the fact that being without your lover when the sun goes down can be lonely.
When your lover can't be found
Lonnie stresses that the absence of a lover when you need them most is particularly lonely.
Last night I lay a-sleeping
Lonnie starts to describe his personal experience, indicating that at some point he found himself asleep.
Thinking to myself
While Lonnie was sleeping, he had thoughts that he didn't share with others.
Well I thought she loved me
Lonnie thought that his lover had genuine feelings for him.
Found she loved somebody else
Lonnie woke up to the realization that his lover was in love with someone else and not him.
Well the sun rises in the east
Lonnie uses a universal fact to express the idea that just like the sun has to rise and set, love also has its seasons.
Sets down in the west
By emphasizing that the sun sets down in the West, Lonnie may be implying that love often comes to an end and that it is predictable when it does so.
Lord ain't it hard to tell hard to tell
Lonnie believes that it's difficult to predict who will treat you best when you're in love, just like it's hard to tell whether the sun will rise or set.
Which one will treat you the best
Lonnie indicates that it's difficult to predict with whom lasting love or a relationship will last without having to experience it.
Goodbye my sweet and loving baby
Lonnie says his goodbye to his lover, indicating that he's ready to leave.
You know I'm going away
Lonnie emphasizes that he's making a deliberate move to move on from his relationship.
Be back to see you
Lonnie gives no timeline, and although he is leaving her, he still gives her hope that he will come back to see her.
Some old rainy day
Lonnie doesn't give a date, but says he will come and see her when it rains. The rainy day may represent his tone of voice indicating that there is a somber feel to the song and this might be what the rainy day is about.
When that ruby sun goes down
Lonnie brings back the theme of the sun setting down, indicating that his future visit will also occur when the sun goes down.
When the sun goes down
Lonnie emphasizes the importance of the sun going down in many of the events he's described, suggesting that the night often brings change and that endings are inevitable.
Contributed by Owen K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Mike Hannon
on Wabash Cannonball
If you want the donegan lyrics from the recording this link has provided instead of the johnny cash ones they are as fallows;
Wabash Cannonball
by Lonnie Donegan
She came down from Birmingham, one cold December day
As she rolled into the station, you could hear the people say
That train from Indiana, she's long and she's tall...
That’s a combination called the Wabash Cannonball
Listen to the jingle, the rumble and the roar
As she comes down the mountains through the hills and by the shore
Hear the mighty rush of the engine, hear the lonesome hobos call
He’s racing through the jungle on the Wabash Cannon Ball
From the great Atlantic Ocean to the wide Pacific shore
From the green and flowing mountains to the old mill by the moor
She's long and handsome, and quite well known by all...
That’s a combination called the Wabash Cannonball
Listen to the jingle, the rumble and the roar
As she comes down the mountains through the hills and by the shore
Hear the mighty rush of the engine, hear the lonesome hobos call
He’s racing through the jungle on the Wabash Cannon Ball
Well here's to that old engineer his name will ever stand
And always be remembered in the courts throughout the land
When his mighty race is over and the curtains 'round him fall...
It'll carry him back to dixie on the Wabash Cannon Ball
Listen to the jingle, the rumble and the roar
As she comes down the mountains through the hills and by the shore
Hear the mighty rush of the engine, hear the lonesome hobos call
Yeah he’s racing through the jungle on the Wabash Cannon Ball