Dorset and Colin Earl had previously been members of The Good Earth. Soon after recruiting Paul King and Mike Cole, they made their national debut at the Hollywood Festival at Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire in May 1970, the week their first single, "In the Summertime" was released. They stole the show and the record topped the UK Singles Chart for seven weeks, made number one in almost every other country around the world, and to date has sold around 23 million copies. After John Godfrey replaced Cole, their second single "Baby Jump" also topped the UK chart in March 1971. A third hit, "Lady Rose" (also in 1971), gave the group the image as a band for producing summertime based hits.
In time Dorset found the group's good-time blues and jug band repertoire a little restricting, and in 1972 he released a solo album Cold Blue Excursion, with his songs backed by strings and brass and, in one instance, a jazz band. His intention to broaden the group's appeal by recruiting a drummer led to King and Earl trying to sack him, but the management, regarding Dorset as inseparable in the public eye from Mungo Jerry, fired them both instead. Dorset and Godfrey, the bassist, recruited new members and presented a new sound, heard on the fourth album Boot Power. King and Earl went on to form the King Earl Boogie Band.
Mungo Jerry's hits continued through to 1976 with "Open Up" (Top Twenty in Europe and number one in Brazil); "Alright Alright Alright" (a rewrite of an old French hit for Jacques Dutronc, and again a major hit worldwide reaching the Top 3 in the UK); "Wild Love"; "Long Legged Woman Dressed In Black"; "Hello Nadine" (European hit and Top Five in Canada); and "It's a Secret" (European hit).
In 1975 Earl, who had played piano with Foghat in between, returned to play keyboards, and percussion player Joe Rush, part-time member of the band in earlier days, also came back for a while.
The group's line-up has changed constantly over the years. Among those who have played with them are bassist Bob Daisley, drummers Dave Bidwell, Paul Hancox and Boris Williams, guitarist Dick Middleton and keyboard/accordion player Steve Jones. They have remained particularly popular throughout Europe. Mungo Jerry was the first western band who had live TV gigs, in all countries behind the Iron Curtain. Their famous "Golden Orpheus" gig in Bulgaria, also gave them a lot of new fans.
In 1980 another Dorset song, "Feels Like I'm in Love", originally written for Elvis Presley, and recorded by the band as a B side of a single, became a British number one hit for Kelly Marie. They remained successful with overseas hits like "On A Night Like This", "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" and "Sunshine Reggae" (British version by Mungo Jerry & Horizon). But Dorset had to wait until 1995 for a real comeback, when "In the Summertime" was recorded by reggae vocalist Shaggy, who topped the charts worldwide. The last UK chart entry for Mungo Jerry was "Toon Army", a song for Newcastle United F.C. in 1999.
In 1983 "Mungo Jerry" Ray Dorset was part of the blues supergroup Katmandu, which recorded A Case For The Blues, with guitarist Peter Green, formerly of Fleetwood Mac, and keyboard player Vincent Crane, formerly of Atomic Rooster and The Crazy World of Arthur Brown.
In 2003, with German musicians, Dorset recorded Adults Only album under the name Mungo Jerry Blues Band, widely acclaimed as one of the best of his career. 2005 saw him performing with three Mungo Jerry line-ups: The British Mungo Jerry Band (pop/rock), the German Mungo Jerry Blues Band (blues/rock) and Mungo Jerry & the Goodtime Gamblers (jug/blues/skiffle).
Also in June 2005, Ray Dorset had a gig again as a duo with Mike Cole - the original double bass player from the early Mungo days - as a highlight of the "35 Years Of Mungo Jerry" event in both Newcastle and Stoke.
In March 2006 Mungo Jerry released their new single "Mr Midnight" from Phantom of the Opera on Ice (http://www.plazarecords.co.uk); produced by Roberto Danova - who had mixed in the past the old continental Mungo Jerry hits "Lana" and "It's a Secret" - and is well-known for his work with rock and pop music, in combination with big orchestras.
Jesse James
Mungo Jerry Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He robbed the Glendale train,
All the folks from round about said, "Yes, without a doubt,
it was robbed by Frank and Jesse James"
Chorus:
Jesse had a wife to mourn for his life,
Three children they were so brave,
And he laid Jesse James in his grave
It was on a Wednesday night when the moon was shining bright,
That I robbed the Glendale train,
All the folks from round about said, "Yes, without a doubt,
it was robbed by Frank and Jesse James"
Repeat Chorus:
It was on a Wednesday night when the moon was shining bright,
Jesse was talking to his family brave,
When along came Robert Ford like a thief in the black,
And he shot Jesse James in the back
The lyrics of Mungo Jerry's "Jesse James" tell a story of the notorious outlaw Jesse James and his legendary exploits. As the lyrics begin, the audience learns that Jesse James had a violent reputation and had killed many men, including robbing the Glendale train. The townspeople unanimously agreed that the notorious robber Jesse James and his brother Frank were behind the robbery.
Next, we hear of Jesse James' personal life. The chorus describes him as having a wife and three children, and they were all brave. It is said that Jesse James' bravery was unmatched, except, unfortunately, by the coward who shot him in the back. That dirty little coward, Robert Ford, killed Jesse James, and he was subsequently laid to rest in his grave.
The lyrics convey a feeling of nostalgia, almost recapturing a historical moment that we can all imagine ourselves observing. The song speaks of an era in American history when outlaws ruled the land and romance, danger, and adventure all together. It captures the essence of those times when men like Jesse James and his brothers were revered for their unwavering courage and feats of daring.
Line by Line Meaning
Now Jesse James was a man who killed many men
Jesse James was known for murdering multiple people
He robbed the Glendale train
Jesse James was responsible for stealing from the Glendale train
All the folks from round about said, "Yes, without a doubt, it was robbed by Frank and Jesse James"
Everyone in the area believed that Jesse James and his partner Frank robbed the Glendale train
Chorus: Jesse had a wife to mourn for his life, Three children they were so brave, But that dirty little coward that shot him, Mr Ford, And he laid Jesse James in his grave
Jesse James had a family who mourned his death after Robert Ford shot and killed him
It was on a Wednesday night when the moon was shining bright, That I robbed the Glendale train
Jesse James is recalling the specific night he and Frank robbed the Glendale train
All the folks from round about said, "Yes, without a doubt, it was robbed by Frank and Jesse James"
The community still believed that Jesse James and Frank were responsible for the robbery
Repeat Chorus:
Repeating the chorus to revisit the idea of Jesse James' family mourning his loss
It was on a Wednesday night when the moon was shining bright, Jesse was talking to his family brave, When along came Robert Ford like a thief in the black, And he shot Jesse James in the back
Jesse James was conversing with his courageous family when Robert Ford snuck up and shot him from behind
Contributed by Kaelyn E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.