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.
Lady Rose
Mungo Jerry Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
By the fire light
I see her face
Before my eyes.
Lady Rose
My Lday Rose
Oh Lady
My Lady Rose.
De
De-de-de
De de-de-de.
Lost in mem'ries
Of the moment
Of the time spent
How the days went
Lady Rose...
From the shadows
Through the bright lights
From the dark nights
Through the sun light.
Lady Rose
My Lday Rose
Oh Lady
My Rose
My Lady Rose.
De
De-de-de
De de-de-de.
In Mungo Jerry's song "Lady Rose," the singer reminisces about his past love, Lady Rose. He speaks of seeing her face before his eyes in the dark nights by the firelight. The repetition of the words "My Lady Rose" adds emphasis to his deep love for her. He is lost in the memories of the moments they spent together and how the days went. As he sings about Lady Rose, he brings her out of the shadows and through the bright lights, indicating that she is always with him no matter the situation or circumstance.
The lyrics to "Lady Rose" are simple, but they are very effective in conveying the depth of the singer's feelings for Lady Rose. The use of repetition and imagery creates a sense of nostalgia and longing, as if the singer is reaching out to the past to bring back a lost love.
Line by Line Meaning
On the dark nights
During the nights when it's dark outside
By the fire light
By the light of a fire
I see her face
I'm reminded of her appearance
Before my eyes.
In my mind's eye
Lady Rose
The woman I'm thinking about is named Rose
My Lday Rose
She's the one I call 'my lady Rose'
Oh Lady
Oh, my Lady
My Rose
The woman I'm thinking about is named Rose
My Lady Rose.
The woman I'm thinking about is named Rose and I call her my Lady
De
N/A
De-de-de
N/A
De de-de-de.
N/A
Lost in mem'ries
I'm lost in memories
Of the moment
Of a specific moment
Of the time spent
Of the time we spent together
How the days went
I think about how the days passed
Lady Rose...
I keep thinking about Rose
From the shadows
From hiding or obscurity
Through the bright lights
Through bright and cheerful times
From the dark nights
From the times of darkness and sadness
Through the sun light.
Through sunny times
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: RAY DORSET
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Barry H.
Takes me right back to my early seventies high school days in Manchester ... brilliant song of its day.
mickpork
What an absolute legend Mungo Jerry is...love this song..
aragorn1959
Great memories of spring 1971 my first year in Grammar school. Thanks for this !
jm1964
Colin Earl - tutaj gra wyjątkowo na silniku ;)
greggy stag
Great music....how come all the songs. although different, seem to make you think of summer. We need it at the moment!
wizardadams
Goldsmiths College 1979 -1982. My Lady Rose - still full of love and admiration for a kind and gentle soul. ❤
Martin Biddulph
Love it
64mung
Cool tune, Marc!! Love these vintage video clips that you find :) Thumbs up! 64m >:-)
Ajohn13
Cool, great video, Mungo, has such a unique voice.
rockerbox1973
i love this song!