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.
Mighty Man
Mungo Jerry Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Brand new shiny car
I got money in my pocket
Gonna be a star
I'm a mighty, mighty, mighty man
I'm a mighty, mighty man
(Oh, yes I am)
I'm a mighty, mighty man
(Yeah)
Well, I'm gonna get to you, girl
Get to you if I can
Take you round the hill
I'm a mighty, mighty man
I'm a mighty, mighty, mighty man
I'm a mighty, mighty man
(Yeah, ain't no doubt about it)
I'm a mighty, mighty, mighty man
I'm a mighty, mighty man
(Yeah, oh yeah)
Alrighty, yeah
Yeah, gonna come 'round your house, girl
Gonna get you in your bed
I'm gonna give it to you all night long
Gonna do just what I said
I'm a mighty, mighty, mighty man
I'm a mighty, mighty man
I'm a mighty, mighty, mighty man
I'm a mighty, mighty man
(Who wants a cheerleader in the band)
Here we go, now
Alright, alright, alright
I'm a mighty, mighty, mighty man
I'm a mighty, mighty man
(Yes I am)
I'm a mighty, mighty, mighty man
I'm a mighty, mighty man
(Hey, you doubt about it?)
I'm a mighty, mighty, mighty man
I'm a mighty, mighty man
(Yeah alright, alright)
The lyrics of Mungo Jerry's "Mighty Man" are straightforward and centered around a confident man who has just purchased himself a new, flashy car and intends to make it big in the music industry. The singer's self-assurance is palpable throughout the song, as he repeatedly refers to himself as a "mighty man" and promises to take his intended girl for a spin in his car. He is determined to win her over and deliver on his promises, boasting that he will give her everything he has.
The song's lyrics reflect the societal norms and values of the time it was written. This was a period where masculinity and bravado were prized, and men were expected to be assertive, confident and determined. The song's protagonist embodies these traits and is not shy about flaunting them.
Line by Line Meaning
Well I'm driving down the highway
I am currently driving on the highway
Brand new shiny car
I am driving a new and shiny car
I got money in my pocket
I currently possess a sum of money in my pocket
Gonna be a star
I aspire to be famous
I'm a mighty, mighty, mighty man
I am an exceedingly powerful man
(Oh, yes I am)
I am confident in my strength
Well, I'm gonna get to you, girl
I plan to approach you, girl
Get to you if I can
If possible, I will reach you
Take you round the hill
I will show you around a hilly area
I'm a mighty, mighty man
I am an exceedingly powerful man
(Yeah, ain't no doubt about it)
I am certain of my own strength
Alrighty, yeah
Okay, that is good
Yeah, gonna come 'round your house, girl
I am going to visit your house, girl
Gonna get you in your bed
I plan to engage in sexual activity with you in a bed
I'm gonna give it to you all night long
I plan to have sex with you repeatedly throughout the night
Gonna do just what I said
I will follow through on my previous statement
(Who wants a cheerleader in the band)
I am questioning the value of having a cheerleader in a band
Here we go, now
We are beginning again
I'm a mighty, mighty, mighty man
I am an exceedingly powerful man
(Yes I am)
I am confident in my strength
(Hey, you doubt about it?)
I am questioning if anyone is skeptical about my strength
I'm a mighty, mighty, mighty man
I am an exceedingly powerful man
(Yeah alright, alright)
I am expressing satisfaction or approval
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: RAY DORSET
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@PietroColombo-em5mz
We are aged, (I'm 62 yo) but I think our generation got the best music.
@flamah10n
WROOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNG our modern generation got THE best! 4 the simple reason that We have Youtube to search for every kind of music hahahaha got it?
@PietroColombo-em5mz
@@flamah10n Good answer! When we were young, it was also difficult to have the right devices...The magic was in the mood, the "zeitgeist".
@colinbartlett9851
Absolutely 💯
@user-mk5fw6xi1d
@@flamah10n what are you talking about - your generation doesn´t produce anything but garbage so you depend on "services" - but still have never experienced anything - and again: you do not create anything
@user-mk5fw6xi1d
hm, i think pretty much of the whole 20th century was quite amazing. when did it change? turn of the century, quite particular with that so called 9/11 - everything afterwards is stonage culture
@SY-ix1sw
It's 2024 and this still hits.
@tedted6961
LOVE MUNGO JERRY.!!!!
You can see they're having a ball..😅😅
@dsmn-zl3ug
It's 2023!!!DAMN GOOD
@philbench7622
Absolutely awesome! .... it puts 2020 + music into the shade! 😊