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.
Right On
Mungo Jerry Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Right on, right on, right on
We're gonna kill, we're gonna fight, we're gonna fight for what is right,
Fight for the rest, its dynamite, fight the fight the fight the fight,
Right on, right on, right on, right on,
Right on, right on, right on
We're gonna take, ain't gonna wait, make no mistake, ain't gonna break,
Ain't gonna wait, no mashed potato,
Right on, right on, right on, right on,
Right on, right on, right on
We're gonna love our mother, love our father, love our sister and our brother,
Love our friends and relations, we're gonna heal the punks and rock our nation,
Right on, right on, right on, right on,
Right on, right on, right on.
The lyrics to Mungo Jerry's song "Right On" suggest a call to action for listeners to stand up and fight for what they believe in. The repetition of the phrase "right on" throughout the song is used to emphasize the importance of taking action and standing up for oneself and others. The first verse talks about fighting for what is right, but it is not clear what that might be. It could be interpreted as a protest against social injustice, or it could simply be a rallying cry to be a part of a community that values standing up for what one believes in.
The second verse shifts the focus to love and unity, suggesting that fighting for what is right involves more than just aggression and confrontation. By loving and healing "the punks" (a term that could be used here to refer to anyone considered an outsider or marginalized), the song suggests that change can come from within by valuing empathy and compassion. The song's message is ultimately grounded in the belief that love and action can be powerful tools for social change.
Line by Line Meaning
Right on, right on, right on, right on,
We are in absolute agreement, and we feel very passionate about what we're doing
We're gonna kill, we're gonna fight, we're gonna fight for what is right,
We're not actually advocating for violence, but we're going to put up a fierce effort to achieve justice
Fight for the rest, its dynamite, fight the fight the fight the fight,
It may be a difficult battle, but we believe in the power of our cause, and it will be worth the effort
We're gonna take, ain't gonna wait, make no mistake, ain't gonna break,
We will not wait for opportunities to come to us, we will actively seek them out, and we will not be deterred by setbacks
Ain't gonna wait, no mashed potato,
We are not going to be idly sitting around, we will take decisive action
We're gonna love our mother, love our father, love our sister and our brother,
We will show love and support to our family members as well as our fellow human beings
Love our friends and relations, we're gonna heal the punks and rock our nation,
We will work towards healing and uplifting those who feel excluded, and through our actions we hope to inspire others to join us in making a difference
Right on, right on, right on, right on,
Once again, we are in passionate agreement and fully committed to our cause
Right on, right on, right on
We will not waver in our convictions and will continue to pursue our goals with determination
Contributed by Aubrey A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.