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.
Sugar In The Bowl
Mungo Jerry Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Nobody knows what they like to feel old, down in the sugar in the bowl.
Sugar in the bowl is a mighty fine town, nothing goes up and the money goes round,
Nobody knows what they like to feel down, down in the sugar in the bowl,
Down in the sugar in the bowl.
There is a girl with a turned up nose, mighty fine freckles and her painted toes,
There is a man with a luminous tie, a big round face and a gleam in his eye,
Everybody laughs when he passes by, down in the sugar in the bowl.
There is a girl with a turned up nose, mighty fine freckles and her painted toes,
The boys all whistle when her knickers show, down in the sugar in the bowl.
The lyrics of Mungo Jerry's song "Sugar in the Bowl" seem to represent a scene from an idyllic small town, where there is always enough money to go around and nobody feels old or down. The repetition of "sugar in the bowl" in the chorus creates an almost trance-like effect, while the description of the town's inhabitants is infused with a sense of joy and light-heartedness. The lines "Nobody knows what they like to feel old, down in the sugar in the bowl" suggest that this town is a place where people don't feel the weight of age or of life's problems, where they are free to enjoy simple pleasures.
The song's verses describe various characters who inhabit the town of sugar in the bowl. There is a girl with a turned up nose and painted toes who attracts the boys' attention, and there is a man with a luminous tie who makes everyone laugh. The lyrics are playful and seem to celebrate the diversity and quirkiness of the town's inhabitants. The imagery used in the song is vivid and evocative, from the freckles on the girl's face to the gleam in the man's eye. Overall, the lyrics of "Sugar in the Bowl" paint a picture of a carefree, joyful place where people can be who they are without judgment.
Line by Line Meaning
Sugar in the bowl, sugar in the bowl, all dressed up saying 'Bless My Soul'
The place is full of excitement and life, with everyone getting ready to have a good time.
Nobody knows what they like to feel old, down in the sugar in the bowl.
People here are all about having fun and nobody wants to feel old or boring.
Sugar in the bowl is a mighty fine town, nothing goes up and the money goes round, Nobody knows what they like to feel down, down in the sugar in the bowl, Down in the sugar in the bowl.
This town is great - everything is going smoothly and people are having a good time. Nobody wants to be sad or unhappy here.
There is a girl with a turned up nose, mighty fine freckles and her painted toes, The boys all whistle wherever she goes down in the sugar in the bowl.
This girl is stunningly beautiful and everyone notices her when she's around, with boys whistling in admiration.
There is a man with a luminous tie, a big round face and a gleam in his eye, Everybody laughs when he passes by, down in the sugar in the bowl.
This man is a bit of a character, with an eccentric style that makes people chuckle when they see him.
There is a girl with a turned up nose, mighty fine freckles and her painted toes, The boys all whistle when her knickers show, down in the sugar in the bowl.
This girl is quite naughty and teases the boys by showing off her underwear, which they find very attractive.
Contributed by Adeline N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.