King of Skiffle

This is a collection of many of the best. Yes, "Chewing Gum" is here, along with "My Old Man's a Dustman" (my 9 year old son's personal favorite) and many others. I think my favorite has to be "Battle of New Orleans," not only for the performance, but also for the very concept of listening to someone as British as Lonnie Donegan sing it.

This is not an album for quiet listening over a good book. This is an album for singing along during road trips or cranking up the volume when the car next to yours is annoying everyone at the traffic light. It's fun listening that will lighten your heart on a rainy day. The fact that it's only about six bucks is just a bonus. I wouldn't have felt a bit cheated paying out the fifteen dollars or so that most albums cost.

So, what are you waiting for? Click the button! Buy the album!


Some Other Planet   April 21, 2001
David Bradley (Sterling, VA USA)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

1950s English and American popular music were light years apart. I'm not saying that one or the other was better or worse, they were just different, different, different.

Try to imagine people in New York, Chicago, or Los Angeles, who were seeing Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Patti Page, Dean Martin, etc etc etc on a fairly regular basis, putting Lonnie Donegan on the turntable, and hearing that key-bending introduction to "Jack O'Diamonds."

Boom! Worlds collide.

Lennon said skiffle was a revolution in England, much like the Folk movement which went through America in the late fifties and early sixties. Neither hung around for very long--skiffle was nothing more than a memory by 1964, and Folk was an affect, rather than a movement, in Pop by 1966--but the influence hung around a bit longer.

I prefer the Lonnie Donegan records that aren't pulled directly out of American songbooks. Those are kind of like hearing Elvis doing the French National Anthem, if you follow me.

So my highlights here are "Putting On The Style," "My Old Man's A Dustman," and, of course, "Does Your Chewing Gum Lose It's Flavor (On The Bedpost Over Night)?" They remind me of a time when pop stars--English ones, at least--were allowed to have a sense of humor.

And, if you really want to hear an authentic Pub sing-a-long song, you can't beat "Have A Drink On Me." Like all good Brit-singers, it drops from major to minor in the bridge, includes a few chuckles, and revolves around the impending death of the narrator. What could be better?

Some of these tracks could be buried at sea and nobody would miss them much. But, for the price this CD is going for, it's well worth it to hear the gems.


Lonnie Donegan CD Reveiw   August 9, 2000
a music fan and artist (Tallahassee, Florida)
Lonnie is a talented, humorous British artist whose songs may not be legendary, but will certainly be remembered and listened to by all who like skiffle, folk or rock n roll. I am probably the only 15 year old on the planet who has ever heard of him, but I think he's great. The CD is excellent - a must-buy for all music fans.


Lonnie Donegan CD Reveiw   August 9, 2000
a music fan and artist (Tallahassee, Florida)
5 out of 6 found this review helpful

Lonnie is a talented, humorous British artist whose songs may not be legendary, but will certainly be remembered and listened to by all who like skiffle, folk or rock n roll. I am probably the only 15 year old on the planet who has ever heard of him, but I think he's great. The CD is ecxellent - a must-buy for all music fans.


There's Only One   January 29, 2000
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

Good show! Donegan at his best. Humorous and evocative of the birth of rock and roll as we experienced it growing up in the 50s and 60s.