Lonnie Donegan

Lonnie Donegan MBE (April 29, 1931 – November 3, 2002) was a skiffle musician, possibly the most famous of them all. He is sometimes called the King of Skiffle and is often cited as a large influence on the generation of British musicians who became famous in the 1960s.

Early life and Trad jazz

He was born Anthony James Donegan in Glasgow, Scotland, the son of a professional violinist. His ethnic mix was Scottish/Irish. He moved with his mother to London at an early age, after his parents divorced. Inspired by blues music and New Orleans jazz bands he heard on the radio, he resolved to learn the guitar, and bought his first one at the age of 14.

Related Topics:
Glasgow - Scotland - Violin - Scottish - Irish - London - Blues - New Orleans - Jazz - Radio - Guitar

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The first band he played in was the Trad jazz band led by Chris Barber, who approached him on a train asking him if he wanted to audition for his group. Barber had heard that Donegan was a good banjo player; in fact, Donegan had never played the banjo at this point, but he bought one and managed to bluff his way through the audition. His stint in this group was interrupted, however, when he was called up for National Service in 1949. He also played in Ken Colyer's group

Related Topics:
Trad jazz - Chris Barber - Banjo - National Service - 1949 - Ken Colyer

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In 1952, he formed his first group, the Tony Donegan Jazzband, which found some work around London. On one occasion they opened for the blues musician Lonnie Johnson at the Royal Festival Hall. Donegan was a big fan of Johnson, and took his first name as a tribute to him. The story goes that the host at the concert got the musicians' names confused, calling them "Tony Johnson" and "Lonnie Donegan", and Donegan was happy to keep the name.

Related Topics:
1952 - Tony Donegan Jazzband - Lonnie Johnson - Royal Festival Hall

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