Talk:Lonnie Donegan

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My Old Man's a Dustman[edit]

Does anybody know if it is true that "My Old Man's a Dustman" was recorded live in the Doncaster Gaumont? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.50.162.251 (talk) 11:05, 18 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Probably; the following on-line references allude to this - as does my own memory of the notation on the single's label :-
[1], [2]. [3], [4]. The YouTube link is possibly the most compelling reference - check out the record label - although Wikipedia does not consider YouTube a reliable source.
Derek R Bullamore (talk) 23:38, 24 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Check out the new version of My Old Man's A Dustman by Lonnie's son Lonnie Donegan Jnr. Sounds great: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxO2nmC1kNg

Rock Island Line[edit]

"[...] a version of Leadbelly's "Rock Island Line" [...] is probably still his best known."

Are you sure? That's the first I've heard of it. Everyone knows "My Old Man's A Dustman", though, so are you sure that isn't his best-known song? It did, after all, reach number one in the UK charts and sell a million copies... ;) -- Oliver Pereira
Well, Rock Island Line apparently sold three million. I do sort of agree with you, though, "...Dustman" is perhaps better known, at least in the UK (though this is very possibly not the case in the US). If you feel like changing it, then go ahead, but when I first wrote it, I'd only just heard he'd died, and didn't have the heart to blame him for "...Dustman" ;) --Camembert
The use of a quote from "Rock Island Line" in the tremendously popular PC game Civilization IV has probably opened the eyes of a new generation of fans, inlcuding myself. At this time, I am thinking that this song may be the precursor of modern rock music. Bulbous 05:43, 30 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
No, it was called "Move It On Over" by Hank Williams Cheers, Vera, Chuck & Dave 22:54, 12 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]
You're thinking of 'Rock around the clock'. Deke42 (talk) 11:21, 11 April 2019 (UTC)[reply]

CDs - anachronistic[edit]

"There was a reunion concert with the original Chris barber Band in Croydon in June 1975 - notable for a bomb scare, meaning that the CD had to be finished in the studio,"

Presumably the term "album" would be more appropriate here? CDs did not exist until 1982. 217.155.20.163 01:27, 30 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

He owns the song, correct? It's not mentioned here.

Partly true - the article now includes referenced text on this subject.
Derek R Bullamore (talk) 20:05, 27 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Anthony Donegan (Lonnie Donegan Jnr)[edit]

It might be of interest to Donegan fans that Tony Donegan Lonnies eldest son also continues to perform much of Lonnies material with the same zest as his father. Anthonys own account of his father and his own biography appear on Anthonys web site www.lonniedoneganjnr.com George1934 (talk) 19:57, 9 July 2008 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by George1934 (talkcontribs) 19:46, 9 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

www.lonniedoneganjnr.com. This link just goes to a page that says the domain name is currently for sale. Valetude (talk) 23:21, 27 September 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Copyright problem[edit]

‎ This article has been reverted to an earlier version as part of a large-scale clean-up project of multiple article copyright infringement. (See the investigation subpage) Text entered in [5] duplicated at least in part material from [6]. Other content added by this contributor may have been copied from other sources and has been removed in accordance with Wikipedia:Copyright violations. Earlier text must not be restored, unless it can be verified to be free of infringement. Content added by other contributors subsequent to the introduction of this material can be restored if it does not merge with this text to create a derivative work. For legal reasons, Wikipedia cannot accept copyrighted text or images borrowed from other web sites or printed material; such additions must be deleted. Contributors may use sources as a source of information, but not as a source of sentences or phrases. Accordingly, the material may be rewritten, but only if it does not infringe on the copyright of the original or plagiarize from that source. Please see our guideline on non-free text for how to properly implement limited quotations of copyrighted text. Wikipedia takes copyright violations very seriously. ----Moonriddengirl (talk) 22:40, 22 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Need a separate discography page[edit]

There's no question; Donegan's solo and collaborative work needs a Discography page of it's own. --Leahtwosaints (talk) 01:55, 2 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Structure[edit]

Suggest that Lonnie's personal info- wifes, kids, place of birth etc- be put under one heading and the info expanded. Also suggest that his character is covered under the same heading. Apparently, he was fun loving but, like many talented people, could be cantankerous at times. He was also resentful of the 1960s UK pop groups, blaming them for eclipsing his career. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/biographyandmemoirreviews/9678833/Lonnie-Donegan-and-the-Birth-of-British-Rock-and-Roll-by-Patrick-Humphries-review.html CPES (talk) 15:50, 4 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]

PS: a few other links for reference,

Kingston Trio covers[edit]

A fair amount of Lonnie's early material seems to be covers of Kingston Trio recordings: Tom Dooley and San Miguel certainly, and probably also:

  • Worried Man
  • Lonesome Traveller
  • Darling Corey
  • Wreck of the John B
  • Leave My Woman Alone
  • It Was A Very Good Year
  • Lemon Tree

Is this worth a mention in the article?

Paul Magnussen (talk) 17:33, 5 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Was he covering their songs, or did they just have a shared repertoire gleaned from other musicians - Lead Belly, Guthrie, the Weavers, etc.? What do sources say? Ghmyrtle (talk) 18:15, 5 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Good point (I now notice that he recorded Worried Man before they did). The others are all the same year, or later; but of course that proves nothing. Paul Magnussen (talk) 17:15, 6 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I would imagine they both got 'Lemon tree' from Harry Belafonte's version. Dooley and Miguel were both released as cover versions, but Dooley was a song already known to Donegan. Aside from 'A very good year' all the others were staples of the Brit Skiffle craze, so probably not taken from The Kingston Trio. Deke42 (talk) 11:35, 11 April 2019 (UTC)[reply]

A Scotsman sings American folk songs[edit]

I don't know if this needs to be mentioned in the article, but the title of his first album was a misnomer. He was in fact a Scotsman singing American folk songs. Timothy Horrigan (talk) 03:25, 9 November 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Not for this article, but if an article is ever created on the album it could be mentioned there. It's a common misconception in the US that anyone who is British is automatically English, but that's a matter quite separate from his biography. Ghmyrtle (talk) 08:40, 9 November 2015 (UTC)[reply]
He was born in Scotland, but grew up in England. By some standards, he could be called Irish. Valetude (talk) 10:23, 6 June 2018 (UTC)[reply]
One of his biggest hits, The Battle Of New Orleans celebrated the British defeat at the hands of the Americans. It's nice to know how much he appreciated growing up in England. Recidivist23 (talk) 10:59, 13 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]

The Party's Over[edit]

My version of the 45 is definitely not acapella. It has a whole orchestra on there. There's no skiffle group and he doesn't play guitar on it (As far as I know...), but that hardly counts as unaccompanied. Deke42 (talk) 11:42, 11 April 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Al Stewart's reference[edit]

Stewart doesn't just allude to or characterize Donegan in "Katherineof Oregon"--he mentions him by name:

I'll have a jukebox and play Lonnie Donegan And I'll spend my evenings with Katherine of Oregon Texastriviaguy (talk) 00:03, 7 February 2022 (UTC)[reply]