Legendary musician Lonnie Donegan, whose ‘skiffle’ sound is said to have inspired John Lennon and Pete Townshend to learn to play guitar, died in Peterborough this weekend. Born Anthony Donegan in Glasgow in 1931 Donegan was key in introducing skiffle music in Britain in the fifties - a mixture of styles that traced its roots to 1920s America, blending jug band, acoustic, folk, blues, and country and western styles. While he had his own hits – ‘Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavor (on the Bedpost Overnight)’, ‘My Old Man's a Dustman’, and ‘Rock Island Line’ among them, he was probably more important for those he influenced. His track ‘Rock Island Line’ is said to have inspired John Lennon and George Harrison to take up the guitar and form their own skiffle group called the Quarrymen. It was at a Quarrymen gig (at a church fete no less!) that Lennon first met McCartney. Pete Townsend first worked with Roger Daltrey when he was inspired to form his own skiffle group – the Detours.
Nov 5, 2002
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1 min read
Skiffle pioneer Lonnie Donegan dies
Skiffle pioneer Lonnie Donegan has died in Peterborough aged seventy-one, and is credited with inspiring John Lennon, George Harrison and Pete Townshend to take up guitar.