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Information About

Mungo Jerry





ORIGINAL MEMBERS



CAREER

Mungo Jerry were famous mostly for their classic hit " In The Summertime ", the evergreen "Lady Rose" and the rock-smash "Alright Alright Alright". Their name was inspired by the poem " Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer ", from T.S. Eliot 's " Old Possum's Book Of Practical Cats ".

Dorset and Earl had previously been members of The Good Earth . They made their national debut at a festival at Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire in May, 1970 , the week their first single was released. It topped the UK Singles Chart for seven weeks, made No. 1 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 British charts in March 1971 . Mungo´s next world-wide smash, " Lady Rose " (also in 1971 ), gave Mungo Jerry the image as a band for producing summertime based hits.

Dorset found the group's good-time .

Mungo Jerry´s hits continued through to 1976 with " Open Up " (Top Twenty in Europe and No.1 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 Britain); " Wild Love "; " Long Legged Woman Dressed In Black "; " Hello Nadine " (Continental European hit and Top Five in Canada); and " It´s A Secret " (Continental European
hit).

In 1975 Earl, who had played piano with Foghat in between, returned to play keyboards for Mungo Jerry, as did percussion player Joe Rush, part-time member of the band in earlier days.

The group's line-up has changed constantly over the years. Among those who have played with them, include well respected musicians like bassist Bob Daisley , drummers Dave Bidwell , Paul Hancox and Boris Williams , guitarist Dick Middleton and keyboard/accordian 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 No. 1 hit for Kelly Marie . Mungo Jerry 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 hit for Mungo Jerry was "Toon Army", a hymn regarding 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 . This was not his only project in the last twenty years that supported the never ending success of the white blues.

In 2003 , with German musicians, Dorset recorded " Adults Only " album under the name Mungo Jerry Blues Band, which was 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 (Bluesrock) 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 , who had mixed in the past the old continental Mungo Jerry hits (" Lana " and " It´s A Secret "). He is well-known for his work with rock and pop music, in combination with big orchestras.


ALBUM DISCOGRAPHY

  • ''Mungo Jerry'' - 1970

  • ''Electronically Tested'' - 1971

  • ''You Don't Have To Be In The Army'' - 1971

  • ''Boot Power'' (regarded by some as the best album Ray Dorset and his band recorded over the years) - 1973

  • ''Long Legged Woman Dressed In Black'' - 1974

  • ''Impala Saga'' - 1975

  • ''Ray Dorset & Mungo Jerry'' - 1977

  • ''Lovin´ In The Alleys And Fightin' In The Streets'' - 1977

  • ''Six A Side'' - 1979

  • ''Together Again'' - 1981

  • ''Boogie Up'' - 1982

  • ''Katmandu - A Case for the Blues'' - 1984 (Mungo Jerry/Peter Green/Vincent Crane)

  • ''All the hits plus more'' - 1987

  • ''Snakebite'' - 1991

  • ''Old Shoes New Jeans'' - 1997

  • ''Candy Dreams'' - 2001

  • ''Move on - The latest and the greatest'' - 2002

  • ''Adults only'' - 2003



UK SINGLES CHART DISCOGRAPHY

  • "In The Summertime" - 1970 - Number 1

  • "Baby Jump" - 1971 - Number 1

  • "Lady Rose" - 1971 - Number 5

  • "You Don't Have To Be In The Army To Fight In The War" - 1971 - Number 13

  • "Open Up" - 1972 - Number 21

  • "Alright Alright Alright" - 1973 - Number 3

  • "Wild Love" - 1973 - Number 32

  • "Long Legged Woman Dressed In Black" - 1974 - Number 13

  • "In the Summertime ´87" - 1987 - Number 1 (Indie Charts/ as "Mungo Jerry & Brothers Grimm")

  • "Prospects" - 1985 - Number 35 (as "Made in England")

  • "Support The Toon - It's Your Duty (EP incl. "Toon Army")" - 1999 - Number 57

  • "Mr. Midnight" - 2006 - New single / Plaza Records: http://www.plazarecords.co.uk



EXTERNAL LINKS



REFERENCES

  • Beyond The Summertime - 1990 - John Van der Kiste and Derek Wadeson.

  • British Hit Singles - 14th Edition - ISBN 0-85156-156-X

  • The Great Rock Discography - 5th Edition - ISBN 1-84195-017-3