Lonnie Donegan's guitarists

Subject: RE: Lonnie Donegan's guitarists.....
From: Roger the Skiffler
Date: 30 Mar 08 - 03:23 AM

Doesn't time fly...and Sundown still hasn't been released despite empty promises on LD website and Amazon...
sigh...


RtS

Subject: RE: Lonnie Donegan's guitarists.....
From: eddie1
Date: 30 Mar 08 - 04:26 AM

Great to read my way through this thread again! Not enough people recognise The influence Lonnie had on the popular music of today, Pre-Lonnie, a guitar was just another instrument and apparently as far from the reach of most people as a trombone or sax. He also, although a lot of people would argue, had a lot to do with the folk revival. Two who did agree with me on that one were Hamish Henderson and Martin Carthy - there are many more but some afraid to come out of the closet!
Got an incredible CD a couple of weeks ago - "Great British Skiffle - Just About As Good As It Gets!" A total of 55 tracks including 7 by Lonnie but also featuring names like Beryl Bryden, Ken Colyer, The Vipers, Chris Barber's Skiffle Group (with Dick Bishop and Johny Duncan), Clyde Valley Stompers, Alan Lomax & The Ramblers (including MacColl & Seeger!), Bob Wallis' Washboard Beaters, The City Ramblers (with Ramblin' Jack Elliot) and Lazy Ade's Backroom Boys. This all for £10!
This CD, along with some additional recordings of Lonnie, Nancy Whiskey, Leadbelly et al, let me do a 3-hour radio programme on skiffle last week. My weekly programme is going to include a bit more skiffle from now on!

Eddie

Subject: RE: Lonnie Donegan's guitarists.....
From: Melissa
Date: 30 Mar 08 - 10:11 PM

Guest el,

Try:
(1)sweet sixteen, goes to church just to see the (5)boys
grunts and snorts and giggles at every little (1)noise.
turns her head a little then turns her head a(4)while
(5)but you know she's only putting on the (1)style.

I know those are not the right words..but they're the right number of syllables and ought to work. There's a chance I got my 4s and 5s backward--and if so, someone will come along to correct me. If someone does come along to correct my guess, it would probably be a good idea to try their chords instead of mine. I don't have a guitar nearby so can't check this before posting.

Subject: RE: Lonnie Donegan's guitarists
From: GUEST,Keith Sellers
Date: 09 Mar 14 - 05:46 PM

Lonnie played in 55/59 a 00018 and a 00028 so where did the 000 herringbone Pre
1948 come from that he is holding on the Lonnie Lost John EP.my guess it belonged
to Stan Stennett who was on the bill with Lonnie at that time..any other theories ..
Keith Sellers

Subject: RE: Lonnie Donegan's guitarists
From: GUEST
Date: 10 Mar 14 - 07:59 AM

Keith: In view of your undoubted knowledge about these things, I'm sure you meant to say '000-21' and not '000-18'.

I think the photo of the herringbone Martin - whoever it belonged to - pre-dates any of Donegan's variety theatre appearances. That EP was released in January 1956 and, I believe, long before he'd have known Stan.

RR

Subject: RE: Lonnie Donegan's guitarists
From: GUEST,Denny Wright's son
Date: 11 Jun 14 - 05:28 AM

I remember my father telling me the story about going into the studio and being presented with 'a page of black with a few white spots', his "F***ing Segovia" reaction, and then finding out it was transcribed from his own solo. I didn't know it might have been with Peter Sellars, though.

St.John Wright

Subject: RE: Lonnie Donegan's guitarists
From: GUEST,Mike Thompson
Date: 03 Nov 14 - 06:41 AM

Hi LD enthusiasts
I am still searching (after years) for the TV recording of 'Sunday Night at the London Palladium when Lonnie and the Band played a brilliant version of Betty, Betty, Betty with a boogie accompaniment by Jimmy. Electrifying !
I taxed Lonnie on several occasions about releasing a boring version as the official record !
As I have said before, our Alsager College 'Group 3 ' recorded the boogie version note for note, sung by our (now famous for his work on TV) lead singer Pete P.
I wish Peter Donegan would give this version a go - he would be brilliant !

Subject: RE: Lonnie Donegan's guitarists
From: GUEST,Richard Wheatley
Date: 20 Mar 18 - 08:16 AM

Greetings to all from Suffolk.Mr Rettig's first post about LD's guitarists is spot on.I agree that Denny was the best.Certainly Jimmy Currie did not detract in any way at all from the groups performance and I felt a sense of dismay when he left.Jimmy played with so much feeling too.Les Bennetts never did any thing for me, and as Mr Rettig points out,he in some way diminished the groups overall performance.I did not like his sound either, which was rather 'thin'.
I had the good fortune to see Denny with LD in 1957 and later with Johnny Duncan.He played a great solo on 'Last Train To San Fernando'.I last saw Denny playing with Grapelli in Bangor North wales in 1974.
I saw Jimmy playing with Crombie's Rockets in early 1957 and again with a trio called the Wise Guys in 1959 at the De Montfort Hall,Leicester.Jimmy played Guitar Boogie.Top of the bill on the show was Cliff Richard and the Drifters which really dates me!

Subject: RE: Lonnie Donegan's guitarists
From: GUEST,guest jim younger
Date: 20 Mar 18 - 08:40 PM

So good to read this thread! I played a couple of sessions that Denny was involved with, at Decca, West Hampstead, around 1971, and he really impressed me. One of the things he said was what a great guitarist Jimmy Page was. I sat in a pub with him when he was writing out a flute part for the session In D-flat!. Denny was drinking Coke, so he must have been dry. By the way, the flute player read it straight off, not a clam to be heard. In D-flat!

Denny brought an Epiphone Texan to the session - lovely guitar and sublime playing. I will always remember him as a superb musician and a very kind man.

Subject: RE: Lonnie Donegan's guitarists
From: Roger the Skiffler
Date: 21 Mar 18 - 07:54 AM

As a coda to this thread, I DID eventually get a copy of Sundown in 2010.
RtS

Subject: RE: Lonnie Donegan's guitarists
From: GUEST,Roger Rettig
Date: 21 Mar 18 - 01:27 PM

How odd to see this thread resurrected - it's over ten years old!

Sadly, my only personal contact with Denny Wright was when I met him at Lonnie's 'This Is Your Life' in the early '90s. He was very kind and suffered through my questions very stoically, I thought.

I see no reason to back-pedal on my original remarks. When Les took over the guitar chair for Donegan in '59 (?) I almost felt that I could have done better! I now realise that that was preposterous and, in some ways, he was a seasoned 'pro' who suited the gig. After all, there weren't many choices in London back then. We should remembe, too, that around that time Lonnie was tackling more flippant material and Bennetts' circus-styled obligato was in some ways more appropriate than had been his predecessors' more subtle accompaniments.

It's all water under the bridge now and it's fair to say that no more than a handful of devotees are still alive to debate this issue. Les was what we got - I need to embrace that.

I'll be 75 the day after tomorrow - I had no inkling that I'd even remember this stuff 60-odd years later but obviously I do!

RR