On July 13th 1954, Chris Barber and his jazz band went into the Decca studios in Maida Vale to record their first album. At the end of the session, they persuaded the producer to let them put down two "skiffle" numbers. With Chris on bass (quite a change from his usual trombone), Lonnie Donegan on guitar (He normally played banjo in the band) and Beryl Bryden on washboard, they recorded Rock Island Line and John Henry.
The album called "New Orleans Joys" was fairly popular. During the mid fifties, the band toured extensively, and the "skiffle" group always had a session in the middle. This was hugely popular and became quite notorious. This encouraged the record company to eventually release the two skiffle tracks from the album as a single in November 1955. By the following year, Rock Island Line had sold over 3 million copies and entered the top ten. John Lennon said he listened to it incessantly. He was not the only one. At my grandmothers in Rotherham, I must have worn out the 78. In my view, this was the first ever British guitar based popular/rock record. So July 13th 1954 is when it was born.
Early in 1956, Lonnie insisted he would not leave Chris Barber, and recorded more songs with him, even though later in the year he toured on his own in the USA. When he returned, his popularity was such, it was obvious he could not continue with the jazz band, and embarked on his successful solo career. In 1958, one of my favourite TV shows, "The Six-Five Special" (an early version of "Top of the Pops") was made into a movie, on of the first I saw at the cinema. Lonnie's Jack O'Diamonds was the highlight.
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