Join AVID Entertainment as we set out to prove that Skiffle was a little more than just a vehicle for a certain Mr Lonnie Donegan!
Our Essential Skiffle collection unashamedly includes a number of the great mans efforts but we are however pleased to include a number of other contenders for the Skiffle crown. Chas McDevitt for one, had a number of hits and was indeed huge in the States for a while. Meanwhile Lonnie’s nemeses The Vipers were always hot on his heels trying to stop him nicking their songs! Then who could ever forget Johnny Duncan’s Last Train To San Fernando or Dick Bishop’s It Takes A Worried Man. Along the way we feature classic British jazzmen Ken Colyer and Chris Barber both of whom found some success with this most limited of musical genres. And let’s not forget the ladies of Skiffle, the legendary Peggy Seeger is featured here, as are Beryl Bryden and Betty Smith.
Skiffle had it’s own unique place in British musical history and without it we would not have The Beatles, The Stones or Led Zeppelin, to say nothing of all the bands those three alone have influenced! For a craze that lasted for such a short time and that was so musically limited Skiffle proved, ( in the same way that Punk would do twenty years later), that anyone can make it if they have the energy and determination to succeed ( of course, a modicum of talent also helps too!) Our Skiffle survey takes in the highlights of this funny old genre and gives it a good old shaking down, and you know, it makes for a really enjoyable listening experience!
So pick up yer washboard, give yer comb a clean and start skiffling!
CD1
1. Lonnie Donegan - Rock Island Line
2. The Vipers - Don’t You Rock Me Daddy O
3. Chas McDevitt - Freight Train
4. Johnny Duncan - Last Train To San Fernado
5. Lonnie Donegan - Putting On The Style
6. Ken Colyer - Downbound Train
7. Lonnie Donegan Skiffle Group (Vocalist: Dick Bishop) - It Takes A Worried Man
8. Peggy Seeger - Cumberland Gap
9. The Vipers - Railroad Steamboat
10. Chris Barber Skiffle Group (Vocalist: Lonnie Donegan) - Long Gone
11. Chas McDevitt - New Orleans
12. City Ramblers Skiffle Group - 900 Miles
13. Chris Barber Skiffle Group (Vocalist: Johnny Duncan & Dick Bishop) - Doin’ My Time
14. Ken Colyer - Sportin’ Life
15. Avon Cities Skiffle Group - Fisherman Blues
16. City Ramblers - Good Morning Blues
17. Chris Barber Skiffle Group (Vocalist: Dick Bishop) - Gypsy Davey
18. Beryl Bryden Skiffle Group - Casey Jones
19. The Vipers - Pick A Bale Of Cotton
20. Ken Colyer Skiffle Group - KC Moan
21. Peggy Seeger - Sail Away Lady
22. Alan Lomax & The Ramblers - Railroad Man
23. The Vipers - Wanderin’
24. Johnny Duncan - Freight Train Blues
25. Betty Smith’s Skiffle Group - There’s A Blue Ridge Round My Heart
CD2
1. Lonnie Donegan - Cumberland Gap
2. Chas McDevitt - Greenback Dollar
3. The Vipers - It Takes A Worried Man
4. Johnny Duncan - Footprints In The Snow
5. Peggy Seeger - Freight Train
6. Ken Colyer - House Rent Stomp
7. Lonnie Donegan - Don’t You Rock Me Daddy O
8. Chris Barber’s Skiffle Group (Vocailist: Dick Bishop & Johnny Duncan) - Can’t You Line ‘Em
9. Lonnie Donegan Skiffle Group (Vocalist: Dick Bishop) - Ballad Of Jesse James
10. Beryl Bryden - Kansas City Blues
11. Johnny Parker - No.69
12. Johhny Duncan - Johnny’s Blue Yodel
13. Lonnie Donegan - Midnight Special
14. Avon City Skiffle Group - This Little Light Of Mine
15. Johnny Duncan - Blue Blue Heartache
16. City Ramblers - Boodle AM Shake
17. The Vipers - Streamline Train
18. Ken Colyer - This Train
19. Alexis Korners Skiffle Group - Roundhouse Stomp
20. Johnny Duncan - Get Along Home Cindy
21. Chris Barber’s Skiffle Group (Vocalist: Johnny Duncan & Dick Bishop) - Where Could I Go?
22. Peggy Seeger - Bring A Little Water Sylvie
23. City Ramblers - Careless Love
24. Betty Smith’s Skiffle Group - Double Shuffle
25. Bob Wallis’ Wash - It’s Tight Like That
