Biography
John Franklin Duncan entered the world on 7 September 1932 in Oliver Springs, close to Knoxville, Tennessee, and departed on 15 July 2000 in Taree, New South Wales, Australia. His vocal journey began in a local church choir during childhood, followed at age thirteen by membership in a gospel quartet. At sixteen he relocated from Tennessee to Texas, where he assembled his first country ensemble. Conscripted into the United States Army in 1952, he was stationed in England and wed an Englishwoman named Betty the next year. Following his discharge the couple returned to America, yet Betty’s return to Britain for Christmas 1955 ended in illness requiring surgery, prompting Duncan to remain and take employment with his father-in-law. During this period he encountered jazz bandleader Chris Barber, who sought a replacement for Lonnie Donegan after Donegan had departed to launch his own skiffle outfit—the style he had helped popularize within Barber’s group. Barber, struck by Duncan’s nasal singing style and striking likeness to Donegan, enlisted him on the spot; Duncan debuted with the band the subsequent evening at London’s Royal Festival Hall. He parted from Barber in 1957 and formed his own outfit, the Blue Grass Boys, named in tribute to Bill Monroe. The lineup consisted entirely of British musicians: Denny Wright on guitar, Jack Fallon on bass, Danny Levan on violin and Lennie Hastings on drums. Although marketed as a skiffle act, Duncan performed straightforward country material in both style and song selection. His reworking of the Trinidad calypso “Last Train To San Fernando” climbed the British charts, stalling just short of the summit, while its flip side, “Rock-A-Billy Baby,” proved equally potent. Appearances on BBC Television’s 6.5 Special and radio shows for the BBC and Radio Luxembourg followed, yet only two further singles—“Blue Blue Heartache” and “Footprints In The Snow”—entered the Top 30, each peaking at number 27. Thereafter he sustained a career performing country music in British clubs and mentoring emerging local artists. In 1974 he moved to Melbourne, Australia, where he continued working until his death from cancer in 2000.
Albums