Mungo Jerry

Ray Dorset, instantly recognizable for his striking sideburns, steered Mungo Jerry to instant prominence through the group’s first single, the 1970 release “In the Summertime.” The track delivered a relaxed, buoyant tribute to leisurely summer days, propelled by vigorous acoustic instrumentation that drew on skiffle and jug-band traditions within a lighthearted blues framework. Although “In the Summertime” would serve as the outfit’s enduring calling card, it also launched a durable career for Dorset, who kept performing and releasing material under the Mungo Jerry name for five decades after the band’s initial appearance. The breezy acoustic style of the debut single evolved into a denser sonic palette on the 1971 album You Don’t Have to Be in the Army and the 1972 set Boot Power, while harder-edged electric textures took center stage on 1976’s Impala Saga and 1977’s Lovin’ in the Alleys, Fightin’ in the Streets. Even so, the group’s lighthearted, celebratory character rarely disappeared, surfacing again in later projects such as the 2001 album Candy Dreams, which incorporated several electronic reggae numbers, and the rockabilly direction of 2007’s Naked - From the Heart.

Mungo Jerry came together in 1970 when singer and guitarist Ray Dorset, already drawn to early rock & roll, skiffle, and blues forms, assembled a lineup that included Mike Cole on upright bass, Paul King on guitar, kazoo, and jug, Joe Rush on washboard, and Colin Earl on keyboards. Dorset and Earl had previously played together in Good Earth, a band blending rock & roll and blues that recorded several sides for the budget Saga label, none of which sold. With the addition of Cole, King, and Rush, the original Mungo Jerry roster was set. The group took its name from a T.S. Eliot poem and soon secured a deal with Pye Records.

The quartet cultivated a relaxed, understated jug-band texture that mixed folk and blues elements, a contrast to the high-volume technical display favored by most British blues ensembles of the period. Their approach echoed Jesse Fuller or Tampa Red far more than Cream or Blind Faith. Mungo Jerry became one of the first acts signed to Pye’s newly launched Dawn Records imprint, a progressive subsidiary created to refresh the parent label’s reputation. Following a performance at the Newcastle Hollywood Festival, the debut single “In the Summertime,” written by Ray Dorset, appeared in May 1970. The easygoing, memorable skiffle-flavored number captured the season’s spirit in its title and quickly ascended to number one in England within two weeks, remaining on the charts throughout much of the summer. A flood of concerts and television spots ensued. The song also reached the Top Ten in America, where it stayed on the charts for weeks, and achieved success in nearly every territory where it was issued, eventually selling between eight and sixteen million copies worldwide.

A self-titled debut album was hurriedly prepared to exploit the hit. By the time the LP was tracked, washboard player Rush had already departed, and Cole left before the record reached stores, initiating a rapid succession of personnel shifts. The follow-up single “Baby Jump” topped the English charts yet performed more modestly abroad; it previewed the second album, Electronically Tested, which in turn was followed the same year by a third LP, You Don’t Have to Be in the Army, issued in the United States by Janus Records under the title Memoirs of a Stockbroker. Tracks such as “Maggie,” “Johnny B Badde,” “Mighty Man,” “Lady Rose,” and “You Don’t Have to Be in the Army to Fight in the War” all registered on the British charts and received moderate airplay in various international markets.

Personnel turnover began almost immediately after the group’s breakthrough. Cole’s replacement by John Godfrey prompted the departure of King and Earl, whose exit carried more bitterness. The pair sought to retain the Mungo Jerry name, yet Dorset, as lead singer, guitarist, and primary songwriter, kept control of the moniker. King and Earl instead issued solo albums for Pye and toured as the King Earl Boogie Band, with former bandmate Rush joining their lineup. Dorset meanwhile brought in keyboardist Jon Pope and drummer Tim Reeves to continue under the Mungo Jerry banner.

From 1972 onward, Dorset effectively embodied Mungo Jerry in the eyes of audiences, much as Ian Anderson defined Jethro Tull. A rotating cast of musicians passed through, including drummer Paul Hancox, formerly of Chicken Shack, bassist Bob Daisley, who would later join Ozzy Osbourne’s band, keyboardist John Cook, pianist Ian Milne, and guitarist Dick Middleton, all during the group’s Pye years that extended through 1975. In the later 1970s, after the band signed with Polydor, original members Earl and Rush briefly rejoined before leaving again to form Skeleton Crew.

Although chart success dwindled, Mungo Jerry continued to draw crowds across stages from Eastern Europe to the Middle East. Dorset explored a solo path but found it difficult to step outside the group’s established identity. His solo releases, among them the 1987 album A Case for the Blues that featured guitar work from Peter Green, attracted little notice. Decades after the band’s formation, Mungo Jerry, which could appear as anything from a full quartet to Dorset alone with taped backing, persisted in live work, and “In the Summertime” remained the signature number, enjoying regular airplay each summer across the globe.

Reggae artist Shaggy delivered a cover of “In the Summertime” in 1995 that charted internationally, and in 2010 Dorset revisited the song with Mungo Jerry & Bluestone featuring MC Skibadee to mark its fortieth anniversary. Additional albums surfaced under the Mungo Jerry name in the twenty-first century, among them Candy Dreams in 2001, Adults Only in 2003, Naked - From the Heart and When She Comes, She Runs All Over Me in 2007, Cool Jesus in 2012, and 100% Live in Baden Baden in 2018. In 2019 the ambitious three-CD, 45-track box set Gold appeared, gathering all of the band’s British hits from the 1970s together with a bonus fifteen-track LP pressed on gold-colored vinyl.