Hometown Skiffle (1928)

We're all familar with the 1956 recording of "Rock Island Line" by Lonnie Donnegan and how that became the hit record which launched a thousand bands in Britain, and even crossed the Atlantic Ocean to become a legendary recording. I have the 45 RPM, though I doubt it is still playable. I picked it up in the "oldies" rack at Crawfords on Kings Highway in the late 1960's.

But the history of that song goes way back before Lonnie Donnegan recorded it. Donnegan, who was really named Tony, was a guitar/banjo player with Chris Barber's Jazz Band. Chris Barber was a trombonist who originally played with Ken Coyler's band. Coyler's name comes up frequently when reading about all the later British bands and the influence of skiffle on what became known as  the "British sound".

Tony Donnegan changed his name to Lonnie in honor of Lonnie Johnson, one of his jazz heroes. But the history of "Rock Island Line" really goes back to a 1928 American 78 RPM recording called "Hometown Skiffle" featuring Blind Lemon Jefferson, Blind Blake, Will Ezell, Charlie Spand, The Hokum Boys and Papa Charles Jackson. You can find out more about each of these guys on Wikipedia.

The record was a two sided affair, so you had to turn it over to hear the whole song. It was recorded on Paramount Records and labeled as a "Race Recording". In essence, this record spawned a movement in Britain 30 years later which influenced the late 1950's sound and set the whole world rocking.

Here is another link to the original release.   

https://youtu.be/5XwzQhf801U?si=XJYgAcwBB8b21c0l