Free When They Were Boys by Larry Kane

imitation of Lonnie and his style.
    Key to that style is something that goes beyond the music—a stage presence that would be emulated by the three Beatles front men (Ringo being in the back). Donegan held his guitar close and high, and nearly swallowed themicrophone when he sang. Look at Lonnie and you see the influence on John—his guitar pulled up high against his chest, his neck held high, his mouth so close to the microphone’s metal. Even in the beginning, with the Quarrymen, John Lennon was Lonnie Donegan. Lonnie’s charisma when performing was loved by all genders, and he knew it. He had the reputation of being a “bit of a lad,” an English expression for a ladies’ man, with very serious talents in the arena of social interaction. His stage presence led the way to an intense social life, several marriages, two cases of open heart surgery, and a career that had serious ups and downs.
    More than any of his personal “ups” was his impact in the fifties on the young “wannabes” in Britain.
    â€œWhen the boys walked through the streets of Liverpool, or for that matter, any city, they envisioned themselves as Lonnie—his hair, his walk, his skiffle sound, the cadence,” remembers Alan White, longtime drummer for the band Yes, who also joined John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band on various recordings, including the classic song “Imagine.”
    â€œI grew up to all the British rockers. They grew up to Donegan. He may have had the most influence on the so-called British Invasion period. . . . His impact was mostly in the fifties, but it was mostly felt by some of the young stars of the sixties,” White says.
    Ironically, Donegan’s star faded as the Beatles’ star emerged, partly because of his failure to embrace the rock ’n’ roll wave. So, the man who so completely inspired them became a victim of his own inspirational success, and of theirs.
    Eventually the Beatles and other fervent admirers paid him back. In the late seventies, Paul suggested to Donegan that he reprise some of his skiffle music hits. An album, Puttin’ on the Style , was released early in 1978. The list of musicians backing him up included Ringo Starr, Elton John, Leo Sayer, Brian May of Queen, and Lonnie’s regular band. Ringo made appearances on the tracks “Have a Drink On Me” and “Ham ’n’ Eggs.”
    Lonnie Donegan spent twenty-four more years writing songs, trying to revive his career and his health. He was keenly aware of his effect on the British groups, and especially the Beatles, whom he admired so much. He received a written tribute from George in 1997, in a foreword to the book Skiffle by Charles McDevitt. George wrote, “Of course, Lonnie Donegan was the reason so many of us loved skiffle.”
    At the millennium, Donegan was honored by the queen. Two years later, after another heart attack, he died in the middle of a national tour. Ironically, his death came when he was en route to a memorial concert honoring George Harrison.
    John Lennon once told me, “Yeah, Chuck Berry, the Everlys, Little Richard—they were all important to us. But no one, not one single person, was more important than Lonnie Donegan.”
Music Addiction
    â€œ We did everything we could to get our hands on American music—anything. For most of us [in Merseyside] it was as important as drinking and eating .”
    â€”J OHN L ENNON
    America had its baby boomers, born after World War II. Britain’s war started earlier, and so did its baby boom. It began in 1938—the extraordinary birth explosion known as the “bulge.” The boys were all part of that people explosion. Like millions of other young people in Britain, they joined in a mass coming-of-age, little knowing that they would help lead it.
    On the cusp of international fame, the boys, part of the “bulge” generation, were still hungry to listen and learn,