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5°39′″N100°30′″N

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goldenrod |colorwhite |nameSkiffle |stylistic_originsJazz - Blues - Country - Folk |cultural_originsAfrican Americans in the United States |instrumentsWashboard - Jugs - Tea chest bass - kazoo - Cigar-box fiddle - Musical saw - comb and paper - Guitar - Banjo |popularityUSA 1920s to 1940s UK 1950s |derivativesBeat music - British blues - British rock - British folk revival |subgenrelist |subgenres |fusiongenres |regional_scenesUnited Kingdom |other_topicsJug band }}

Skiffle is a type of popular music with jazz, blues, folk, roots and country influences, usually using homemade or improvised instruments. Originating as a term in the United States in the first half of the twentieth century, it became popular again in the UK in the 1950s, where it was mainly associated with musician Lonnie Donegan and played a major part in beginning the careers of later eminent jazz, pop, blues, folk and rock musicians.

American skiffle

The origins of skiffle are obscure, but are generally thought to lie in African-American musical culture in the early twentieth century. Skiffle is often said to have developed from New Orleans jazz, but this claim has been disputed. Improvised jug bands playing blues and jazz were common across the American South in the early decades of the twentieth century, even if the term skiffle was not used to describe them.

They used instruments such as the washboard, jugs, tea chest bass, cigar-box fiddle, musical saw, and comb-and-paper kazoos, as well as more conventional instruments such as acoustic guitar and banjo. The term ''skiffle'' was one of many slang phrases for a rent party, a social event with a small charge designed to pay rent on a house. It was first recorded in Chicago in the 1920s, and may have been brought there as part of the African American migration to northern industrial cities.

The first use of the term on record was in 1925 in the name of Jimmy O'Bryant and his Chicago Skifflers. Most often it was used to describe country blues music records, which included the compilation "Hometown Skiffle" (1929), and "Skiffle Blues" (1946) by Dan Burley & His Skiffle Boys. It was used by Ma Rainey (1886–1939) to describe her repertoire to rural audiences. The term skiffle disappeared from American music in the 1940s.

Skiffle in Britain

A relatively obscure genre, skiffle might have been largely forgotten if not for its revival in the United Kingdom in the 1950s and the success of its main proponent, Lonnie Donegan. British skiffle grew out of the developing post-war British jazz scene, which saw a move away from swing music and towards authentic trad jazz. Among these bands were Ken Colyer's Jazzmen, whose banjo player Donegan also performed skiffle music during intervals. He would sing and play guitar with accompaniment of two other members, usually on washboard and tea-chest bass. They played a variety of American folk and blues songs, particularly those derived from the recordings of Leadbelly, in a lively style that emulated American jug bands. These were listed on posters as "skiffle" breaks, a name suggested by Ken Colyer's brother Bill after recalling the Dan Burley Skiffle Group. Soon the breaks were as popular as the traditional jazz. After disagreements in 1954 Colyer left to form a new outfit, and the band became Chris Barber's Jazz Band.

The first British recordings of skiffle were carried out by Colyer's new band in 1954, but it was the release by Decca of two skiffle tracks by Barber's Jazz Band under the name of "The Lonnie Donegan Skiffle Group" in late 1955 that transformed the fortunes of skiffle. Donegan's high-tempo version of Leadbelly's "Rock Island Line", featuring a washboard (but not a tea-chest bass), with "John Henry" on the B-side, was a major hit in 1956. It spent eight months in the Top 20, peaking at #6 (and #8 in the U.S.). It was the first début record to go gold in Britain, selling over a million copies worldwide.

It was the success of this single, and the lack of a need for expensive instruments, or high levels of musicianship, that set off the British skiffle craze. A few bands enjoyed chart success in the skiffle craze, including The Chas McDevitt Group, Johnny Duncan and the Bluegrass Boys and The Vipers, but the main impact of skiffle was as a grassroots amateur movement, particularly popular among working class males, who could cheaply buy, improvise or build their own instruments and who have been seen as reacting against the drab austerity of post-war Britain. The craze probably reached its height with the broadcasting of the BBC TV programme ''Six-Five Special'' from 1957. It was the first British youth music programme, using a skiffle song as its title music and showcasing many skiffle acts.

It has been estimated that in the late 1950s there were 30-50,000 skiffle groups in Britain. Sales of guitars grew rapidly and other musicians were able to perform on improvised bass and percussion in venues such as church halls and cafes, and in the flourishing coffee bars of Soho, London, like The 2i's Coffee Bar, The Cat's Whisker and nightspots like Coconut Grove and Churchill's, without having to aspire to musical perfection or virtuosity. A large number of British musicians began their careers playing skiffle in this period and some became leading figures in their respective fields. These included leading Northern Irish musician Van Morrison, British blues pioneer Alexis Korner as well as Ronnie Wood, Alex Harvey and Mick Jagger; folk musicians Martin Carthy, John Renbourn and Ashley Hutchings; rock musicians Roger Daltrey, Jimmy Page, Ritchie Blackmore, Robin Trower and David Gilmour; and popular beat music successes Graham Nash and Allan Clarke of The Hollies. Most notably The Beatles evolved from John Lennon's skiffle group The Quarrymen.

After splitting from Barber, Donegan went on to make a series of popular records as "Lonnie Donegan's Skiffle Group", with successes including "Cumberland Gap" (1957), "Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavour" (1958), and "My Old Man's a Dustman" (1960). However, the British rock and roll scene was starting to take off, producing home grown stars like Tommy Steele, Marty Wilde and Cliff Richard and The Shadows (themselves originally involved in skiffle). Donegan was the only skiffle act to make a serious impact on the charts and even he began to look outmoded. The skiffle craze was largely over by 1958 as its enthusiasts either abandoned music for more stable employment, or moved into some of the forms of music it had first suggested, including folk, the blues and rock and roll. As a result it has been seen as a critical stepping stone to the second British folk revival, blues boom and British Invasion.

Donegan continued his career in skiffle until his death in 2002. Several bands have taken up the form (such as The Ugly Dog Skiffle Combo and The London Philharmonic Skiffle Orchestra) or returned to it, but attempts at a skiffle revival have failed to reach anything like the heights of the initial craze.

Notes

External links

My 20-year love affair with the joy of skiffle

Category:Skiffle

ca:Skiffle da:Skiffle de:Skiffle es:Skiffle fr:Skiffle hr:Skiffle it:Skiffle nl:Skiffle ja:スキッフル no:Skiffle nn:Skiffle pl:Muzyka skifflowa pt:Skiffle ru:Скиффл fi:Skiffle sv:Skiffle uk:Скіфл zh:噪音爵士乐

Coordinates	5°39′″N100°30′″N
name	Jimmy Page
background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
birth name	James Patrick Page
born	January 09, 1944Heston, Middlesex, England
instrument	Guitar, mandolin, dulcimer, theremin, bass, banjo, harmonica, dobro, sitar, keyboards, tambourine, tamboura, hurdy gurdy, pedal steel guitar
genre	Hard rock, heavy metal, blues rock, rock and roll, folk rock
occupation	Musician, songwriter, producer
years active	1957–present
label	Swan Song, Atlantic, Geffen, Fontana, Mercury
associated acts	The Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin, The Honeydrippers, The Firm, Coverdale and Page, Page and Plant, Herman's Hermits, XYZ, Joe Cocker, The Edge, Jack White, Donovan, The Black Crowes
website
notable instruments	}}

James Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE (born 9 January 1944) is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.

Jimmy Page is viewed by critics and fans alike as one of the most influential and important guitarists and songwriters in rock music. ''Rolling Stone'' magazine has described him as "the pontiff of power riffing & probably the most digitally sampled artist in pop today after James Brown." In 2010, Jimmy Page was ranked No.2 in Gibson's list of "Top 50 Guitarists of All Time" and, in 2007, No.4 on ''Classic Rock Magazine'''s "100 Wildest Guitar Heroes". Page was ranked ninth in ''Rolling Stone'' magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" in 2003. He has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice; once as a member of The Yardbirds (1992), and once as a member of Led Zeppelin (1995).

Early years

Jimmy Page was born to parents James and Patricia Page in the West London suburb of Heston, which today forms part of the London Borough of Hounslow. His father was an industrial personnel manager and his mother was a doctor's secretary. In 1952 they moved to Feltham, and later again to Miles Road, Epsom in Surrey, which is where Page came across his first guitar. "I don't know whether [the guitar] was left behind by the people [in the house] before [us], or whether it was a friend of the family's — nobody seemed to know why it was there." First playing the instrument at the age of twelve years, he took a few lessons in nearby Kingston, but was largely self-taught:

When I grew up there weren't many other guitarists ... There was one other guitarist in my school who actually showed me the first chords that I learned, and I went on from there. I was bored so I taught myself the guitar from listening to records. So obviously it was a very personal thing.

Among Page's early influences were rockabilly guitarists Scotty Moore and James Burton, who both played on recordings made by Elvis Presley. Hearing the Elvis Presley song "Baby Let's Play House" is cited by Page as being his inspiration to take up playing the guitar. Although he appears on BBC1 in 1957 with another guitar, Page states that his first guitar was a second-hand 1959 Futurama Grazioso, which was later replaced by a Telecaster.

Page's musical tastes included skiffle (a popular English music genre of the time) and acoustic folk playing, particularly that of Bert Jansch and John Renbourn, and the blues sounds of Elmore James, B.B. King, Willie Dixon, Otis Rush, Buddy Guy, Freddie King and Hubert Sumlin. "Basically, that was the start: a mixture between rock and blues."

At the age of 13, Page appeared on Huw Wheldon's ''All Your Own'' talent quest programme in a skiffle quartet, one performance of which aired on BBC TV in 1957. The group played "Mama Don't Want To Skiffle Anymore" and another very American-flavoured song, "In Them Ol' Cottonfields Back Home". Televised Contest. When asked by Wheldon what he wanted to do after schooling, Page said, "I want to do biological research" to find a cure for "cancer, if it isn't discovered by then".

In an interview with ''Guitar Player'' magazine, Page stated that "there was a lot of busking in the early days, but as they say, I had to come to grips with it, and it was a good schooling." Page would take a guitar to school each day and have it confiscated and handed back to him at 4:00 P.M. Although he had an interview for a job as a laboratory assistant, he ultimately chose to leave Danetree Secondary School, West Ewell, to pursue music instead.

Initially, Page had difficulty finding other musicians with whom he could play on a regular basis. "It wasn't as though there was an abundance. I used to play in many groups... anyone who could get a gig together, really." Following stints backing recitals by Beat poet Royston Ellis at the Mermaid Theatre between 1960–61, and singer Red E. Lewis, he was asked by singer Neil Christian to join his band, The Crusaders, after Christian had seen a fifteen-year-old Page playing in a local hall. Page toured with Christian for approximately two years and later played on several of his records, including the November 1962 single, "The Road to Love".

During his stint with Christian, Page fell seriously ill with glandular fever (infectious mononucleosis) and couldn't continue touring. While recovering, he decided to put his musical career on hold and concentrate on his other love, painting, and enrolled at Sutton Art College in Surrey. As he explained in 1975:

Session musician

While still a student, Page would often perform on stage at The Marquee with bands such as Cyril Davies' All Stars, Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated and with guitarists Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton. He was spotted one night by John Gibb of Brian Howard & The Silhouettes, who asked him to help record a number of singles for Columbia Graphophone Company, including "The Worrying Kind". Mike Leander of Decca Records first offered Page regular studio work. His first session for the label was the recording "Diamonds" by Jet Harris and Tony Meehan, which went to Number 1 on the singles chart in early 1963.

After brief stints with Carter-Lewis and the Southerners, Mike Hurst and the Method, and Mickey Finn and the Blue Men, Page committed himself to full-time session work. As a session guitarist he was known as 'Little Jim' so there was no confusion with other noted British session guitarist Big Jim Sullivan. Page was mainly called in to sessions as "insurance" in instances when a replacement or second guitarist was required by the recording artist. "It was usually myself and a drummer", he explained, "though they never mention the drummer these days, just me ... Anyone needing a guitarist either went to Big Jim [Sullivan] or myself." He has also stated that "In the initial stages they just said, play what you want, cos at that time I couldn't read music or anything."

Page was the favoured session guitarist of producer Shel Talmy. As a result, he secured session work on songs for The Who and The Kinks. Page is credited with playing acoustic twelve string guitar on two tracks on The Kinks' debut album "I'm a Lover Not a Fighter" and "I've Been Driving On Bald Mountain" and possibly on the b-side "I Gotta Move". He played six-string rhythm guitar on the sessions for The Who's first single "I Can't Explain" (although Pete Townshend was reluctant to allow Page's contribution on the final recording, Page also played lead guitar on the B-side "Bald Headed Woman"). Page's studio output in 1964 included Marianne Faithfull's "As Tears Go By", The Nashville Teens' "Tobacco Road", The Rolling Stones' "Heart of Stone" (released on ''Metamorphosis''), Van Morrison & Them's "Baby Please Don't Go" and "Here Comes the Night", Dave Berry's "The Crying Game" and "My Baby Left Me", Brenda Lee's "Is It True," and Petula Clark's "Downtown".

In 1965 Page was hired by Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham to act as house producer and A&R; man for the newly-formed Immediate Records label, which also allowed him to play on and/or produce tracks by John Mayall, Nico, Chris Farlowe, Twice as Much and Eric Clapton. Page also formed a brief songwriting partnership with then romantic interest, Jackie DeShannon. He also composed and recorded songs for the John Williams album ''The Maureeny Wishful Album'' with Big Jim Sullivan. Page worked as session musician on Donovan Leitch's ''Sunshine Superman'' (1966) and the Johnny Hallyday albums ''Jeune Homme'' (1968) and ''Je Suis Né Dans La Rue'' (1969), the Al Stewart album ''Love Chronicles'' (1969), and played guitar on five tracks of Joe Cocker's debut album, ''With a Little Help from My Friends''.

When questioned about which songs he played on, especially ones where there exists some controversy as to what his exact role was, Page often points out that it is hard to remember exactly what he did given the enormous number of sessions he was playing at the time. In a radio interview he explained that "I was doing three sessions a day, fifteen sessions a week. Sometimes I would be playing with a group, sometimes I could be doing film music, it could be a folk session ... I was able to fit all these different roles."

Although Page recorded with many notable musicians, many of these early tracks are only available as bootleg recordings, several of which were released by the Led Zeppelin fan club in the late 1970s. One of the rarest of these is the early jam session featuring Jimmy Page playing with Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, featuring a cover of "Little Queen of Spades" by Robert Johnson. Several songs which featured Page's involvement were compiled on the twin album release, ''Jimmy Page: Session Man''.

Page decided to leave studio work when the increasing influence of Stax Records on popular music led to the greater incorporation of brass and orchestral arrangements into recordings at the expense of guitars. However, he has stated that his time as a session player served as extremely good schooling for his development as a musician:

The Yardbirds

In late 1964, Page was approached about the possibility of replacing Eric Clapton in The Yardbirds, but he declined the offer out of loyalty to his friend. In February 1965 Clapton quit the Yardbirds, and Page was formally offered Clapton's spot, but because he was unwilling to give up his lucrative career as a session musician, and because he was still worried about his health under touring conditions, he suggested his friend, Jeff Beck. On 16 May 1966, drummer Keith Moon, bass player John Paul Jones, keyboardist Nicky Hopkins, Jeff Beck and Page recorded "Beck's Bolero" in London's IBC Studios. The experience gave Page an idea to form a new supergroup featuring Beck, along with The Who's John Entwistle on bass and Keith Moon on drums. However, the lack of a quality vocalist and contractual problems prevented the project from getting off the ground. During this time, Moon suggested the name "Lead Zeppelin" for the first time, after Entwistle commented that the proceedings would take to the air like a lead balloon.

Within weeks, Page attended a Yardbirds concert at Oxford. After the show he went backstage where Paul Samwell-Smith announced that he was leaving the group. Page offered to replace Samwell-Smith and this was accepted by the group. He initially played electric bass with the Yardbirds before finally switching to twin lead guitar with Beck when Chris Dreja moved to bass. The musical potential of the line-up was scuttled, however, by interpersonal conflicts caused by constant touring and a lack of commercial success, although they released one single, "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago". (While Page and Jeff Beck played together in The Yardbirds, the trio of Page, Beck and Clapton never played in the original group at the same time. The three guitarists did appear on stage together at the ARMS charity concerts in 1983.)

After Beck's departure, the Yardbirds remained a quartet. They recorded one album with Page on lead guitar, ''Little Games''. The album received indifferent reviews and was not a commercial success, peaking at only number 80 on the Billboard Music Charts. Though their studio sound was fairly commercial at the time, the band's live performances were just the opposite, becoming heavier and more experimental. These concerts featured musical aspects that Page would later perfect with Led Zeppelin, most notably performances of "Dazed and Confused".

After the departure of Keith Relf and Jim McCarty in 1968, Page reconfigured the group with a new line-up to fulfill unfinished tour dates in Scandinavia. As he said:

To this end, Page recruited vocalist Robert Plant and drummer John Bonham, and he was also contacted by John Paul Jones who asked to join. During the Scandinavian tour the new group appeared as "The New Yardbirds", but soon recalled the old joke by Keith Moon and John Entwistle. Page stuck with that name to use for his new band. Peter Grant changed it to "Led Zeppelin", to avoid a mispronunciation of ''"Leed Zeppelin."''

Led Zeppelin

Page has explained that he had a very specific idea in mind as to what he wanted Led Zeppelin to be, from the very beginning:

Post-Led Zeppelin career

Led Zeppelin broke up in 1980 following the death of drummer John Bonham at Page's home, The Old Mill House at Clewer in Berkshire. For some time Page refused to touch a guitar out of sadness for the loss of his friend Bonham, but he eventually made a return to the stage at a Jeff Beck show in March 1981 at the Hammersmith Odeon. Also in 1981 Page joined with Yes bassist Chris Squire and drummer Alan White to form a supergroup called XYZ (for ex-Yes-Zeppelin). They rehearsed several times, but the project was shelved. Demos of these sessions have turned up on bootleg and they reveal that some of the material emerged on later projects, notably The Firm's "Fortune Hunter" and Yes songs "Mind Drive" and "Can You Imagine?". Page would later join Yes on stage in 1984 at Westfalenhalle in Dortmund, Germany, playing "I'm Down".

In 1982 Page collaborated with director Michael Winner to record the ''Death Wish II'' soundtrack. This, and several subsequent Page recordings including ''Death Wish III'' soundtrack (1985), were recorded and produced at his own recording studio, The Sol in Cookham, which he had purchased from Gus Dudgeon in the early 1980s.

In 1983 Page appeared with the A.R.M.S. (Action Research for Multiple Sclerosis) charity series of concerts which honoured Small Faces bass player Ronnie Lane, who suffered from the disease. For the first shows at the Royal Albert Hall in London, Page's set consisted of songs from the ''Death Wish II'' soundtrack (with Steve Winwood on vocals) and an instrumental version of "Stairway to Heaven". A four-city tour of the United States followed, with Paul Rodgers of Bad Company replacing Winwood as vocalist. During the US tour, Page and Rodgers also performed "Midnight Moonlight" which would later be recorded for The Firm's first album. All of the shows featured an on stage jam of "Layla" that reunited Page with Yardbirds guitarists Beck and Eric Clapton. According to the book ''Hammer of the Gods'', it was reportedly around this time that Page told friends that he'd just given up heroin after seven years of use. On 13 December 1983, Page joined Robert Plant on-stage for one encore at the Hammersmith Odeon in London.

Page next linked up with Roy Harper for the 1984 album (''Whatever Happened to Jugula?'') and occasional concerts, performing a predominantly acoustic set at folk festivals under various guises such as the MacGregors, and Themselves. Also in 1984 Page recorded with former Led Zeppelin vocalist Robert Plant as The Honeydrippers on the album''The Honeydrippers: Volume 1'', and with John Paul Jones on the film soundtrack ''Scream for Help''.

Page subsequently collaborated with Paul Rodgers to record two albums under the name The Firm. The first album, released in 1985, was the self-titled ''The Firm''. Popular songs included "Radioactive" and "Satisfaction Guaranteed". The album peaked at number 17 on the ''Billboard'' pop albums chart and went gold in the US. It was followed by ''Mean Business'' in 1986. The band toured in support of both albums but soon split up.

Various other projects followed, such as session work for Graham Nash, Stephen Stills and The Rolling Stones (on their 1986 single "One Hit (to the Body)"). In 1986, Page reunited temporarily with his ex-Yardbirds band members to play on several tracks of the Box of Frogs album ''Strange Land''. Page released a solo album entitled ''Outrider'' in 1988 which featured contributions from Robert Plant, with Page contributing in turn to Plant's solo album ''Now and Zen'', which was released the same year. Page also embarked on a collaboration with David Coverdale in 1993 entitled Coverdale Page.

Throughout these years Page also reunited with the other former members of Led Zeppelin to perform live on a few occasions, most notably in 1985 for the Live Aid concert with both Phil Collins and Tony Thompson filling drum duties. However, the band members considered this performance to be sub-standard, with Page having been let down by a poorly tuned Les Paul. Page, Plant and Jones, as well as John Bonham's son Jason, performed at the Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary show on 14 May 1988, closing the 12-hour show. In 1990, a Knebworth concert to aid the Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Centre and the British School for Performing Arts and Technology saw Plant unexpectedly joined by Page to perform "Misty Mountain Hop", "Wearing and Tearing" and "Rock and Roll". Page also performed with the band's former members at various private family functions.

In 1994, Page reunited with Plant for the penultimate performance in ''MTV'''s "Unplugged" series. The 90-minute special, dubbed ''Unledded'', premiered to the highest ratings in MTV's history. In October of the same year, the session was released as the CD ''No Quarter: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Unledded'', and in 2004 as the DVD ''No Quarter Unledded''. Following a highly successful mid-90s tour to support ''No Quarter'', Page and Plant recorded 1998's ''Walking into Clarksdale''.

Since 1990, Page has been heavily involved in remastering the entire Led Zeppelin back catalogue and is currently participating in various charity concerts and charity work, particularly the ''Action for Brazil's Children Trust'' (ABC Trust), founded by his wife Jimena Gomez-Paratcha in 1998. In the same year, Page played guitar for rap singer/producer Puff Daddy's song "Come with Me", which heavily samples Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir" and was included in the soundtrack of ''Godzilla''. The two later performed the song on ''Saturday Night Live''.

In October 1999, Page teamed up with The Black Crowes for a two-night performance of material from the Led Zeppelin catalogue and old blues and rock standards. The concert was recorded and released as a double live album, ''Live at the Greek'' in 2000. In 2001 he made an appearance on stage with Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst and Wes Scantlin of Puddle of Mudd at the MTV Europe Video Music Awards in Frankfurt, where they performed a version of Led Zeppelin's "Thank You".

In 2005, Page was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in recognition of his Brazilian charity work for Task Brazil and Action For Brazil's Children's Trust, made an honorary citizen of Rio de Janeiro later that year, and was awarded a Grammy award.

In November 2006, Led Zeppelin was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame. The television broadcasting of the event consisted of an introduction to the band by various famous admirers (including Roger Taylor, Slash, Joe Perry, Steven Tyler, Jack White and Tony Iommi), a presentation of an award to Jimmy Page, and then a short speech by the guitarist. After this, rock group Wolfmother played a tribute to Led Zeppelin, playing the song "Communication Breakdown".

In 2006, Page attended the induction of Led Zeppelin to the UK Music Hall of Fame. During an interview for the BBC for said event, he expressed plans to record new material in 2007, saying "It's an album that I really need to get out of my system... there's a good album in there and it's ready to come out" and "Also there will be some Zeppelin things on the horizon".

On 10 December 2007, the surviving members of Led Zeppelin, as well as John Bonham's son, Jason Bonham played a charity concert at the O2 Arena London.

For the 2008 Olympics, Jimmy Page, David Beckham and Leona Lewis represented Britain during the closing ceremonies on 24 August 2008. Beckham rode a double-decker bus into the stadium, and Page and Lewis performed "Whole Lotta Love".

In 2008 Page co-produced a documentary film directed by Davis Guggenheim entitled ''It Might Get Loud''. The film examines the history of the electric guitar, focusing on the careers and styles of Page, The Edge, and Jack White. The film premiered on 5 September 2008 at the Toronto Film Festival. Page also participated in the 3 part BBC documentary ''London Calling: The making of the Olympic handover ceremony'' on 4 March 2009. On 4 April 2009, Page inducted Jeff Beck into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Page has announced his 2010 solo tour while talking to the Sky News on 16 December 2009.

On 7 June 2008, Page and John Paul Jones appeared with the Foo Fighters to close out the band's concert at Wembley Stadium, performing "Rock and Roll" and "Ramble On."

In January 2010, Jimmy Page announced he is publishing an autobiography through Genesis Publications, in a hand-crafted, limited edition of 2,500 copies. Page has also been honoured with a first-ever Global Peace Award by the United Nations' Pathways to Peace organisation after confirming reports that he would be among the headliners at a planned Show of Peace Concert in Beijing, China on 10 October 2010.

On 13 July 2011, Page made an unannounced appearance with The Black Crowes at the Shepherd's Bush Empire in London.

Legacy and influence

Page's past experiences both in the studio and with the Yardbirds were very influential in contributing to the success of Led Zeppelin in the 1970s. As a producer, composer, and guitarist he helped make Led Zeppelin a prototype for countless future rock bands, and was one of the major driving forces behind the rock sound of that era, influencing a host of other guitarists. Allmusic states that "just about every rock guitarist from the late '60s/early '70s to the present day has been influenced by Page's work with Led Zeppelin". For example, Dictators bassist Andy Shernoff states that Jimmy Page's sped up, downstroke guitar riff in "Communication Breakdown", an influential song that contained elements of protopunk, was an inspiration for The Ramones guitarist Johnny Ramone's downstroke guitar style. Ramone, who has described Page as "probably the greatest guitarist who ever lived", stated in the documentary ''"Ramones:The True Story"'' that he improved at his down-stroke picking style by playing the song over and over again for the bulk of his early career. Brian May of Queen, who was also influenced by Page, has said "I don't think anyone has epitomised riff writing better than Jimmy Page – he's one of the great brains of rock music". Tom Scholz of Boston was heavily influenced by Jimmy Page and credits the dual guitar harmonies in Led Zeppelin's "How Many More Times" as the inspiration for Boston's distinctive sound. Page's guitar solo from the song "Heartbreaker" has been credited by Eddie Van Halen as being the inspiration for his two-hand tapping technique after he had seen Led Zeppelin perform in 1971. Similarly, Steve Vai has also commented about the song in a September 1998 ''Guitar World'' interview: "This one [Heartbreaker] had the biggest impact on me as a youth. It was defiant, bold, and edgier than hell. It really is the definitive rock guitar solo."

Many other rock guitarists were also influenced by Jimmy Page, such as Ace Frehley, Joe Satriani, John Frusciante, James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett, Zakk Wylde, Yngwie Malmsteen, Ritchie Blackmore, Tony Iommi, Joe Perry, Richie Sambora, Angus Young, Slash, Dave Mustaine, Mike McCready, Jerry Cantrell, Stone Gossard, Mick Mars, Paul Stanley, Alex Lifeson, and Dan Hawkins.

Page has been described by ''Uncut'' as the "rock's greatest and most mysterious guitar hero". According to ''msnbc.com'' Jimmy Page "played some of the most fundamental and memorable guitar in rock history—from the heaviest crunch to the most delicate acoustic finger picking." Page's solo in the famous epic "Stairway to Heaven" has been voted by readers of ''Guitar World'' and ''Total Guitar'' as the greatest guitar solo of all time, and he was named 'Guitarist of the Year' five times during the 1970s in ''Creem'' magazine's annual reader poll. ''Guitar World'' wrote: "Truly a guitar god, Jimmy Page is one of the most captivating soloists the rock world has ever known." In 1996 ''Mojo Magazine'' ranked him number 7 on their list of "100 Greatest Guitarists Of All Time". In 2002 he was voted the second greatest guitarist of all time in a ''Total Guitar'' magazine reader poll. In 2003, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine named him number nine on their list of the "100 greatest guitarists of all time". In 2007, ''Classic Rock Magazine'' ranked him #4 on their list of the "100 Wildest Guitar Heroes". ''Gigwise.com'', an online music magazine, ranked Page #2 on their list of the "50 greatest guitarists ever" in 2008. In August 2009, ''Time Magazine'' ranked him the 6th greatest electric-guitar player of all time. In 2010, Jimmy Page was ranked #2 on Gibson's "Top 50 Guitarists of All Time".

David Fricke, a senior editor at ''Rolling Stone'' magazine, described Jimmy Page in 1988 as "probably the most digitally sampled artist in pop today after James Brown." Roger Daltrey of The Who has been a longtime fan of Page and expressed his desire to form a supergroup with Page in 2010 saying: "I’d love to do something, I’d love to do an album with Jimmy Page." Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones has described Jimmy Page as "one of the best guitar players I've ever known." Jimmy Page was the first inductee onto the British Walk of Fame in August 2004. Page was awarded "Living Legend Award" at ''Classic Rock Magazine'' Roll of Honour 2007. In June 2008, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Surrey for his services to the music industry. Page was inducted into ''Mojo'' Hall Of Fame at the magazine's award ceremony on 11 June 2010.

In August 2010, Auburn University graduate student Justin Havird named a new species of fish "Lepidocephalichthys zeppelini" after Led Zeppelin, because the fish's pectoral fin reminded him of the double-neck guitar used by Jimmy Page.

Equipment and recording techniques

Guitars

For the recording of most of Led Zeppelin material from Led Zeppelin's second album onwards, Page used a Gibson Les Paul guitar (sold to him by Joe Walsh) with Marshall amplification. A Harmony Sovereign H-1260 was used in-studio on ''Led Zeppelin III'' and ''Led Zeppelin IV'' and on-stage from 5 March 1971 to 28 June 1972. During the studio sessions for ''Led Zeppelin'', and later for recording the guitar solo in "Stairway to Heaven", he used a Fender Telecaster (a gift from Jeff Beck). He also used a Danelectro 3021, tuned to DADGAD, most notably on live performances of "Kashmir".

Page also plays his guitar with a cello bow, as on the live versions of the songs "Dazed and Confused" and "How Many More Times". This was a technique he developed during his session days. On MTV's ''Led Zeppelin Rockumentary'', Page said that he obtained the idea of playing the guitar with a bow from David McCallum, Sr. who was also a session musician. Page used his Fender Telecaster and later his Gibson Les Paul for his bow solos.

Notable guitars

1959 Fender Telecaster (given to Page by Jeff Beck and repainted with a psychedelic dragon design by Page) played with the Yardbirds. Used to record the first Led Zeppelin album and used on the early tours during 1968–1969. In 1972, it was used for recording the "Stairway to Heaven" solo.

1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard (No. 1) (Given as a gift to Page by Joe Walsh) modified with a shaved neck and the addition of a push/pull pot to put the humbuckers out of phase while the toggle is in the middle position. English luthier Roger Giffin re-produced an exact replica of this guitar for Page in 1991 (nicknamed No. 3, Jimmy had a deal with Gibson that he would receive the first guitar from the 26 custom guitars that were designed). Giffin's work was later copied for Gibson's original run of Jimmy Page Signature model Les Pauls in the mid-1990s. This guitar was also used by Gibson as the model for the company's second run of Page signature models in 2004. Produced by Gibson and aged by luthier Tom Murphy, this second generation of Page tribute models was limited to 25 guitars signed by Page himself; and only 150 guitars in total for the aged model issue.

1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard (No. 2) with a shaved down neck to match the profile on his No.1; He added four push/pull pots to coil split the humbuckers as well as phase and series switches which were added under the pick guard after the break-up of Led Zeppelin.

1971 Gibson EDS-1275 (used for playing "Stairway to Heaven", "The Song Remains the Same", "The Rain Song", "Celebration Day" during live concerts and the Knebworth, "Tangerine" at the 1975 Earls Court shows, and "Sick Again" throughout the 1977 North American tour)

1959 Danelectro 59-DC (tuned to DADGAD and used live for "White Summer", "Black Mountain Side", "Kashmir" and "Midnight Moonlight" with The Firm).

Danelectro 3021 (tuned to open G and used on the ''Outrider'' tour for "In My Time Of Dying". This one has a smaller pickguard, as opposed to the large "seal" pickguard on his first Danelectro.

1967 Vox 12-String used during the recording for the Yardbirds Little Games album and for on-stage appearances.

1960 Black Gibson Les Paul Custom (with Bigsby Tremolo) – stolen in 1970. An ad was placed by Page for the recovery of this highly modified instrument but the guitar was never recovered. In 2008 the Gibson Custom Shop produced a limited run of 25 re-creations of the guitar, each with a Bigsby Tremolo and a new custom 6-way toggle switch.

Due to the fact the guitar was too heavy, one of Jimmy Page's Les Paul Custom Black Beauty guitars is now owned by Dan Hawkins of The Darkness.

1969 Gibson Les Paul Standard (seen in "The Song Remains The Same" during the theremin/solo section of "Whole Lotta Love" and for "Kashmir" at the O2 reunion concert. This guitar was later fitted with a Parsons-White B-string bender and used extensively by Page from the mid-to-late 1980s onward, including the Outrider tour, and the Page/Plant "Unledded" special on MTV.

1964 Lake Placid Blue Fender Stratocaster (Used during recording sessions for ''In Through the Out Door'' at Earls Court 1975 and in 1979 at Knebworth for ''In the Evening'').

1966 Cream Fender Telecaster (Used on ''Physical Graffiti'' and on All My Love during the Tour Over Europe 1980).

1953 Brown Fender Telecaster featuring a Parsons and White B-string bender, and neck salvaged from the "Dragon Telecaster". Seen primarily during the 1980s The Firm and Outrider era. Also used at Knebworth in 1979, notably on "Ten Years Gone" and "Hot Dog".

1965 Fender Electric XII (12-String) used to record Thank You and Stairway to Heaven.

Strings

Ernie Ball electric guitar strings

Signature models

Gibson released Jimmy Page Signature Les Paul which was discontinued in 1999, then released another version in 2004, which has also been discontinued. The 2004 version included 25 guitars signed by Page, 150 aged by a former Gibson employee (an acknowledged ageing 'master'), and 840 'unlimited' production guitars. The Jimmy Page Signature EDS-1275 has been produced by Gibson. Recently, Gibson reproduced Page's 1960 Les Paul Black Beauty, the one stolen from him in 1970, with modern modifications. This guitar was sold in 2008 with a run of 25, again signed by Page, plus an additional 500 unsigned guitars.

In December 2009, Gibson released the 'Jimmy Page "Number Two" Les Paul'. This is a re-creation of Page's famous number 2 Les Paul used by him since about 1974 until present. The model includes the same pick-up switching setup as devised by Page, shaved-down neck profile, Burstbucker pick-up at neck and 'Pagebucker' at the bridge. A total of 325 were made in three finishes: 25 Aged by Gibson's Tom Murphy, signed and played by Page ($26,000), 100 aged ($16,000) and 200 with VOS finish ($12,000).

Amplifiers and effects

He usually recorded in studio with a Vox AC30, Fender, and Orange amplification. The first Led Zeppelin album and the solo on "Stairway to Heaven" were played on a Fender Telecaster through a Supro amplifier.

Page used a limited number of effects, including a Maestro Echoplex, a Dunlop Cry Baby, and an MXR phaser and Blue Box (distortion/octaver). Page also played a theremin.

Music production techniques

Jimmy Page is credited for the innovations in sound recording he brought to the studio during the years he was a member of Led Zeppelin, many of which he had initially developed as a session musician:

This apprenticeship ... became a part of [learning] how things were recorded. I started to learn microphone placements and things like that, what did and what didn't work. I certainly knew what did and didn't work with drummers because they put drummers in these little sound booths that had no sound deflection at all, and the drums would just sound awful. The reality of it is the drum is a musical instrument, it relies on having a bright room and a live room ... And so bit by bit I was learning really how ''not'' to record.

He developed a reputation for employing effects in new ways and trying out different methods of using microphones and amplification. During the late 1960s, most British music producers placed microphones directly in front of amplifiers and drums, resulting in the sometimes "tinny" sound of the recordings of the era. Page commented to ''Guitar World'' magazine that he felt the drum sounds of the day in particular "sounded like cardboard boxes." Instead, Page was a fan of 1950s recording techniques, Sun Studios being a particular favourite. In the same ''Guitar World'' interview, Page remarked, "Recording used to be a science", and "[engineers] used to have a maxim: distance equals depth." Taking this maxim to heart, Page developed the idea of placing an additional microphone some distance from the amplifier (as much as twenty feet) and then recording the balance between the two. By adopting this technique, Page became one of the first British producers to record a band's "ambient sound" – the distance of a note's time-lag from one end of the room to the other.

For the recording of several Led Zeppelin tracks, such as "Whole Lotta Love" and "You Shook Me", Page additionally utilised "reverse echo" – a technique which he claims to have invented himself while with The Yardbirds (he had originally developed the method when recording the 1967 single "Ten Little Indians"). This production technique involved hearing the echo before the main sound instead of after it, achieved by turning the tape over and employing the echo on a spare track, then turning the tape back over again to get the echo preceding the signal.

Page has stated that, as producer, he deliberately changed the audio engineers on Led Zeppelin albums, from Glyn Johns for the first album, to Eddie Kramer for ''Led Zeppelin II'', to Andy Johns for ''Led Zeppelin III'' and later albums. He explained that "I consciously kept changing engineers because I didn't want people to think that they were responsible for our sound. I wanted people to know it was me."

John Paul Jones acknowledged that Page's production techniques were a key component of the success of Led Zeppelin:

In an interview that Page himself gave to ''Guitar World'' magazine in 1993, he remarked on his work as a producer:

Personal life

Page had relationships with a number of rock groupies in the 1970s, including Pamela Des Barres, Bebe Buell and Lori Maddox. French model Charlotte Martin was Page's partner from 1970 to about 1982 or 1983. Page called her 'My Lady'. Together they have a daughter, Scarlet Page (born in 1971), who is a photographer.

From 1986 to 1995 Page was married to Patricia Ecker, a model and waitress. They have a son, James Patrick Page III (born April 1988). Page later married Jimena Gómez-Paratcha, whom he met in Brazil on the No Quarter tour. He adopted her oldest daughter Jana (born 1994), and they have two children together: Zofia Jade (born 1997) and Ashen Josan (born 1999).

In 1972 Page bought, from Richard Harris, the home which William Burges (1827–1881) designed for himself in London, The Tower House. "I had an interest going back to my teens in the pre-Raphaelite movement and the architecture of Burges", he said. "What a wonderful world to discover." The reputation of Burges rests on his extravagant designs and his contribution to the Gothic revival in architecture in the nineteenth century.

From 1980 to 2004 Page owned The Mill House, Mill Lane, Windsor, which was formerly the home of actor Michael Caine. Fellow Led Zeppelin band member John Bonham died at the house in 1980.

From the early 1970s to the early 1990s, Page owned the Boleskine House, the former residence of occultist Aleister Crowley. Sections of Page's fantasy sequence in the film ''The Song Remains the Same'' were filmed at night on the mountain side directly behind Boleskine House.

According to ''The Sunday Times'' Rich List, Page's assets are worth £75 million as of 2009. He resides in West Sussex.

Recreational drug use

Page has acknowledged heavy recreational drug use throughout the 1970s. In an interview with ''Guitar World'' magazine in 2003, he stated, "I can't speak for the [other members of the band], but for me drugs were an integral part of the whole thing, right from the beginning, right to the end." After the band's 1973 concert tour of the United States, Page told Nick Kent, "Oh, everyone went over the top a few times. I know I did and, to be honest with you, I don't really remember much of what happened."

In 1975, Page began to use heroin, a fact attributed to Richard Cole, who stated that Page (in addition to himself) was taking the drug during the recording sessions of the album ''Presence'' in that year, and that Page admitted to him shortly afterwards that he was addicted to the drug.

By Led Zeppelin's 1977 tour of the United States, Page's heroin addiction was beginning to hamper his guitar playing performances. By this time the guitarist had lost a noticeable amount of weight. His onstage appearance was not the only obvious change; his addiction caused Page to become so inward and isolated it altered the dynamic between him and Plant considerably. During the recording sessions for ''In Through the Out Door'' in 1978, Page's diminished influence on the album (relative to bassist John Paul Jones) is partly attributed to his heroin addiction, which resulted in his absence from the studio for long periods of time.

Page reportedly kicked his heroin habit in the early 1980s. In a 1988 interview with ''Musician'' magazine, Page took offence when the interviewer noted that heroin had been associated with his name, and insisted "Do I look as if I'm a smack addict? Well, I'm not. Thank you very much."

In an interview he gave to ''Q magazine'' in 2003, Page responded to a question as to whether he regrets getting so involved in heroin and cocaine:

Interest in the occult

The appearance of four symbols on the jacket of Led Zeppelin's fourth album has been linked to Page's interest in the occult. The four symbols represented each member of the band. Page's own so-called "Zoso" symbol originated in 'Ars Magica Arteficii' (1557) by Gerolamo Cardano, an old alchemical grimoire, where it has been identified as a sigil consisting of zodiac signs. The sigil is reproduced in "Dictionary of Occult, Hermetic and Alchemical Sigils" by Fred Gettings.

During tours and performances after the release of the fourth album, Page often had the "Zoso" symbol embroidered on his clothes, along with zodiac symbols. These were visible most notably on his "Dragon Suit", which included the signs for Capricorn, Scorpio and Cancer which are Page's Sun, Ascendant, and Moon signs, respectively.

The artwork inside the album cover of ''Led Zeppelin IV'' is from a painting by William Holman Hunt, influenced by the traditional Rider/Waite Tarot card design for the card called "The Hermit". Page transforms into this character during his fantasy sequence in Led Zeppelin's concert film ''The Song Remains the Same''.

In the early 1970s Page owned an occult bookshop and publishing house, "The Equinox Booksellers and Publishers" in Kensington High Street, London, eventually closing it as the increasing success of Led Zeppelin resulted in his having insufficient time to devote to it. The company published a facsimile of English occultist's Aleister Crowley's 1904 edition of ''The Goetia''. Page has maintained a strong interest in Crowley for many years. In 1978, he explained:

Page was commissioned to write the soundtrack music for the film ''Lucifer Rising'' by another occultist and Crowley admirer, underground movie director Kenneth Anger. Page ultimately produced 23 minutes of music which Anger felt was insufficient because the film ran for 28 minutes and Anger wanted the film to have a full soundtrack. Anger claimed Page took three years to deliver the music, and the final product was only 23 minutes of droning. The director also slammed the guitarist in the press by calling him a "dabbler" in the occult and an addict, and being too strung out on drugs to complete the project. Page countered that he had fulfilled all his obligations, even going so far as to lend Anger his own film editing equipment to help him finish the project.

Although Page collected works by Crowley, he has never described himself as a Thelemite nor was he ever initiated into the O.T.O. The Equinox Bookstore and Boleskine House were both sold off during the 1980s, as Page settled into family life and participated in charity work.

Discography

Single

"She Just Satisfies"/"Keep Moving" (February 1965)

Albums

Pre-Led Zeppelin (1963–1969)

Many pre-Led Zeppelin session recordings have been released on various labels and compilation packages, including:

''Blues Anytime 1, 2, 3'' series on Immediate Records featuring the Immediate All-Stars, mid 1960s

''No Introduction Necessary'' (1968), Recordings feat. John Paul Jones, Albert Lee, Nicky Hopkins, Clem Cattini and Keith de Groot

''Jimmy Page and Friends – Wailing Sounds'' (2006). Includes ''Lord Sutch & Heavy Friends'' album (1970) + six tracks from the 1968 sessions for Keith De Groot's debut album.

''Guitar Boogie'' (1971) Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton compilation album from the recordings on the ''Blues Anytime'' series on Immediate Records.

''Special Early Works'' (1972), 1965 session recordings with Sonny Boy Williamson

''Smoke and Fire'' (1984), session recordings with Jeff Beck, Noel Redding and Nicky Hopkins

''Jimmy Page: Session Man Vol. 1'' (1989)

''Jimmy Page: Session Man Vol. 2'' (1990)

''Jimmy's Back Pages...The Early Years'' (1992)

''Jimmy Page and His Heavy Friends: Hip Young Guitar Slinger'' (2000, double cd)

''This Guitar Kills: More 60s Groups & Sessions – remastered by Jimmy Page'' (2007, the 2003 ed. is not remastered) (double cd)

''Jimmy Page and Friends'' (2006, double cd)

Please note that there are several duplicates amongst all these albums.

Post-Led Zeppelin

References

Published sources

Mylett, Howard (1984) ''Jimmy Page: Tangents Within a Framework'', London: Omnibus Press, ISBN 0-7119-0265-8.

Welch, Chris (1985) ''Power & Glory: Robert Plant & Jimmy Page'', London: Zomba Books, ISBN 0-946391-74-2.

External links

Official Jimmy Page site

Official Led Zeppelin site

ASCAP titles

Jimmy Page by Jimmy Page – Genesis Publications Limited Edition Book

Category:English blues guitarists Category:English heavy metal guitarists Category:English rock guitarists Category:English session musicians Category:English songwriters Category:TVT Records artists Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Kerrang! Awards winners Category:Lead guitarists Category:Led Zeppelin members Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire Category:Pedal steel guitarists Category:People from Heston Category:Musicians from London Category:People from Windsor, Berkshire Category:Slide guitarists Category:The Yardbirds members Category:Atlantic Records artists Category:Skiffle Category:1944 births Category:Living people Category:British rhythm and blues boom musicians

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Coordinates	5°39′″N100°30′″N
name	Lonnie DoneganMBE
background	solo_singer
birth name	Anthony James Donegan
alias	The King of Skiffle
born	April 29, 1931Glasgow, Scotland
died	Peterborough, England
instrument	Guitar, vocals, banjo
genre	Skiffle, traditional pop music, blues, folk, country
occupation	Musician, singer, songwriter
years active	Late 1940s–2002
label	Pye RecordsDecca RecordsUnited Artists RecordsVirgin Records
associated acts	Tony Donegan Jazz BandChris Barber's Jazz Band Lonnie Donegan's Skiffle Group
website	http://www.lonniedoneganinc.com }}

Anthony James "Lonnie" Donegan MBE (29 April 1931 – 3 November 2002 The ''Guinness Book of British Hit Singles & Albums'' states Donegan was "Britain's most successful and influential recording artist before The Beatles. He chalked up 24 successive Top 30 hits, and was the first UK male to score two U.S. Top 10s".

Donegan was evacuated to Cheshire to escape the Blitz in World War II, and he attended St Ambrose College, initially at the school's original site in Dunham Road, Altrincham.

In the early 1940s he mostly listened to swing jazz and vocal acts, and became interested in the guitar. Country & western and blues records, particularly by Frank Crumit and Josh White, attracted his interest and he bought his first guitar at the age of fourteen in 1945. From listening to BBC radio broadcasts in the following years he began learning songs such as "Frankie and Johnny", "Puttin' On the Style", and "The House of the Rising Sun". By the end of the 1940s he was playing guitar around London and visiting small jazz clubs.

The first band he played in was the trad jazz band led by Chris Barber, who approached him on a train asking him if he wanted to audition for his band. Barber had heard that Donegan was a good banjo player; in fact, Donegan had never played the banjo at this point, but he bought one and tried to bluff his way through the audition. More on personality than playing, he was brought into Barber's band. His stint with the band was interrupted when he was called up for National Service in 1949, but his military service in Vienna gave him contact with American troops, and access to records as well as the opportunity to listen to the American Forces Network radio station.

In 1952 he formed his first group, the Tony Donegan Jazzband, which found some work around London. On one occasion they opened for the blues musician Lonnie Johnson at the Royal Festival Hall. Donegan was a fan of Johnson, and took his first name as a tribute to him. The story goes that the host at the concert got the musicians' names confused, calling them "Tony Johnson" and "Lonnie Donegan", and Donegan was happy to keep the name.

In 1953 cornetist Ken Colyer, enjoying hero status for having spent time in a New Orleans jail (due to a visa problem), returned to England and, when invited to play with Chris Barber's band, became a moving figure within it. With the new name, Ken Colyer's Jazzmen, the group, with Donegan, made its initial public appearance on 11 April 1953 in Copenhagen. The following day, Chris Albertson recorded the group (as well as a Monty Sunshine Trio, with Donegan and Barber) for Storyville Records. These were Donegan's first commercially released recordings.

Skiffle

While playing in Ken Colyer's Jazzmen with Chris Barber, Donegan sang and played both guitar and banjo as part of their Dixieland jazz set. He also began playing with two other band members during the intervals, to provide what was called on their posters a "skiffle" break, a name suggested by Ken Colyer's brother, Bill, after recalling the Dan Burley Skiffle Group of the 1930s. In 1954 Colyer left, and the band became Chris Barber's Jazz Band.

With a washboard, a tea-chest bass and a cheap Spanish guitar, Donegan entertained audiences with folk and blues songs by artists such as Leadbelly and Woody Guthrie. This proved so popular that in July 1954 he recorded a fast-tempoed version of Leadbelly's "Rock Island Line", featuring a washboard but not a tea-chest bass, with "John Henry" on the B-side. It was an enormous hit in 1956 (which also later inspired the creation of a full album, ''An Englishman Sings American Folk Songs'', released in America on the Mercury label in the early 1960s) but ironically, because it was a band recording, Donegan made no money from this recording beyond his original session fee. (Nevertheless, Donegan received considerable music publishing royalties from "Rock Island" simply by claiming the British copyright on an unregistered song which was considered to be in the Public Domain. This led to the peculiar situation that any "cover" version of "Rock Island Line" which was released on record in Britain from 1956 showed the song composition credited to Lonnie Donegan.) It was the first debut record to go gold in the UK, and reached the Top Ten in the United States. His next single for Decca, "Diggin' My Potatoes", was recorded at a concert at the Royal Festival Hall on 30 October 1954. Decca dropped Donegan thereafter, but within a month he was at the Abbey Road Studios in London recording for EMI's Columbia label. He had left the Barber band by then, and by the spring of 1955, Donegan signed a recording contract with Pye. His next single "Lost John" reached #2 in the UK Singles Chart.

He travelled to the United States, where he appeared on television on both the ''Perry Como Show'' and the ''Paul Winchell Show''. Returning to the UK, Donegan recorded his debut album, ''Lonnie Donegan Showcase'', in the summer of 1956, which featured songs by Lead Belly and Leroy Carr, plus "I'm a Ramblin' Man" and "Wabash Cannonball". The LP was a hit, securing sales in the hundreds of thousands. The popular skiffle style encouraged amateurs to get started, and one of the many skiffle groups that followed was The Quarrymen formed in March 1957 by John Lennon. Donegan's "Gamblin' Man" / "Puttin' On the Style" single was number one on the UK chart in July 1957, when Lennon first met Paul McCartney.

"In England, we were separated from our folk music tradition centuries ago and were imbued with the idea that music was for the upper classes. You had to be very clever to play music. When I came along with the old three chords, people began to think that if I could do it, so could they. It was the reintroduction of the folk music bridge which did that." — Interview, 2002.

"He was the first person we had heard of from Britain to get to the coveted No. 1 in the charts, and we studied his records avidly. We all bought guitars to be in a skiffle group. He was the man." — Paul McCartney

"He really was at the very cornerstone of English blues and rock." — Brian May.

"I wanted to be Elvis Presley when I grew up, I knew that. But the man who really made me feel like I could actually go out and do it was a chap by the name of Lonnie Donegan." — Roger Daltrey

"Remember, Lonnie Donegan started it for you." — Jack White's acceptance speech at the Brit Awards.

Discography

Singles

"Rock Island Line" / "John Henry" (1955) - UK #8 †

"Diggin' My Potatoes" / "Bury My Body" (1956) †

"Lost John" / "Stewball" (1956) - UK #2 †

"Bring A Little Water, Sylvie" / "Dead or Alive" (1956) ‡

"On A Christmas Day" / "Take My Hand Precious Lord" (1956) ‡

"Don't You Rock Me Daddy-O" (1957) - UK #4 ‡

"Cumberland Gap" (1957) - UK #1 ‡

"Gamblin' Man" / "Puttin' On the Style" (1957) - UK #1 ‡

"My Dixie Darlin'" / "I'm Just a Rolling Stone" (1957) - UK #10 ‡

"Jack O' Diamonds" / "Ham 'N' Eggs" (1957) - UK #14 ‡

"The Grand Coulee Dam" / "Nobody Loves Like an Irishman" (1958) - UK #6 ‡

"Midnight Special" / "When The Sun Goes Down" (1958) ‡

"Sally Don't You Grieve" / "Betty, Betty, Betty" (1958) - UK #11 ‡

"Lonesome Traveller" / "Times are Getting Hard Boys" (1958) - UK #28 ‡

"Lonnie's Skiffle Party" / "Lonnie Skiffle Party Pt.2" (1958) - UK #23 ‡

"Tom Dooley" / "Rock O' My Soul" (1958) - UK #3 ‡

"Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavour (On the Bedpost Overnight?)" / "Aunt Rhody" (1959) - UK #3 ‡

"Fort Worth Jail" / "Whoa Buck" (1959) - UK #14 ‡

"Fort Bewildered" / "Kevin Barry" / "It is No Secret" / "My Lagan Love Buck" (1959) ‡

"Battle of New Orleans" / "Darling Corey" (1959) - UK #2 ‡

"Sal's Got A Sugar Lip" / "Chesapeake Bay" (1959) - UK #13 ‡

"Hold Back Tomorrow" - UK #26 ¶

"San Miguel" / "Talking Guitar Blues" (1959) - UK #19 ‡

"My Old Man's A Dustman" / "The Golden Vanity" (1960) - UK #1 ↑

"I Wanna Go Home (Wreck Of the 'John B')" / "Jimmy Brown The Newsboy" (1960) - UK #5 ↓

"Lorelei" / "In All My Wildest Dreams" (1960) - UK #10

"Rockin' Alone" - UK #44 ♠

"Lively" / "Black Cat (Cross My Path Today)" (1960) - UK #13 ↑

"Virgin Mary" / "Beyond The Sunset" (1960) - UK #27

"(Bury Me) Beneath The Willow" / "Leave My Woman Alone" (1961)

"Have A Drink on Me" / "Seven Daffodils" (1961) - UK #8 ↑

"Michael, Row the Boat" / "Lumbered" (1961) - UK #6 ↑

"The Comancheros" / "Ramblin' Round" (1961) - UK #14

"The Party's Over" / "Over the Rainbow" (1962) - UK #9

"I'll Never Fall in Love Again" / "Keep on the Sunny Side" (1962)

"Pick A Bale of Cotton" / "Steal Away" (1962) - UK #11 ↑

"The Market Song" / "Tit-Bits" (1962)

"Losing My Hair" / "Trumpet Sounds" (1963)

"It Was A Very Good Year" / "Rise Up" (1963)

"Lemon Tree" / "I've Gotta Girl So Far" (1963)

"500 Miles Away From Home" / "This Train" (1963)

"Beans in My Ears" / "It's a Long Road to Travel" (1964)

"Fisherman's Luck" / "There's A Big Wheel" (1964)

"Get Out Of My Life" / "Won't You Tell Me" (1965)

"Louisiana Man" / "Bound For Zion" (1965)

"World Cup Willie" / "Where In This World are We Going" (1966)

"I Wanna Go Home" / "Black Cat (Cross My Path Today)" (1966)

"Aunt Maggie's Remedy" / "(Ah) My Sweet Marie" (1967)

"Toys" / "Relax Your Mind" (1968)

"My Lovely Juanita" / "Who Knows Where the Time Goes" (1969)

"Speak To The Sky" / "Get Out of My Life" (1972)

"Jump Down Turn Around (Pick a Bale of Cotton)" / "Lost John Blues" (1973 - Australia only release)

See also

List of honorific titles in popular music

References

External links

Official website

Lonnie Donegan Discussion Forum

Go Lonnie go – article by Billy Bragg for ''The Guardian''

My Memories of Lonnie Donegan by Paul Griggs

Lonnie Donegan biography and discography

Lonnie Donegan and his Skiffle Group

His Old Man’s the Guv’nor – article by Alan Franks

My twenty-year love affair with the joy of skiffle, article by Mark Kermode ''The Observer'', 1 June 2008

Category:1931 births Category:2002 deaths Category:Scottish banjoists Category:Scottish guitarists Category:Scottish male singers Category:Scottish songwriters Category:English banjoists Category:English guitarists Category:English male singers Category:English people of Scottish descent Category:English songwriters Category:Anglo-Scots Category:Cardiovascular disease deaths in England Category:Members of the Order of the British Empire Category:People from Glasgow Category:People from East Ham Category:People from Newham (district) Category:Pye Records artists Category:Mercury Records artists Category:Dot Records artists Category:Skiffle Category:People educated at St. Ambrose College

de:Lonnie Donegan fr:Lonnie Donegan it:Lonnie Donegan nn:Lonnie Donegan pt:Lonnie Donegan ru:Донеган, Лонни sv:Lonnie Donegan

Coordinates	5°39′″N100°30′″N
Name	Billy Bragg
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Stephen William Bragg
Born	December 20, 1957Barking, London, England
Instrument	Vocals, guitar
Genre	Folk punkFolk rockAlternative rock
Years active	1977–present
Associated acts	The BlokesRiff-RaffWilco
Website	billybragg.co.uk
Notable instruments	}}

Stephen William Bragg (born 20 December 1957), better known as Billy Bragg, is an English alternative rock musician and left wing activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, and his lyrics mostly deal with political or romantic themes. His music career has lasted more than 30 years.

Early life

Bragg was born in 1957 in Barking, Essex, the son of Dennis Frederick Austin Bragg, an assistant sales manager to a Barking cap and hat maker, and his wife, Marie Victoria D'Urso. Bragg was educated at Barking Abbey Secondary School in Barking.

Career

In 1977, Bragg formed the punk rock/pub rock band Riff Raff, and toured London's pubs and clubs. The band released a series of singles, which did not receive wide exposure. He also worked in Guy Norris Records in Barking. Bragg became disillusioned with his music career, and in May 1981 joined the British Army as a recruit destined for the Queen's Royal Irish Hussars of the Royal Armoured Corps. After three months, he bought his way out of the army for £175 and returned home, having attended basic training but having never served in a regiment as a soldier.

Bragg began performing frequent concerts and busking around London, playing solo with an electric guitar. His roadie at the time was Andy Kershaw, who became a BBC DJ (Bragg and Kershaw later, in 1989, appeared in an episode of the BBC TV programme, "Great Journeys", in which they travelled the Silver Road from Potosí, Bolivia, to the Pacific coast at Arica, Chile).

Bragg's demo tape initially got no response from the record industry, but by pretending to be a television repair man, he got into the office of Charisma Records' A&R; man Peter Jenner. Jenner liked the tape, but the company was near bankruptcy and had no budget to sign new artists. Bragg got an offer to record more demos for a music publisher, so Jenner agreed to release them as a record. ''Life's a Riot with Spy Vs. Spy'' was released in July 1983 by Charisma's new imprint, Utility. Hearing DJ John Peel mention on-air that he was hungry, Bragg rushed to the BBC with a mushroom biryani, so Peel played a song from ''Life's a Riot with Spy Vs. Spy'' although at the wrong speed (since the 12" LP was, unconventionally, cut to play at 45rpm). Peel insisted he would have played the song even without the biryani and later played it at the correct speed.

Within months, Charisma had been taken over by Virgin Records and Jenner, who had been laid off, became Bragg's manager. Stiff Records' press officer Andy Macdonald – who was setting up his own record label, Go! Discs – received a copy of ''Life's a Riot with Spy Vs. Spy''. He made Virgin an offer and the album was re-released on Go! Discs in November 1983. In 1984, he released ''Brewing Up with Billy Bragg'', a mixture of political songs (e.g., "It Says Here") and songs of unrequited love (e.g., "The Saturday Boy"). The following year he released ''Between the Wars'', an EP of political songs that included a cover version of Leon Rosselson's "The World Turned Upside Down" – the EP made the top 20 of the UK Singles Chart and earned Bragg an appearance on ''Top of the Pops''. Bragg later collaborated with Rosselson on the song, "Ballad of the Spycatcher". In 1985, his song "A New England", with an additional verse, became a Top 10 hit in the UK for Kirsty MacColl. After MacColl's early death, Bragg always sang the extra verse in her honour. In 1984–1985 he toured North America.

In 1986, Bragg released ''Talking with the Taxman about Poetry'', which became his first Top 10 album. Its title is taken from a poem by Vladimir Mayakovsky and a translated version of the poem was printed on the record's inner sleeve. ''Back to Basics'' is a 1987 collection of his first three releases: ''Life's A Riot With Spy Vs. Spy'', ''Brewing Up with Billy Bragg'', and the ''Between The Wars EP''. Bragg released his fourth album, ''Workers Playtime'', in September 1988. With this album, Bragg added a backing band and accompaniment. In May 1990, Bragg released the political mini-LP, ''The Internationale''. The songs were, in part, a return to his solo guitar style, but some songs featured more complicated arrangements and included a brass band. The album paid tribute to one of Bragg's influences with the song, "I Dreamed I Saw Phil Ochs Last Night", which is an adapted version of Earl Robinson's song, "I Dreamed I Saw Joe Hill Last Night", itself an adaptation of a poem by Alfred Hayes.

The album ''Don't Try This at Home'' was released in September 1991, and included the song, "Sexuality", which reached the UK Singles Chart. Bragg had been persuaded by Go! Discs' Andy and Juliet Macdonald to sign a four-album deal with a million pound advance, and a promise to promote the album with singles and videos. This gamble was not rewarded with extra sales, and the situation put the company in financial difficulty. In exchange for ending the contract early and repaying a large amount of the advance, Bragg regained all rights to his back catalogue. Bragg continued to promote the album with his backing band, The Red Stars, which included his Riff Raff colleague and long-time roadie, Wiggy.

Bragg released the album ''William Bloke'' in 1996 after taking time off to help raise his son. Around that time, Nora Guthrie (daughter of American folk artist Woody Guthrie) asked Bragg to set some of her father's unrecorded lyrics to music. The result was a collaboration with the band Wilco and Natalie Merchant (with whom Bragg had worked previously). They released the album ''Mermaid Avenue'' in 1998, and ''Mermaid Avenue Vol. II'' in 2000. A rift with Wilco over mixing and sequencing the album led to Bragg recruiting his own band, The Blokes, to promote the album. The Blokes included keyboardist Ian McLagan, who had been a member of Bragg's boyhood heroes The Faces. The documentary film Man in the Sand depicts the roles of Nora Guthrie, Bragg, and Wilco in the creation of the Mermaid Avenue albums.

In 2004, Bragg joined Florida ska-punk band Less Than Jake to perform a version of 'The Brightest Bulb Has Burned Out' for the ''Rock Against Bush'' compilation.

At the 2005 Beautiful Days Festival in Devon, Bragg teamed up with the Levellers to perform a short set of songs by The Clash in celebration of Joe Strummer's birthday. Bragg performed guitar and lead vocals on "Police and Thieves", and performed guitar and backing vocals on "English Civil War", and "Police on my Back".

In 2007, Bragg moved closer to his English folk music roots by joining the WOMAD-inspired collective The Imagined Village, who recorded an album of updated versions of traditional English songs and dances and toured through that autumn. Bragg released his album ''Mr. Love & Justice'' in March 2008. This was the second Bragg album to be named after a book by Colin MacInnes. In 2008, during the NME Awards ceremony, Bragg sang a duet with British solo act Kate Nash. They mixed up their two greatest hits, Nash playing "Foundations", and Bragg redoing his "A New England". Bragg also collaborated with the poet and playwright, Patrick Jones, who supported Bragg's Tour.

In 2008, Bragg played a small role in Stuart Bamforth's film "''A13: Road Movie''". Bragg is featured alongside union reps, vicars, burger van chefs and Members of Parliament in a film that explored "the overlooked, the hidden and the disregarded."

He was involved in the play ''Pressure Drop'' at the Wellcome Collection in London in April and May 2010. The production, written by Mick Gorden, and billed as "part play, part gig, part installation", featured new songs by Bragg. He performed during the play with his band, and acted as compere.

Bragg curated the Leftfield stage at Glastonbury Festival 2010.

He will also be partaking in the Bush Theatre's 2011 project ''Sixty Six'' where he has written a piece based upon a chapter of the King James Bible.

Politics

Bragg has been involved with grassroots, broadly leftist, political movements, and this is often reflected in his lyrics. Bragg has recorded and performed cover versions of famous socialist anthems ''The Internationale'' and ''The Red Flag''. Bragg said in an interview: "My theory is this; I'm not a political songwriter. I'm an honest songwriter. I try and write honestly about what I see around me now." In another interview, Bragg said: "I don't mind being labelled a political songwriter. The thing that troubles me is being dismissed as a political songwriter." In an interview with ''Bullz-Eye'', Bragg said:

I would then say that I am Mr. Love and Justice, and to check out the love songs. That’s how I capture people. People do say to me, “I love your songs, but I just can’t stand your politics.” And I say, “Well, Republicans are always welcome. Come on over!” I would hate to stand at the door, saying to people, “Do you agree with these positions? If not, you can’t come in.”

Bragg expressed support for the 1984 miners' strike, and the following year he formed the musicians' alliance Red Wedge, which promoted the Labour Party and discouraged young people from voting for the Conservative Party in the 1987 general election. Following the defeat of the Labour Party and the repeated victory of Margaret Thatcher and her Conservative government, Bragg joined Charter88 to push for a reform of the British political system.

Also during the 1980s, Bragg travelled to the Soviet Union a few times, after Mikhail Gorbachev had started to promote the policies of perestroika and glasnost. During one trip, he was accompanied by MTV, and during another trip he was filmed for the 1998 mini-documentary ''Mr Bragg Goes to Moscow'', by Hannu Puttonen.

In 1999, Bragg appeared before a commission that debated possible reform of the House of Lords.

During the 2001 UK general election, Bragg attempted to combat voter apathy by promoting tactical voting in an attempt to unseat Conservative Party candidates in Dorset, particularly in South Dorset and West Dorset. The Labour Party won South Dorset with their smallest majority, and the Conservative majority in West Dorset was reduced.

Bragg has developed an interest in English national identity, apparent in his 2002 album ''England, Half-English'' and his 2006 book ''The Progressive Patriot''. The book expressed his view that English socialists can reclaim patriotism from the right wing. He draws on Victorian poet Rudyard Kipling for an inclusive sense of Englishness. Bragg has participated in a series of debates with members of the Socialist Workers Party who disagree with his argument. Bragg also supports Scottish independence.

Bragg has been an outspoken opponent of fascism, racism, bigotry, sexism and homophobia, and is a supporter of a multi-racial Britain. As a result, Bragg has come under attack from far right groups such as the British National Party. In a 2004 ''The Guardian'' article, Bragg was quoted as saying:

The British National Party would probably make it into a parliament elected by proportional representation, too. It would shine a torch into the dirty little corner where the BNP defecate on our democracy, and that would be much more powerful than duffing them up in the street – which I'm also in favour of.

Also in 2004, Bragg collaborated with American ska punk band Less Than Jake to record a song for the ''Rock Against Bush'' compilation album.

During the 2005 general election campaign in the Bethnal Green and Bow constituency, Bragg supported Oona King, a pro-Iraq war Labour candidate, over George Galloway, an anti-war Respect Party candidate, due to a belief that splitting the left-wing vote would allow the Conservatives to win the seat. Galloway overturned King's 10,000-strong majority to become his party's only MP.

In March 2006, journalist Garry Bushell (a former Trotskyist who ran as a candidate for the English Democrats in 2005) accused Bragg of "pontificating on a South London council estate when we all know he lives in a lovely big house in West Dorset".

In January 2010, Bragg announced that he would withhold his income tax as a protest against the Royal Bank of Scotland's plan to pay bonuses of approximately of £1.5 billion to staff in its investment banking business. Bragg set up a Facebook group, made appearances on radio and television news programmes, and made speech at Speakers' Corner in London's Hyde Park. Bragg said,“Millions are already facing stark choices: are they willing to work longer hours for less money, or would they rather be unemployed? I don’t see why the bankers at RBS shouldn’t be asked the same.”

On the eve of the 2010 general election, Bragg announced that he would be voting for the Liberal Democrats because "they've got the best manifesto". He also backed the Lib Dems for tactical voting reasons. Bragg later expressed disappointment with the party, stating that 'the Lib Dems had failed democracy'.

Bragg was also very active in his hometown of Barking as part of Searchlight's Hope not Hate campaign, where the BNP's leader Nick Griffin was standing for election. At one point during the campaign Bragg squared up to BNP London Assembly Member Richard Barnbrook, calling him a "Fascist Racist" and saying "when you're gone from this borough, we will rebuild this community". The BNP came third on election day.

Bragg is a board director and key spokesman for the Featured Artists Coalition, a body representing the rights of recording artists. Bragg founded the organisation Jail Guitar Doors, which supplies instruments to prisoners to encourage them to address problems in a non-confrontational way.

Bragg is a regular at the Tolpuddle Martyrs' Festival, an annual event celebrating the memory of those transported to Australia for founding a union in the 1830s.

In January 2011, news sources reported that 20 to 30 residents of Bragg's Dorset hometown, Burton Bradstock, had received anonymous letters viciously attacking Bragg and his politics, and urging residents to oppose him in the village. Bragg claimed that a BNP supporter was behind the letters, which argued that Bragg is a hypocrite for advocating socialism while living a wealthy lifestyle, and referred to him as anti-British and pro-immigration.

In July 2011 Billy joined the growing protests over the News of the World phone hacking affair with the recording of "Never Buy the Sun" which references many of the scandals key points including the Milly Dowler case, police bribes and associated political fallout. It also draws on the 22 year Liverpool boycott of ''The Sun'' for their coverage of the Hillsborough Disaster.

Discography

''Life's a Riot with Spy Vs Spy'' (1983)

''Brewing Up with Billy Bragg'' (1984)

''Talking with the Taxman about Poetry'' (1986)

''Back to Basics'' (1987)

''Workers Playtime'' (1988)

''The Internationale'' (1990)

''Don't Try This at Home'' (1991)

''William Bloke'' (1996)

''Bloke on Bloke'' (1997)

''Mermaid Avenue'' (1998) (with Wilco)

''Mermaid Avenue Vol. II'' (2000) (with Wilco)

''England, Half-English'' (2002) (with the Blokes)

''Mr. Love & Justice'' (2008)

Further reading

Billy Bragg, ''The Progressive Patriot: A Search for Belonging'' (London: Bantam Press, 2006) ISBN 978-0-593-05343-0

Billy Bragg, ''How we all lost when Thatcher won'': (guardian.co.uk, 5 March 2009)

See also

Red Wedge

Charter88

George Gimarc

References

External links

Braggtopia

Billy Bragg collection at the Internet Archive's live music archive

Billy Bragg's Big Busk At Lincoln Center, 27 July 2011

Category:1957 births Category:Alternative rock musicians Category:Anti-corporate activists Category:Anti-fascists Category:British socialists Category:English activists Category:English buskers Category:English-language singers Category:English male singers Category:English political writers Category:English singer-songwriters Category:English socialists Category:English tax resisters Category:Living people Category:People associated with Oxford Brookes University Category:People from Barking Category:Folk punk musicians Category:Live Music Archive artists

ca:Billy Bragg de:Billy Bragg es:Billy Bragg fr:Billy Bragg it:Billy Bragg nl:Billy Bragg pt:Billy Bragg ru:Брэгг, Билли simple:Billy Bragg fi:Billy Bragg sv:Billy Bragg

Coordinates	5°39′″N100°30′″N
Name	The Jive Aces
Background	group_or_band
Origin	Billericay, Essex, England
Genre	JiveSwing
Formed	1989
Years active	1989—present
Label	Right Recordings
Website	www.jiveaces.com
Current members	Ian Clarkson – vocals, trumpet, ukuleleKen Smith – double bassVince Hurley – pianoPeter Howell – drumsJohn Fordham – saxophoneAlex Douglas – trombone, bongos, blues harp, kazoo, washboard, spoons.
Past members	}}

The Jive Aces, winners of BBC TV's ''Opportunity Knocks'', formed in 1989. They are a six-piece UK based, high energy, jive and swing band, who have many albums and singles to their name, and have performed at many music festivals. They received an award from the Variety Club of Great Britain for their charity work, and the City of Derry International Music Award in 2006. The band performs both cover versions and original material.

The Jive Aces played at the Berkeley Dress Show Ball in April 2010, and were featured in ''Hello!'' magazine. They also played at another prestigious society event, The Berkeley Square Ball, in 2009 and were pictured in ''OK!'' magazine with singer Rhyddian.

On 9 July 2010, the Jive Aces headlined at the first ever swing dance at the Royal Albert Hall. They played to approximately 1,300 dancers on the dance floor, along side the Back To Basie Orchestra and Top Shelf Jazz.

In late August 2010, the Jive Aces performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in a show tributing one of their musical heros, Louis Prima. They had special guests, Keely Smith and Toni Elizabeth Prima, perform with them (Louis Prima's ex-wife and daughter respectively) and gained a five star review from ''Edinburgh Spotlight''.

The band performed at the Cork Jazz Festival in October 2010 and were featured in 5 newspapers, including the front page of the national paper The Irish Examiner and The Irish Times.

In Feb 2011 the Jive Aces toured the US again. They were in the LA area recording and performing in Hollywood, Pasadena and Cerritos also playing at the Macallum Center in Palm Dessert. In Cerritos they opened for the legendary Keely Smith, former wife and partner of the Las Vegas start Louis Prima. Then they toured the Washington DC area performing at the Dulles Hilton and the Spanish Ballroom in Glen Echo Park before a successful show at the Metropolitan Room in New York City ( Cabaret Scenes review NYC.

The Jive Aces produced a music video for their cover of the well known Morecambe and Wise theme song Bring Me Sunshine in a Louis Prima jive style and put in on youtube on March 17. It got 50,000 views in the first week and is still growing. http://www.planetjive.co.uk/

On the 17th July the Jive Aces played at London's famous jazz venue Ronnie Scotts and it was sold out http://www.ronniescotts.co.uk/performances/view/600-sunday-jazz-lunch-jive-aces

On the 7th August 2011 the Jive Aces held a charity swing festival called Summertime Swing featuring guests including Toni Prima, the daughter of Louis Prima and upcoming Si Cranstoun. The event raised over £7000 for the Sussex Air Ambulance.

The Jive Aces were awarded the Telly Award http://www.tellyawards.com/winners/list/entries/?l=T&event;&category;=2&award;=2 and this was presented to them on stage by DJ and face of Vintage TV Mike Read at the Twinwood Festival on Sunday the 28th August 2011.

Promotion of Scientology

The band have been known to perform up to 300 times a year, often promoting Scientology (sometimes controversially) or presenting an anti-drugs message. They have been noted for their energetic and confident performances, which they attribute to "workable solutions found in Scientology religious principles". The Jive Aces have supported the Church of Scientology's Say No To Drugs campaign since 1996, performing to shoppers in city centres throughout the UK, to give a message to young people that it is "not cool to take drugs", and to collect signatures on a petition asking MPs for more effective drug education in UK schools.

References

External links

saynotodrugs.org.uk - Jive Aces Team up with Churches of Scientology to Say “NO” to Drugs

Category:English musical groups Category:British jazz ensembles Category:English Scientologists