Mungo Jerry
 Little-known skiffle-cum-jug band, The Good Earth gained instant
success and a new name overnight following a sensational
performance at the Hollywood Pop Festival in Staffordshire,
England, where they proved more popular than headliners The
Grateful Dead, Traffic and Free.
Their performance at the gig coincided with the release of
their debut single In The Summertime, which subsequently
became the fastest selling single of it's time and an eternally
infectious anthem for summer.
Taking their name from a T.S Eliot poem, Mungo Jerry was
fronted by singer, songwriter and guitarist Ray Dorset, who had a
fascination with early rock & roll sounds, as well as skiffle
and blues.
The other original members were Mike Cole on upright
bass; Paul King on guitar, kazoo, and jug; Joe Rush playing
washboard; and Colin Earl at the keyboards.
Despite an eight-month gap between releases, Mungo Jerry's
second single, Baby Jump, also reached number one.
By
this time Mike Cole had been replaced by John Godfrey and their
jug band sound had grown appreciably heavier.
 A third hit, in 1971, Lady Rose, showed a continued
grasp of melody. The maxi-single also included the controversial Have
A Whiff On Me which was banned by the BBC.
This successful year concluded with another Top 20 release, You
Don't Have To Be In The Army To Fight In The War. Paul King
and Colin Earl left the band in 1972 and together with bass player
Joe Rush formed The King Earl Boogie Band.
Dorset released a solo album, Cold Blue Excursions,
prior to convening a new line-up with John Godfrey, Jon Pope
(piano) and Tim Reeves (drums).
 The new line-up had another top
three hit in 1973 with Alright Alright Alright (a
reinterpretation of Jacques Dutronc's Et Moi, Et Moi, Et Moi),
but the following year the overtly sexist Long Legged Woman
Dressed In Black became the band's final chart entry.
Dorset continued to work with various versions of his creation
into the 80's, but was never able to regain the band's early
profile.
A short-lived collaboration with Peter Green and Vincent Crane
under the name Katmundu resulted in the disappointing A Case
For The Blues (1986), but Dorset did achieve further success
when he produced Feels Like I'm In Love for singer Kelly
Marie.
This former Mungo B-side became a UK number one in August
1980.
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