Banjo‘s, Tea Chests, Thimbles & Washboards The Great UK Skiffle Boom!
Jasmine Records JASMCD 2755 (2023)
Skiffle is a unique genre of folk music that blends elements of folk, blues, country, bluegrass, and jazz. It originated in the United States but gained immense popularity in the United Kingdom (UK) during the 1950s.
The so-called Skiffle Craze began in 1956, attracting music-making teenagers from across the country.
They typically used a mix of manufactured and homemade or improvised instruments such as acoustic guitars, banjos, stand-up tea-chest basses, and washboards to create music with a distinctive beat.
The UK revival of skiffle emerged from the post-war British traditional jazz scene. Lonnie Donegan was the banjo player in Ken Colyer’s Jazzmen, a band formed by Chris Barber in 1953, and later in Chris Barber‘s Jazz Band, which was founded after Ken left the group.
During the intervals of both bands‘ performances, Lonnie played skiffle music, singing and playing guitar with the accompaniment of other band members, e.g., Chris Barber (b), Ken Colyer (g, vo), and Bill Colyer (wb). These skiffle breaks turned out to be very popular and soon became a regular part of gigs and concerts. Chris Barber’s Jazz Band recorded their first LP, “New Orleans Joys” (Decca LF 1198), on July 13, 1954, which also included two tracks featured by Lonnie Donegan’s Skiffle Group, comprising Lonnie (g, vo), Chris Barber (b), and Beryl Bryden (wb). However, it wasn’t until Decca released those tracks, “Rock Island Line” with “John Henry”, as a single about two years later that the skiffle phenomenon truly took off.
Propelled by its rise in the charts and the fact that skiffle didn’t require expensive instruments or advanced musicianship, the skiffle craze quickly set in. These tracks are considered the starting point for the development and immense popularity of British skiffle music.
Following Lonnie’s breakthrough (he became later The King of Skiffle), other skiffle groups such as The Vipers, Chas McDevitt and Nancy Whiskey, Dickie Bishop, Johnny Duncan, Ken Colyer, Bob Cort, Alexis Korner, and the City Ramblers emerged, among many others. Alongside his jazz band, even Chris Barber formed his own group, The Chris Barber Skiffle Group, which included himself (b), Ron Bowden (dr), Dick Bishop (g, vo), and Johnny Duncan (g, man, vo). The 2-CD set “Banjo’s, Tea Chests, Thimbles & Washboards – The Great UK Skiffle Boom!” released by Jasmine Records in 2023, commemorates this period and its most important performers. This compilation features all the leading figures, i.e., all the singers, strummers, strokers, and scratchers at the forefront of the UK skiffle boom, on 2 CDs, presenting a total of 64 tracks that include many of the genre’s biggest hits.
“The Great UK Skiffle Boom!” (JASMCD 2755) can be purchased from www.jasmine-records.co.uk, local and online retailers, as well as from well-known internet platforms.
Dr. Peter Brennecke, 10 June 2024