thimbles, a tea chest, a broom handle and a length of string, together with a modicum of musical talent – these were all that was required for skiffle, an amalgam of American jazz, blues and folk that caught on with Britain’s largely cash-strapped teenagers in 1956 and 1957, temporarily challenging the supremacy of rock’n’roll. Rhythmic ...
masters of the pedal steel. Bass The one-string washtub base was a key ingredient in 1930s mountain string-band and jug-band music (and made a brief reappearance in the mid 1950s’ skiffle movement, a British country music hybrid). The four-string, acoustic, stand-up bass (often called the ‘bull fiddle’) was popular in 1940s and early 1950s country and honky-tonk music ...
, double bass, saxophone, horn section and sometimes a piano might feature – the double bass was soon replaced by an electric bass. In the UK, the skiffle band – comprising guitar, double bass and washboard – was popular at the same time. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, American groups such as The Ventures ...
pair of mallets per hand, allowing them to play chords. Washboard A staple instrument in zydeco music (black American dance music, also featuring guitar and accordion) and the skiffle bands of the late 1950s, the washboard is one of the most widely used of the instruments that produce their sound by scraping. It is a form of rhythm-making ...
a steel band. Washboard The washboard was a popular jazz instrument in the 1920s. It was also played in the folk music of the southern states of America and in skiffle – all styles of music famous for using homemade instruments. It is, quite literally, an old-fashioned washing board with a rectangular wooden frame (30 cm/12 in wide, ...
in 1907. Other fine traditional singers and musicians were discovered, but they had mostly been ignored and forgotten by the time of the Second World War. Yet the short-lived skiffle fad that hit Britain in the mid-1950s had profound significance for folk music. The flagship star of skiffle was Lonnie Donegan, whose roots were in jazz, but the ...
bands began springing up on both sides of the Atlantic. Indeed, in cash-strapped Britain, which was still suffering from the ravages of the Second World War, R&B-based skiffle music served as a practical solution for kids who often did not have the funds to purchase decent instruments, while also providing them with a grounding in the basic ...
(Vocals, 1940–2003) London-born Terence Nelhams sang in skiffle group The Worried Men, before changing his name at UK TV guru Jack Good’s suggestion. After early flops, arranger John Barry provided string backing for 1959’s UK No. 1 ‘What Do You Want’, while 1960’s follow-up ‘Poor Me’ also topped the chart, and Faith accumulated 22 more hits by ...
Abbey Road (1969) and the abundant creativity of his early solo career. He demonstrated amply that there was life (and love and peace) after The Beatles. Influenced by the British skiffle star Lonnie Donegan, American rockabilly guitarist Carl Perkins and Nashville stalwart Chet Atkins, Harrison was already developing a unique style when, at the invitation of schoolmate Paul ...
Hank Marvin was born Brian Rankin in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1941. His first instruments were piano and banjo, but he switched to guitar upon discovering Buddy Holly. Marvin formed a skiffle band, The Railroaders, with school friend Bruce Welch, and they travelled to London in 1958 to compete, unsuccessfully, in a talent contest. Welch and Marvin ...
, jazz, British early music, classical guitar and Eastern forms. Renbourn began playing guitar as a teen in his native Torquay, England. At first he was into skiffle, a style that became popular as the folk-music revival was beginning. An instructional book introduced Renbourn to the music of many American folk artists, and he began to ...
Presley! The effect on the youth of Britain was electrifying. This was do-it-yourself music, and sales of acoustic guitars went through the roof. John Lennon formed The Quarrymen skiffle band in Liverpool in 1957, Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey became The Detours. Homegrown British rock music began in Lonnie’s wake. The King Of Skiffle Follow-up single, ‘Digging ...
Muddy Waters was without question the creator of the Chicago blues sound, the most important figure in post-war blues and the greatest influence on the British blues movement that followed. The Rolling Stones even went as far as to name themselves after a Muddy song. Muddy’s music blended the downhome essence of Mississippi Delta blues with the sophistication of Chicago’s ...
1942) on bass, George Harrison (1943–2001) on lead guitar and Ringo Starr (b. Richard Starkey, 7 July 1940) on drums, The Beatles evolved from Lennon’s grammar school skiffle group The Quarry Men to become the most successful, acclaimed and influential act in the history of popular music. Liverpool Beginnings Born and raised in the seaport city of ...
in the ramshackle if wholly enjoyable modern folk scene. Hugely prolific, any one of their seven albums and EPs (from just five years) can house rock, blues, skiffle, punk and more besides – they are something like the successors to Captain Beefheart’s strange throne. Styles & Forms | Twenty-First Century | Rock Personalities | Miley Cyrus | ...
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David Bowie
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