The song most associated with Mungo Jerry is the global hit, In The Summertime. It went to No.1 in 26 countries, sold 6 million copies worldwide, and has to date sold in excess of 30 million units. The song has been covered in many genres from reggae to hard rock and it has been recorded by many artists including Bob Dylan and Elton John.
One morning in May 1970, the record sold 72,500 copies before lunchtime in the UK and it has become officially the most played summer song of all time, winning for itself and its writer Ray Dorset / MUNGO JERRY, prestigious Sony / MTV and Ivor Novello awards.
Just preceding the release of In The Summertime, MUNGO JERRY, which was then known as a band, made a legendary appearance at the Hollywood Music Festival on a bill that included Traffic, Ginger baker’s Airforce, Black Sabbath, Tony Joe White, Jose Feliciano, Free and The Grateful Dead and were said by many, including some music papers of the day, to have “stolen the show”.
The following year, Mungo Jerry returned to the charts with another Ray Dorset composition and the second consecutive No.1, Baby Jump which is considered to be the first UK No1 Punk hit.
Lady Rose was destined to make it a third straight chart-topper when the B.B.C banned the maxi-single for the inclusion of the stage favourite, Have a Whiff On Me, citing drug references. The time lost in re-pressing the record cost it dear, but despite that, it was still a number five chart hit and in fact outsold Baby Jump and to this day is played on radio stations everywhere.
In 1973 when Alright Alright Alright was in the charts, Mungo Jerry went on what was believed to be the longest tour of Northern Ireland by an English band during the height of the troubles. Few would know that in 1978 Mungo Jerry and his group of musicians were the first western rock band to play behind the old Iron Curtain. This was a show at the Golden Orpheus Song Festival, in Bulgaria which went out live on TV to the entire Eastern Block.
In describing the music of Mungo Jerry as pure pop would be an insult to the varying styles of rock, blues, boogie, skiffle, and other musical genres.
Mungo Jerry has recorded and performed on the stages of concert halls and festivals all over the world , that have seen Mungo Jerry sharing, and indeed at times topping the bill with the likes of Elton John, Jimi Hendrix, Rod Stewart and The Faces, Foreigner, Manfred Man’s Earth Band, Jethro Tull, Genesis, Status Quo, Canned Heat, Free, The Grateful Dead etc.
Songs not released in the UK also made large dents in charts as far flung as Europe and South Africa, but to say Mungo Jerry was just a hit-making machine would be denying the many diverse musical projects that Mungo Jerry / Ray Dorset has been involved with.
In 1984 Ray Dorset recorded in his Grayshott recording studio, the album, A Case For The Blues with Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac and Vincent Crane from Atomic Rooster.
During the eighties Ray also wrote and recorded music for the Paul Daniels show for children, Wizbit, and the comedy/drama, Prospects, of which he also wrote and sang the theme.
In 2003, Ray Dorset completed a successful tour with ‚THE BRITISH LEGENDS OF RHYTHM AND BLUES‘ – Zoot Money, the late Paul Williams and the late Long John Baldry, and also released the critically acclaimed Mungo Jerry Bluesband album, Adults Only.
With Adults Only getting rave reviews, and the ‚Blues Legends‘ tour bringing Ray to a whole new audience, albums such as Naked From The Heart (2007), and Cool Jesus (2011), gave new impetus and drove Mungo Jerry forward.
Since the release of the 1970 iconic celebration of life, Mungo Jerry’s, In The Summertime, Ray Dorset (aka Mungo Jerry) is still much in demand, and his latest album, Xstreme, together with its rave reviews, add to his vast catalogue of recorded material – drawing these positive comments.
Rewind