In The Summertime – Mungo Jerry | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#3); 1970
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
Like many future rock ‘n’ rollers, Ray Dorset was as much influenced by Britain’s 1950’s skiffle craze as he was by American rockers Elvis Presley and Gene Vincent. By the late 1960’s Ray was holding down a full time job in electronics by day, and playing music as a hobby in his spare time.
His avocation moved to the fore after his band, Good Earth, was booked for the Hollywood Music Festival in May of 1970 alongside the Grateful Dead, Traffic, Free, and others.
Dorset’s group, now named Mungo Jerry after the roguish feline “Mungojerrie” in T.S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book Of Practical Cats, wowed the crowd with a Ray original called In The Summertime.
Spins by influential radio deejay John Peel pushed Summertime, with its skiffle-like jug sound on rhythm, to the top of the UK chart in June, where it stayed for seven weeks.
Midway through its British run, the seasonal anthem entered the Hot 100; peaking at #3 in mid-September.
This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- Barry Murray
Lyrics Written by:
- Ray Dorset
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).