[Dixielandjazz] Skiffle and/or Jug Bands

[Stephen G Barbone]

For more than you want to know about skiffle of jug bands from 1890  
forward see:

http://nfo.net/usa/jugband.html

Or note this excerpt from the Chris Barber Website

"When Lonnie was playing in my amateur band in 1952, we thought we'd  
do a couple of numbers we vaguely identified as 'skiffle', because we  
had a 78 rpm record called 'hometown skiffle' from the 1920s which was  
a sampler of blues artists on the Paramount label in America. We were  
just doing what we liked. Indeed, our whole objective in playing jazz  
and blues was to attempt to bring to people's notice a music which was  
largely forgotten and ignored in both its home country and in  
Europe." . . . .

The article goes on to say that they called the music 'skiffle'  
amongst themselves and it wasn't till 1955 that they promoted the  
music as 'skiffle' when they recorded "Skiffle Session' for the Nixa  
label. Barber goes on to say:

"This group was of course called 'The Skiffle Group', which now  
included drums played by the band's drummer Ron Bowden. The  
interesting thing is that the people who listened to the skiffle group  
and love the music most, the fans you might say, a whole generation of  
young people in Britain, really did not pick upon the origins of the  
music about which we were so careful and sincere, but more on the fact  
that here was a music which you could play and sing yourself."

"Up to that time, music had really been something other people did.  
You paid to see a group or you bought records by them. The idea that  
virtually anybody could easily obtain or make instruments and play the  
music for themselves was unheard of. Indeed, this was the beginning of  
a cultural revolution in England, in that the music was now played  
rather than mostly listened to. As a result, many youngsters began  
playing instruments in skiffle or rock and roll groups, a number of  
which had more than a modicum of success. John Lennon and Paul  
McCartney, for example, got into skiffle and by this means found their  
way into music. Quite arguably, without skiffle, people like that  
might never have been led into playing music at all."

SOURCED FROM: http://www.chrisbarber.net/archives/skiffbook-03.htm

Very interesting. Explains, perhaps, why there are so many air  
guitarists today. And why, if we are to succeed in the performance of  
music, we must get the audience involved.<grin>

Cheers,
Steve Barbone
www.myspace.com/barbonestreetjazzband