Puttin' on the Style: Greatest Hits

Liner Note Author: Peter Doggett.
The impact of American folk, blues, and rock & roll on the British music scene of the 1960s is inestimable. One of the catalysts of this musical transference was Lonnie Donegan, whose hopped-up, folky sound, which came to be known as "skiffle," inspired legions of youngsters to form their own bands. Donegan adapted American folk and country tunes to his acoustic guitar, but backed himself with a bassist, washboard player, and drummer. The result was a rootsy, propulsive sound that brought the simplicity of folk together with the driving rhythms of up-tempo bluegrass and rockabilly.
PUTTIN' ON THE STYLE: THE GREATEST HITS, with its generous, well-selected 25 tracks, is the definitive Donegan collection. Arranged chronologically, the set begins with his 1955 version of Leadbelly's "Rock Island Line" and includes traditional songs ("Tom Dooley," "Michael Row the Boat"), early country (the Carter Family's "My Dixie Darling"), and Woodie Guthrie tunes ("Gamblin' Man"), among others. Unlike anything heard in Britain at the time, Donegan's raucous, energetic sound influenced the Rolling Stones, the Kinks, and the Beatles (John Lennon's first band, the Quarrymen, played skiffle). Donegan was England's first rock & roll star, and for this reason alone THE GREATEST HITS receives historical and musical honors.