- Included among the Record Descriptions of Favorite Albums (Part 1).
- Their debut album Mungo Jerry was released shortly after their hit single “In the Summertime”, which came out in May 1970.
The Greatest Music
Ever Recorded!
Mungo Jerry – Mungo Jerry (1970): Mungo Jerry is a popular British skiffle band having an idiosyncratic sound to say the least. Skiffle is an earlier style of music that was popular in England before the arrival of rock and roll; for instance, the predecessor band to the Beatles, the Quarrymen is a skiffle band. “In the Summertime” was one of the largest selling singles of all time, eventually selling 8 to 16 million copies around the world. The song reached the top of an astonishing 18 record charts around the world, with 7 weeks at #1 on the U.K. charts and 4 weeks in Canada; in the U.S., “In the Summertime” reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100, #2 on the Cash Box chart, and #1 on the Record World chart.
Their debut album Mungo Jerry was released shortly after “In the Summertime”, which came out in May 1970; although “In the Summertime” was not originally included on Mungo Jerry but instead on Mungo Jerry’s second album Electronically Tested (1971). While information on the Internet is sketchy, this disc is evidently the U.S. release of Mungo Jerry, with “In the Summertime” added in place of “Daddie’s Brew”, the closing track in the original British release of Mungo Jerry. It should be noted that English albums often omit hit singles, even the biggest hit singles. For instance, the Beatles’ first smash hit in America, “I Want to Hold Your Hand” never appeared on a British studio album. While they might appear to be a one hit wonder on this side of the Atlantic, Mungo Jerry had another #1 U.K. hit, “Baby Jump”, two other songs in the Top 5, and four more in the Top 40. Mungo Jerry is still active and has released numerous albums over the years, including Xstreme (2019).