One Hit Wonder: Mungo Jerry (1970)

In the Summertime
Single: Mungo Jerry
B-side: Mighty Man
Album: Electronically Tested
Released: May 22, 1970 (UK)
Genre: Skiffle
Songwriter: Ray Dorset

"In the Summertime" by the British rock band Mungo Jerry was the first maxi-single in the world. A 7-inch record played at 33 1/3 RPM instead of 45, it had room for two other songs: "Mighty Man" and "Dust Pneumonia Blues." 

It entered the UK Singles Chart at number 13 and the following week went to number 1 for seven weeks; the off-beat tune made number 1 in 26 countries and sold around 30 million copies. Mungo Jerry's second UK maxi-single, "Baby Jump," topped the UK charts but flopped in the US, where they remain a One Hit Wonder.

Mungo Jerry (1970)

"It's got no chorus; all it's got is a melody with
lyrics that conjure up a celebration of life."

Mungo Jerry's name was inspired by the poem "Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer" from T. S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats. Ray Dorset wrote "In the Summertime" while working for Timex in the UK. His band was more of a hobby at the time. The track took off, topping the singles chart in their native UK and making number 3 in America.

"It's got no chorus; all it's got is a melody that goes over and over again with a set of lyrics that conjure up a celebration of life," he's said. "Especially if you're a young person: it's a great day, you've managed to get a car - preferably with the top off - you're cruising around, and if you're a guy, you're picking up girls."

Ray Dorset of Mungo Jerry

The music for the track is distinctive. Ray Dorset provided vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, and a shaker instrument called a cabasa. Paul King played banjo and jug. Mike Cole played string bass. Colin Earl played piano. There are no drums. Dorset, influenced by John Lee Hooker, stomped his foot to the rhythm. 

The title is only repeated twice in the song. It was initially sung once. But, at under two minutes, the track was too short for a single. Dorset suggested, in keeping with the 'open road' feel of the piece, they add the roar of a motorbike. When they couldn't find one, studio engineer Howard Barrow came through. 

"Howard went outside and revved up his MG sports car," explained Paul King, "then we recorded it and replayed the song's beginning after the noise. So 'In The Summertime' is the same section spliced together to make it last three and a half minutes." 

The Mixtures (1970)

The Mixtures 1970

The Mixtures, an Australian rock band, recorded a cover of "In the Summertime" during the 1970 radio ban. Many Australian radio stations refused to play Australian and British music released by major labels. The re-make got massive airplay for a group on a small record label, and their version topped the single's chart in Australia for six weeks. It became the biggest-selling single by an Australian artist in Australia in 1970 and number 3 overall.

Shaggy (1996)

The Jamaican-American rapper Shaggy is Orville Richard Burrill. He moved from Jamaica to Brooklyn, New York, to start his music career when he was 18. The name Shaggy came from his then-messy hairstyle. He describes his music, a blend of dancehall and reggae, as "dog-a-muffin."

Shaggy

In 1995, he released "In the Summertime" as the lead single from his third studio album, Boombastic. Besides adding some rap lyrics, he changed the original line "have a drink, have a drive." A year after the song's release, it was re-recorded and released for the film Flipper under the title "In the Summertime ('96 Version)."