Mungo Jerry - In The Summertime ORIGINAL 1970

What this video is

Released on 22 May 1970 on Dawn Records (Pye's new label), 'In the Summertime' became one of the defining cultural artefacts of the early 1970s. Written by Ray Dorset in approximately ten minutes while on a break from his day job at a Timex laboratory, the song reached number one in the UK for seven weeks and charted internationally — including number three on the US Billboard Hot 100. Mungo Jerry's breakout…

Why it matters

A singular commercial and cultural landmark for the British jug-band and skiffle revival, 'In the Summertime' demonstrated that raw, acoustic-rooted, rhythm-stomping folk-blues could compete at the absolute top of the pop market in the album-rock era. Its stripped-back instrumentation — banjo,…