Mungo Jerry In The Summertime

The Hollywood Music Festival in May 1970 was packed with talent – a bill that included Traffic, Family, Colosseum, Free, Ginger Baker’s Air Force and Black Sabbath – but became known for two things in particular. Held on Staffordshire farmland and attended by 35,000 people, it marked the UK live debut of the Grateful Dead. The other significant event was the appearance of a hitherto unknown band, Mungo Jerry, who would soon define the sound of that summer.

“We played late afternoon on the Saturday, just as the sun came out,” recalls banjo and jug player Paul King. “Ninety per cent of the audience were stoned, just lying around and smoking, all pretty lethargic. We went straight in with the harmonicas and the