Lonnie Donegan
- Category : Singer - Popular
- Type : GE
- Profile : 1/3 - Investigating / Martyr
- Definition : Triple Split
- Incarnation Cross : RAX The Four Ways 1
Biography
Scottish singer, rhythm-based banjo and guitar player, he put out 17 top ten hits, including three No.1s from February 1956 to May 1962.
Raised in poverty, the family moved to London in 1933 and the boy was diagnosed with a heart problem at four. At age 11, he himself decided that he was going to have a long, full life. He changed his name from Anthony to Lonnie in honor of the blues performer Lonnie Johnson.
A tireless performer for 40 years, Lonnie traveled the cabaret circuit in spite of two heart attacks (the first in 1976), three strokes, open heart surgery in 1985 and two broken marriages. He won the Outstanding Contribution to British Music award in May 1995, and released another LP in July 1997.