Mungo Jerry

Mungo Jerry achieved instant fame following a sensational appearance at 1970's Hollywood Pop Festival, proving more popular than headliners Grateful Dead, Traffic, and Free. The band's performance coincided with the release of their debut single, "In the Summertime," and the attendant publicity helped the single to the top of the U.K. chart. (By the end of the year, global sales had totalled six million.) That playful acoustic sound gave way to a more full-bodied approach during the early '70s, and tougher electric arrangements dominated mid-'70s LPs like 1976's Impala Saga. But the playful, good-time spirit of Mungo Jerry almost always shone through, even on latter-day experiments like 2001's Candy Dreams, which featured several electronic reggae tracks, and the rockabilly leanings of 2007's Naked - From the Heart.