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Donegan's 'Rock Island Line' influenced three Beatles

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Today's Morning Edition music is from Lonnie Donegan, whose "The Rock Island Line" entered the British pop chart 60 years ago today.

It became a hit and launched the British skiffle craze of the 1950s. Hundreds of aspiring musicians formed skiffle groups, where they played fast versions of American folk and blues songs using homemade and improvised instruments. Paul McCartney, John Lennon and George Harrison were all in skiffle groups and mentioned this song as an early influence.