Rock Island Line is an American folk song about a railway line. Lonnie Donegan's version turned it into an international hit in 1955 and was the catalyst for the Skiffle phenomenon in the UK. Skiffle was a genre blending Folk, Blues, and Jazz, played on simple instruments (like guitars, banjos, and washboards). Donegan, known as the "King of Skiffle", performed the track with characteristic speed, energy, and humor. The live performance in 1961 shows him maintaining this fiery appeal years later