The British Invasion February 7, 1964

1
The British Invasion February 7, 1964

• Beatles
• Billy Kramer and the Dakotas
• Gerry and the Pacemakers
• Hollies
• Dave Clark Five
• Rolling Stones
• The Who
• The Yardbirds

2
American Music in Britain

• American popular music available around the world
  starting with Jazz Age (1920s)
• Great Britain natural market for American music
• Historically and linguistically
• British Musicians Union ban on American music
  until 1956

• British artists resurrected music ignored,
  forgotten, or discarded by Americans leading to
  new innovations
• Went to original sources
• Interested in music in authentic and original
  contexts and sound
• Influenced especially by Blues
• British Blues Revival (London)
• Better at this music and more comfortable with it
  than Americans
• Later all re-imported into US

3
Mersey Beat (The Liverpool Sound, Beat Music)

• Mid-1960s pop music from NW England
• All-male groups
• Mixture of early American Rock n Roll with
  minimal Anglo-Celtic influences

4
The Beatles (The Fab Four)

• Formed in 1962 John Lennon, Paul McCartney,
  George Harrison, and Ringo Starr
• Named after Buddy Holly the Crickets (Beetles ?
  Beatles) because
• Lineup of 2 guitars (lead and rhythm) with bass
  and drums
• Influenced by
• RnR
• RB
• Pop
• Motown
• Vocal style combines RB with falsetto pop styles

5
Love Me Do (1962)

• First official UK single No. 17 on UK pop charts
• Roots in American popular traditions
• Simple back-beat percussion (from Rockabilly)
• Rhythmically even bass
• Constant strumming guitar
• Use of harmonica
• Use of blues inflections
• Country ballad singing style
• Began British Invasion of American music
• Breaks with dominant professional standards of
  1960s British music industry
• Not trained and skilled like professional studio
  musicians
• Audience approves musical style, not companies
• First song from UK to receive international radio
  and record distribution

6
Beatles Early Period

• Love Me Do (1962)
• Hard Days Night (1964)
• Lyrics
• Form?
• Videos
• (clip of pre-invasion performances)
• The Cavern in Liverpool
• Twist and Shout cover

7
The British Invasion

• British Rock, especially Beatles, played on
  American airwaves
• Begins to dominate charts and record sales
• Beatlemania craze caused by anticipation of
  Beatles tour through US
• Feb. 7, 1964 Beatles appear on Ed Sullivans
  television variety show
• Other groups follow, hoping to cash in on
  popularity of Beatles
• Beatles Arrive at JFK

8
The Mersey Beat

• These Bands are not Beatles copycats. They
  developed simultaneously with a similar sound.
• From Liverpool
• Gerry and the Pacemakers
• Billy Kramer and the Dakotas
• The Searchers
• From Manchester
• The Mindbenders
• Hermans Hermits
• The Hollies
• From London
• Dave Clark 5

9
The Mersey Beat (Continued)

• The Hollies
• Named after their idol, Buddy Holly
• Strongly influenced by the Everly Brothers
• Started by Graham Nash (later of Crosby, Stills
  and Nash) and Allan Clarke
• Had a typical Mersey Beat Sound 3 guitars
  Drums. Sang with a particular harmony.
• Bus Stop 1965 (June) Lyrics
• Carrie-Anne 1966 (May) (video)
• Look Through Any window 1965 (Aug)
• Just One Look 1964 (Feb) Lyrics
• The Searcher Needles and Pins (1964), video

10
The British Blues Revival

• Muddy Waters
• One of first and most influential American Blues
  musicians in Britain
• Introduced electric guitar Blues to UK
• Rollin Stone (1950)
• Many British musicians often sat through
  rehearsals of visiting Americans

11
Rolling Stones

• When the movie Blackboard Jungle, with the music
  of Bill Haley and the Comets, showed in London,
  Richards found that people were saying Did ya
  hear that music, man? Because in England we had
  never heard anything The BBC controls it and
  wont play that sort of music. But everybody our
  age stood up for that music, and the hell with
  the BBC.

12
The Rolling Stones

• Name taken from the Muddy Waters song
• Covered Chicago Blues records
• Time is On My Side (1964)
• Use of Blues-inspired guitar solo
• Other elements from local British rock
• Vocal harmonies
• Sparse use of instruments

13
The Rolling Stones Get an Image Change

• At first has imitate Beatles
• Matching suits, clean-cut looks, long hair
• Close harmonies and pop sound
• New look sharp contrast to Beatles
• Crude and offensive look
• Bad boy reputations
• Music reflects look
• Closer to qualities of American Blues
• Satisfaction (1965)
• Contrast to Beatles
• Harsher, raspier vocal timbres
• Little pop influence
• Lyrics more sexually explicit
• Blues-riff oriented with less emphasis on melody
• How is this more like Blues?

14
The Rolling Stones (Cont)

• Manager Andrew Logg Oldham first tried to make
  them appear like the Beatles.
• Soon realized he need to make them contrast.
• The overall hustle I invented for the Stones was
  to establish them as raunchy, gamy, unpredictable
  bunch of undesirables.
• Un-matching clothes, long hair, unclean
  appearance
• Made them younger in bios
• Cut out the piano player, 6 down to 5.