British Invasion Alternate Assignment

The British Invasion was, quite simply, a major development in American popular music history. The phenomenon changed the record industry in the United States by British artists, particularly the beat groups who had proved adept at recycling the American rhythm and blues and rockabilly songs of the 1950s.

It's hard to imagine the invasion taking place without the Beatles. Many of the bands swept along on the Fab Four's coattails to the top of the American charts possessed no more talent than the bland teen idols they had displaced. The Beatles, however, were another matter. Three of members--the songwriting team of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, and, to a lesser extent, lead guitarist George Harrison--were capable of producing first-rate material. After a brief period of covering American r & b, pop, and country standards, the group went on to compose a long string of rock classics, many of which are likely to be performed for generations to come. The band members were also all excellent musicians, thanks in large part to years spent performing in small clubs in England and Germany. Lennon and McCartney both were superb vocalists, capable of putting across rave-up rockers and introspective ballads in an equally convincing manner.

Despite the band's ability--so easy to assess in retrospect-- success in the U.S. might easily have eluded them had not conditions proved ripe for receptiveness on the part of the American public. The Beatles, under the skilled management of Brian Epstein, had attempted a number of times in 1963 to secure a hit record on the American charts. Songs like "Love Me Do," "From Me to You," "Please Please Me," and "She Loves You"--all hits in the U.K.--had gone nowhere when released by various labels in the states. The Beatles--with their cheeky wit (as evidenced in countless news interviews punctuating the whirlwind visits to the U.S. during the early months of 1964) and catchy, upbeat pop songs--proved to be the perfect anecdote America's collective depression. In addition, the mop-top hairstyle exhibited by the band members garnered considerable attention. Within a matter of weeks in January 1964, catapulted by round-the-clock radio play and appearances on the "Ed Sullivan Show," the Beatles went from complete unknowns to household names in the U.S. With "I Want to Hold Your Hand" perched in the number one position on theBillboard"Hot 100," record companies owning the distribution rights to earlier Beatles hits rushed them back out into the marketplace. At one point in the spring, the band held down all top five positions on the national singles chart.

These developments made a substantial impression on the British music scene. British artists of every stripe--from beat groups to purveyers of easy listening fare--were hurriedly signed up by American labels and promoted through the mass media with a vengeance. In the weeks immediately following the appearance of the Beatles, countless other U.K. recording acts--some of whom had realized very little success in their own country--enjoyed heavy radio play and print coverage stateside.

By early summer the floodgates had burst open; there seemed to be more British artists than American on the airwaves.. Even Presley's career was sent into a tailspin. After eight years of uninterrupted success, he enjoyed only one top ten hit ("Crying in the Chapel"; which charted in 1965 but was recorded in 1960) prior to his revival in 1969 with "In the Ghetto" and "Suspicious Minds." Only a handful of American artists continued to thrive in 1964 and beyond, most notably the Beach Boys, the Four Seasons and Bob Dylan. Many British bands were influenced by Dylan’s folksy social commentary and many music in the mid 1960s began to have a political message especially with the civil rights movement and war in Vietnam.

Probably the most positive result of the British Invasion was its role in clearing away the musical deadwood which had found a home on the American charts. Within a year or two of the initial British onslaught, a new wave of American musicians had already laid the groundwork for the creative renaissance in pop music during the latter half of the 1960s.

Questions (answer on back or separate paper)

  1. What were British groups “recycling”?
  2. Who were one of the first British groups to “sweep” into America?
  3. What type of music did the Beatles originally produce and what did that evolve into?
  4. What were some of the Beatles early hits and why?
  5. What rocketed the Beatles to American stardom?
  6. What was the result of the Beatles success for other British bands?
  7. What effect did the invasion have on American bands?
  8. What were some American exceptions to the British invasion?
  9. What was significant about Bob Dylan’s music?
  10. Overall, what was the impact of the British invasion?