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The British Invasion. In the early 1960's, most bars and clubs had musical entertainment of some sort They would play current rock and roll hits from America (Bill Haley, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly), interspersed with some of their own material.
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In the early 1960's, most bars and clubs had musical entertainment of some sort • They would play current rock and roll hits from America (Bill Haley, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly), interspersed with some of their own material
The Cavemen were college students by day and earned about $15 a week playing at clubs at night • A businessman named Brian Epstein heard the group and became their manager
Epstein changed their appearance from grungy to cute and arranged for recordings and TV appearances • With a change of drummers, Ringo Starr joining the group, the Beatles were complete
The Beatles • Success was due to management and promotion • Beatlemania swept across Europe in 1963 and took hold of North America in 1964 • Parents were unsure of this new phenomenon but songs sounded tame in comparison ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ - 1964
Songs had similar characteristics to American rock and roll - strong rhythm, light-hearted lyrics - but also focused on British folk-song tradition • As they matured, began to reach out for new sources of ideas • George Harrison introduced the sitar from India, and Ravi Shankar
Songs of the late 60's changed to more mature topics ('Strawberry Fields Forever') and introduced new sounds (sitar, electronic distortions, symphony orchestras) ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ • In 1970, the band broke up to pursue solo careers
The Rolling Stones • The dark counterpart of the Beatles • Rough • Edgy • Sexual • Stories of drug use and trashing hotel rooms followed the band around ‘Satisfaction’ - 1969
Other Musicians • Herman's Hermits • Bee Gees • The Hollies • The Who • Eric Clapton • Jimi Hendrix
Summary • Modified form of rock, with elements borrowed from English folk music • Experiments with "symphonic" or "art" rock began • Exotic instruments found their way into recordings
Rock's vulgar side also found expression in British Rock • Some fans wanted only hard, heavy rock and roll while others preferred a tamer, more sophisticated brand of rock The Who - ‘My Generation’ • This fracturing into schools continued and accelerated during the next decade.