The beatles & the british invasion

The beatles & the british invasion 1964-1966

i. Popular music in the U.s. at the beginning of the 1960’s • Wide variety of styles • Teen idols love songs • Folk music • Girl-group music • Rockabilly • Surf music • Sweet soul • None of the artists of any of these styles were considered to be the “Next Elvis.” • The music industry was desperately looking among these styles to find a similar phenomenon

On February 9, 1964, the Beatles appeared on Ed Sullivan’s Sunday evening show • Elvis had done the same thing 8 years earlier • 73 million people watched it • Even the crime rate went down during the time period of the telecast • The Beatles and the subsequent British Invasion had a major impact on American pop music

ii. British pop in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s • The UK was mostly a consumer of American-made music • The same American artists’ records were popular in both Britain and America • British artists achieved success at home rather than in the states • In the years immediately after WWII Britain was enamored with American popular culture • Interest in American pop grew during this time

Britain already appreciated and had learned to play earlier styles of American music • Traditional jazz (nicknamed “trad”) was derived out of New Orleans jazz styles of American music • American folk music from earlier in the 20th century fascinated Brits • British interest in rock and roll seems to be a logical continuation of that interest in U.S. culture • After WWII interest in traditional jazz and American folk increased in Britain • Parts of Britain that were destroyed by German bombings were being rebuilt • America had no home-front war damage and was considered a model of strength and affluence

Teen culture in America seemed exotic and romantic • Teens in Britain were surrounded by the recovery from war • American teens seemed free and unburdened • British youth embraced rock and roll with the same enthusiasm as American teens did • The British record and radio industries were not set up like their American counterparts • Four major labels that licensed music from American labels to distribute in Britain • EMI • Decca • Pye • Philips

Two Radio stations • BBC • Radio Luxembourg • The British government owned the BBC • Three channels • One of them played rock and roll • Radio Luxembourg was a European commercial station • Britain had no independent radio or record labels • The major labels financed radio shows that played rock and roll on their own label • The government controlled the rest

Availability of American popular music varied • Rock and roll records found on pop charts were available in retail stores • Rhythm and blues and country and western were not—and they were hard to find • Sources began to appear that were devoted to rhythm and blues, country and western, and pop • Melody Maker, New Musical Express, and Record Mirror • British teens watched American rock and roll movies to keep up on the rock and roll developments • Elvis films • Alan Freed movies • The Girl Can’t Help It

Some artists toured England and were very enthusiastically received • Bill Haley • Buddy Holly • Everly Brothers

iii. The rise of skiffle • British bandleaders played New Orleans style jazz and eventually other styles as well • Ken Colyer, Kenny Ball, and Acker Bilk • Chris Barber • Barber’s banjo player-vocalist Tony Donegan recorded a hit song in this skiffle style • “Rock Island Line” credited to Lonnie Donegan and his Skiffle Group • Barber on bass, Beryl Bryden on washboard, and Donegan played guitar on the recording

Skiffle-American jazz or folk music played entirely or in part on nonstandard instruments (as jugs, washboards, or Jew's harps); also a derivative form of music formerly popular in Great Britain featuring vocals with a simple instrumental accompaniment • “Rock Island Line” by Lonnie Donegan and his Skiffle group

“Rock Island Line” started a craze for skiffle music • Easy to play • Similar to the rise of folk music in the United States shortly after that period • John Lennon was a teen fan of skiffle • So was Jimmy Page • Skiffle was replaced by trad in the UK by the late 1950s • Trad bands had hits in the late 1950s in the UK and the states

British artists had difficulty getting hits in the UK • American artists dominated the charts • There were only a few British artists who succeeded in getting hits in England • They were patterned after American hit artists • The first was Decca’s Tommy Steele, “Rock with the Caveman” • Steele also had a hit in 1956 with “Singin’ the Blues” • Steele had 16 more hits through 1961 • The most successful British rocker was EMI’s Cliff Richard and his backup band, the Shadows

“Rock with the Caveman” by Tommy Steele • Genre: British Rock

iv. The beatles as students of american pop (1960-1963) • In 1957 a Liverpool teen named John Lennon formed a skiffle group called the Quarrymen • Played skiffle patterned after Lonnie Donegan in and around the local Liverpool area • Switched to rock and roll when the skiffle craze wound down • John Lennon was 15 years old and Paul McCartney was 13 years old when rock and roll arrived

They were part of the first generation of the new rock and roll youth culture • This generation learned rock and roll by imitating the first wave of rockers • The first recording of the Quarrymen (including 15 year old George Harrison) was in 1958 • They recorded Buddy Holly’s “That’ll Be the Day,” closely imitating the original • They recorded an original song on the other side of that acetate home recording • Holly wrote all his own songs, so they did too: “In Spite of All the Danger” • Written by Paul McCartney and George Harrison • They changed their name briefly to Johnny and the Moondogs (which was inspired by Alan Freed who called himself Moondog on the air)

Personnel changes and name changes occurred up through 1960 • John Lennon’s friend Stu Sutcliffe was added on bass guitar • They changed the band’s name to the Silver Beetles (which was further acknowledgement of Holly’s influence; his band’s name was the Crickets) • The band toured Scotland in 1960 backing singer Johnny Gentle • They added drummer Pete Best in the summer of 1960

v. hamburg • The band changed their name one more time to the Beatles • They were offered a job in the nightclub in Hamburg, Germany • The Indra Club was in Hamburg’s red light district • They moved to a larger club called the Kaiserkeller • Other British bands were starting to play in Hamburg as well: Derry and the Seniors, Tony Sheridan and the Jets, and Rory Storm and the Hurricanes-featuring drummer Ringo Starr • They made a total of five trips to Hamburg from 1960-1962 • These performances were under more of a concert setting • They opened for Little Richard and Gene Vincent

The Hamburg experience provided the opportunity to develop their musical skills • The performance routine was a grueling one • They played from 7pm-2am with 15 min. breaks • They were under pressure to make a show for the German patrons • They had to learn as many songs as they could as fast as they could • The result of this kind of pressure on musicians is to either get great or get washed out • The Beatles returned to Liverpool as professional musicians • Their performance at a dance gig at Litherland Town Hall was a sensational success • Great audience reaction foreshadowed the type of atmosphere they would soon be generating • They had refined their performance techniques such that they were now the best band in the area

The musical influences on the Beatles as they develop their musicianship and creative talents • Lennon and McCartney studied and imitated many successful writers’ styles and performers’ styles • These influences and fascination with American rock and roll are apparent in their early original work • Tapes of performances at Hamburg’s Star Club and early BBC radio performances show their tastes: Elvis Presley’s version of “That’s Alright (Mama)”, Chuck Berry’s “Memphis”, Little Richard, Carl Perkins, Leiber and Stoller’s Coasters records, Phil Spector’s “To Know Him is to Love Him”, and Ray Charles’ “Hallelujah I Love Her So”

They eventually covered several styles of songs on their first, second, and fourth albums • Girl-group numbers “Chains” and “Baby It’s You” • Motown songs: “You Really Got a Hold on Me,” “Please Mr. Postman,” and “Money” • Even a movie theme “A Taste of Honey”

vi. Brian epstein met the band at the cavern club in liverpool • The Beatles began performing regularly at the Cavern Club in Liverpool • Their musicianship was in top form and they quickly established a reputation as a great band • They had almost 300 performances at the Cavern through 1962 • They developed a huge following there • Many performances were lunch shows • There was a general atmosphere of fun, casual attitudes, and sometimes silliness

During a return trip to Hamburg in early 1961, they recorded a single with Tony Sheridan • They were backing musicians for Sheridan on his version of “My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean” • The record became a hit in Germany; It also was being requested in record stores in England • Record store manager Brian Epstein became curious and went to see them at the Cavern Club • Epstein offered to manage them in November of 1961 • Cleaned up their appearance • Had them wear tailored matching suits • He worked at finding them better places to play for more money

Epstein arranged a recording audition with Decca in their London studios on January 1, 1962 • Decca executive Dock Rowe passed on signing them, but they were allowed to keep the demo tape • Epstein took that tape to other labels to try to secure a recording contract • In June of 1962 an audition was arranged with George Martin at EMI’s Parlophone records • Martin agreed to sign the band and set the first recording session for September on one condition • Martin didn’t like Pete Best’s playing and told them they needed a better drummer • Ringo Starr was invited to join the band and he accepted in August

The first record released was an original song by Lennon and McCartney • “Love Me Do” rose to #17 of UK charts in 1962 • The Beatles were the first Liverpool band to get a major record deal and have a chart hit • Other northern groups began to go to London to seek record deals • Bands from Liverpool, Manchester, and Birmingham were called “Mersey Beat” groups • Martin had the Beatles record Mitch Murray’s song “How Do You Do It” for the single release • Lennon and McCartney wanted only their own originals released as singles • Epstein was managing another Liverpool group, and they released it • The Gerry and the Pacemakers version of “How Do You Do It” hit #1 in the UK in 1963

Prior to the Beatles’ success, northern groups had had no success breaking into the British record business • They were too far from London where all the record companies were • The irony is that those groups had better access to American records coming into the seaports there • Rhythm and blues records and country and western were easier to find in the northern seaports • This is a possible reason northern groups had more of a conglomerated style than London groups

vii. Beatlemania in england in 1963 • The British press coined the term to describe the excitement generated by the band’s live performances in 1963 • Beatles records were consistently topping the British charts • “Please Please Me”, “From Me to You”, “She Loves You” • Their first album: Please Please Me; second album: With the Beatles (both in 1963) • The big break was performing on the Sunday Night at the London Palladium TV show • The top rated TV show in England—British version to America’s Ed Sullivan Show • Millions of British viewers saw it.

In early November they appeared on the Royal Variety Performance TV show attended by British royalty • Their 5th single, “I Want to Hold Your Hand” was released a week after their 2nd album in November 1963 and was #1 by December • This was definitely their 3rd consecutive #1 record • This is the song that would finally break them into the American pop market

No Beatlemania had occurred in America during 1963 • Capitol records in the United States had become a subsidiary of EMI • They refused to release any of the first Beatles recordings • They assumed that the U.S. market wouldn’t buy Beatles records • The reason was that no other British artist had been successful in the United States • George Martin licensed the first four singles and first album to American independent labels • Beatlemania arrived in America in the beginning of 1964 • In November of 1963 Brian Epstein booked the band on the Ed Sullivan show for February • Capitol agreed to release “I Want to Hold Your Hand” in the United States

viii. American beatlemania • There were a number of entertainment business aspects that combined to help trigger Beatlemania in America • Capitol Records release of “I Want to Hold Your Hand” hit #1 in January • The band appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show immediately after that • Their U.S. debut album Meet the Beatles went #1 one week later and stayed there for three months • The U.S. release The Beatles’ Second album replaced Meet the Beatles as #1 • The July 1964 release of their full-length feature movie A Hard Day’s Night

There was a flood of Beatles singles that were hits from that point forward • Thirty in the U.S. top 40 • Twelve of those went to #1 including: “Can’t Buy Me Love” (1964), “A Hard Day’s Night” (1964), “Ticket to Ride” (1965), “Help!” (1965), and “Paperback Writer” (1966) • All subsequent Beatles albums would go to #1 • Capitol released albums that contained different songs than the original UK releases • The Capitol releases also had different album titles • Fearing they would be a passing fad, the Beatles worked furiously to accomplish as much as possible by touring, recording, not allowing a break in the momentum, which resulted in the most hits ever recorded by a popular music artist or group

They had become “The Next Elvis” • Interesting to note that nobody now is looking for “The Next Elvis” • Rather, there is always the question of who will be “The Next Beatles” • “Can’t Buy Me Love” and “A Hard Day’s Night”- British pop

There was a negative swing in 1966 • John Lennon remarked in a UK interview that religion was in a state of decline • He said this was evident when a Beatles concert could outdraw a church service • American journalists took his comments out of context by accusing Lennon of saying that the Beatles were bigger than Jesus • This triggered uproar in the south involving bonfires of Beatles products • The Beatles were threatened by the Ku Klux Klan • The 1966 world tour was such a negative experience that the band decided to stop touring • They were exhausted from the relentless pace they’d been on • The U.S. controversy was the last straw • They performed their last official concert to a ticketed audience on August 29, 1966 at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park

ix. How the beatles developed from craftsmen into artists • They began by imitating American artists • They combined some stylistic elements of 1950s and early 1960s American pop • Chuck Berry-like chords in the low register • Hand claps from girl-group tunes of the early 1960s • Everly Brothers duet singing in the song’s bridge • Little Richard’s “oooh’s” are frequently quoted in their songs • They use a common American pop song form-AABA

They used the Brill Building and Tin Pan Alley “formula” approach to create their early songs • Preexisting formula is applied to the process of assembling a song • This is an example of how craftsmanship is used in the creative process • Creative problems are solved by applying a proven solution to get the desired result. While considerably less creative, this method generates greater numbers of product • The Beatles were under pressure to produce product quickly and efficiently in the beginning. Their inexperience forced them to use this approach in case their popularity faded quickly

As they grew into more accomplished musicians and songwriters they began using other techniques • Classical music composers never solve the same problem twice the same way • They continually explore new options that haven’t been tried so as to push the art form forward • The Beatles evolved toward this approach as they became more comfortable in the studio • In early 1966 they began bold new experiments in the production of Revolver: Use of studio effects, stylistic juxtapositions, new timbral elements, structural elements

This approach is exemplified in “Tomorrow Never Knows” • Simple verse form • Lyrics are from the Tibetan Book of the Dead—spiritual advice to those facing death • The adaptation of the text was from Timothy Leary’s book The Psychedelic Experience • Accompanying music is a static single harmonic drone • Additional sounds in the recording are made from tape loops • The song was mixed in real time, rendering a repeat of the mix impossible (also an art approach)

The band’s lyrics also indicate a move toward creating art rather than crafting a product • Early song lyrics are driven by Brill Building and Tin Pan Alley emphasis on innocent romantic themes • In 1965 lyrics move into new unexplored territory involving previously unexplored topics • Lennon’s “Help!” discusses loss of self-confidence that had accompanied youthful naivete • His “Norwegian Wood” discusses sexual frustration after a one-night stand • McCartney’s “Eleanor Rigby” focuses on existential alienation; a similar theme is present in his “She’s Leaving Home” on Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band • A profound influence on their lyrics is American folk music • The leader in that movement at the time was Bob Dylan, whom they’d met in 1964

The Sgt. Pepper album cover features printed lyrics to the songs • A first for commercial music • This idea became very common after Sgt. Pepper • The development of greater stylistic range • Dylan’s influence is apparent on Lennon’s “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away” from Help! • On the same album, a classical-style string quartet accompaniment is used on McCartney’s “Yesterday” • Harrison uses a sitar on Rubber Soul’s “Norwegian Wood”

Revolver covers a wide range of styles • “Tomorrow Never Knows” demonstrates startling technological techniques with profound lyrics • “Yellow Submarine” has the character of a children’s song • “Got to Get You Into My Life” introduces horn arrangments • These trends indicate the gradual approach to the highly eclectic concepts on Sgt. Pepper • The Beatles made use of their creative freedom in the studio to become the model for others to follow • They moved from being craftsmen to artists • Instilled a sense of seriousness and self-consciousness into rock musicians who followed their lead

x. The rest of the british invade • The Beatles opened the door for other British Invasion bands to follow them on to the U.S. charts • These bands had a few things in common that create the British Invasion term: Long hair, British accents, and band members sang and accompanied themselves on guitars and occasional keyboards • British Invasion bands were at first perceived to be an extension of recent teen idols—only foreign • Their impact was assumed to be short-lived • There was little concern over their stylistic derivation

The bands that arrived from England were met with great enthusiasm in America • The Rolling Stones were the next most significant British Invasion band • Presented the opposite image of the Beatles: Sensual, dangerous, and rude. They were the anti-Beatles • British Invasion bands ended up being categorized with respect to these two models • Beatles-type • Stones-type • Beatles-type bands were noticeably more in the pop style • Gerry and the Pacemakers • Dave Clark Five

Stones-type bands were more blues-oriented • Yardbirds • Animals • Some bands defied categorization • The Who • The Kinks • Beatle-type band characteristics • Several bands employed similar music concepts in their sound • Gerry and the Pacemakers had multiple hits in England, starting with “How Do You Do It” • Their one top 10 hit in America: “Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying” • London’s Dave Clark Five had 9 top 40 American hits in 1964 • Liverpool’s Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas had 4 singles in the top 40 in 1964 • The Searchers had 5 Top 40 American hits in 1964

In 1965 a second wave of British Invasion Beatle-type bands arrived from Manchester • One of the most successful of these was Herman’s Hermits with 14 Top 40 hits through 1968 including: :I’m Into Something Good”, “Mrs. Brown You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter”, “I’m Henry the VIII, I Am”, “Listen People”, and “There’s a Kind of Hush.” • Freddy and the Dreamers used humor in their act by demonstrating a silly dance: “the Freddy” • The Hollies enjoyed a good deal of chart success • One member, Graham Nash, would later unite with future partners Steven Stills and David Crosby • Known for tight vocal harmony arrangements and precise playing • One of their biggest hits was “Bus Stop”

Herman’s Hermits, “I’m Into Something Good” • Genre: British Pop

xi. The british blues revival • The beginning of the blues side of the British Invasion were a type of undergound movement • Interest in blues was instigated by guitarist Alexis Korner and harmonica player Cyril Davies • Played blues between sets at performances of Chris Barber’s trad band • Barber owned a nightclub called the Marquee Club • Korner and Davies began hosting blues nights for other blues enthusiasts • Blues recordings were scarce in London and blues fans were careful to recreate the style faithfully • Several early blues revival musicians later rose to great prominence in rock and roll history: John Mayall, Stevie Winwood, Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, and John McLaughlin

The Rolling Stones (early years) • The original membership: Mick Jagger, vocals; Keith Richards, guitar; Brian Jones, guitar; Bill Wyman, bass; Charlie Watts, drums; Ian Stewart, piano (though he didn’t stay with the group for very long) • They conveyed a more radical side of the British Invasion concept (Brash, Nonconformist, and rebellious) • Not influenced by softer American pop music styles as were the Beatles and other Beatle-type bands • The Rolling Stones drew from the 1950s Chicago electric blues tradition • Blues that featured slide guitar, harmonica, and vocal delivery styles similar to Muddy Waters

They were involved in the blues revival that was taking place in London in the early 1960s • Jones was originally the leader, forming the Stones in 1962 to cover American blues songs • Patterned after Korner and Davies’ group Blues Incorporated • They got a regular gig at the Crawdaddy Club in Richmond • Club manager, Giorgio Gomelsky, took up managing the Stones and helped build their following • After the group left for bigger things, they were succeeded by the Yardbirds • Gomelsky also managed them • The Rolling Stones were signed to Decca records at George Harrison’s suggestion

Andrew Loog Oldham and Eric Easton began managing the band in 1963 • Oldham and Easton set up a lucrative deal that was inspired by Phil Spector • Decca had exclusive rights to Rolling Stones recordings, but the band retained ownership of the recordings • Oldham took on the role of producer, though he had no studio experience • He’d worked for Brian Epstein promoting other bands Epstein managed • In the beginning the Stones didn’t write their own material • They covered American rhythm and blues and rock and roll songs • They debuted with a cover version of Chuck Berry’s “Come On” • The next single: “I Wanna Be Your Man” by good friends Lennon and McCartney • Their third was a cover of Buddy Holly’s “Not Fade Away”

Oldham ordered Jagger and Richards to start writing their own songs like the Beatles were doing • Their first original to be a hit in the UK was “The Last Time” • Original material appeared gradually during the first few years • Their covers reveal their dedication to American rhythm and blues and country and western styles • One of their songs was a hit for Marianne Faithful: “As Tears Go By”

The beatles & the british invasion