The British Are Coming…Again: The 1960s

       Greetings and welcome back to the next installment of our progression through music of the modern music era. With the emergence of Rock and Roll from the 1950s, the 1960s took the genre of Rock and broke it down into a number sub-genres including pop rock, psychedelic rock, blues rock, and folk rock. However, easily the most notable contribution to music of this decade was the notorious ‘British Invasion’ which incorporated British rock and roll (“beat”) into American culture. During this time, an abundance of ‘Boy Bands’ dominated the popular hits around the world as everyone seemed to succumb to this new and mellow style of music. At the center of attention were groups such as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Who, the Kinks, the Dave Clark Five, Herman’s Hermits, The Swinging Blue Jeans, the Zombies, and the Animals.

       Would this really be a post about the 60s if I didn’t mention the Beatles? Initially forming in Liverpool (I was actually in the Cavern Club where they performed when I visited England), the group consisted of Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison. They began their rise to fame by doing small gigs and slowly grew in popularity. During the end of 1963, the group appeared on a number of British television shows where the received an onslaught of attention from viewers. This same effect happened in 1964 once the Beatles starred on American television and thus sparked the ‘Beatlemania’ phenomenon. I could write a novel about the history of the Beatles as this only scrapes the tip of the iceberg of one of the most popular bands in music history. Two of my favorite Beatles’ songs are “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” and “Strawberry Fields Forever.”

       The Rolling Stones formed in 1962 and originally included members Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Brian Jones, Bill Wyman, and Charlie Watts. The group was based upon the Chicago blues style and began their early career by playing in pubs around West London.Their initial success seemed impossible at first, but by 1965 they were second only to the Beatles. In contrast to the Beatles, the Stones had considerably longer hair, all dressed differently, and as the Beatles became more respected, the Stones became more rebellious. The Rolling Stones were prone to police and press attention mainly for drug usage, while the Beatles were more less open of such scandalous acts. Like the Beatles, and for clarity-sake, I could easily go on about the Rolling Stones and their long-lasting legacy. My favorite Rolling Stones song has to easily be the classic “Paint It, Black.”

       Unlike the 1950s, I’m actually quite fond of the 60s decade of music as a whole. The atmosphere of the 60s seemed to be revolutionary in both music as well as the world around it with the assassination of JFK, the unrest of the Vietnam War, and racial injustice. Minus the whole “drugs” part associated with most of the bands of this time, I also feel like attending the Woodstock festival during 1969 would have also been an incredible experience. The 1960s definitely produced a number of highly recognized bands that have left their mark on the evolution of music.