British Invasion

The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of British culture became popular in the United States and significant to the rising "counterculture" on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Pop and rock groups such as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Zombies, the Kinks, Small Faces, the Dave Clark Five, Herman's Hermits, the Hollies, the Animals, Gerry and the Pacemakers, the Searchers, the Yardbirds, the Who and Them, as well as solo singers like Dusty Springfield, Cilla Black, Petula Clark, Tom Jones and Donovan, were at the forefront of the "invasion".

Background

The rebellious tone and image of US rock and roll and blues musicians became popular with British youth in the late 1950s. While early commercial attempts to replicate US rock and roll mostly failed, the trad jazz–inspired skiffle craze, with its do it yourself attitude, produced two top ten hits in the US by Lonnie Donegan. Young British groups started to combine various British and American styles in different parts of the United Kingdom, such as the movement in Liverpool known as Merseybeat or the "beat boom".When the Beatles hit America CNN February 10, 2004

While US acts were popular in the United Kingdom, few British acts had achieved any success in the US prior to 1964. Cliff Richard, who was the best-selling British act in the United Kingdom at the time, had only one top forty hit in the US with " Living Doll" in 1959. Along with Donegan, exceptions to this trend were the US number-one hits "Auf Wiederseh'n, Sweetheart" by Vera Lynn in 1952 (Lynn also had a lower-charting, but more enduring, hit in "We'll Meet Again"), "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" by Laurie London in 1958, and the instrumentals " Stranger on the Shore" by Acker Bilk and " Telstar" by the Tornados, both in 1962. In 1961, Hayley Mills' " Let's Get Together" from '' The Parent Trap'' reached the top ten. Also in 1962 on the Hot 100, " Midnight in Moscow" by Kenny Ball peaked at number two, Frank Ifield's " I Remember You" became the next British vocal to crack the top five, and the Springfields' version of " Silver Threads and Golden Needles" reached the top forty.

Some observers have noted that US teenagers were growing tired of singles-oriented pop acts like Fabian. The Mods and Rockers, two youth "gangs" in mid-1960s Britain, also had an impact in British Invasion music. Bands with a Mod aesthetic became the most popular, but bands able to balance both (e.g., the Beatles) were also successful.

Beatlemania

In October 1963, the first newspaper articles about the frenzy in England surrounding the Beatles appeared nationally in the U.S."How the Beatles Went Viral: Blunders, Technology & Luck Broke the Fab Four in America,"
by Steve Greenberg, '' Billboard'' February 7, 2014 The Beatles' November 4 Royal Variety Performance in front of the Queen Mother sparked music industry and media interest in the group. During November, a number of major US print outlets and two network television evening programs published and broadcast stories on the phenomenon that became known as " Beatlemania".

On 10 December, ''CBS Evening News'' anchor Walter Cronkite, looking for something positive to report, re-ran a Beatlemania story that originally aired on the 22 November edition of the ''CBS Morning News'' with Mike Wallace but was shelved that night because of the assassination of US President John Kennedy.Tweet the Beatles! How Walter Cronkite Sent The Beatles Viral ANDRE IVERSEN FOR THE WIN!
by Martin Lewis based on information from "THE BEATLES ARE COMING! The Birth of Beatlemania in America" by Bruce Spitzer" July 18, 2009. After seeing the report, 15-year-old Marsha Albert of Silver Spring, Maryland, wrote a letter the following day to disc jockey Carroll James at radio station WWDC asking, "Why can't we have music like that here in America?" On 17 December, James had Miss Albert introduce "I Want to Hold Your Hand" live on the air. WWDC's phones lit up, and Washington, D.C., area record stores were flooded with requests for a record they did not have in stock. James sent the record to other disc jockeys around the country sparking similar reaction. On 26 December, Capitol Records released the record three weeks ahead of schedule. The release of the record during a time when teenagers were on vacation helped spread Beatlemania in the U.S. On 29 December, ''The Baltimore Sun'', reflecting the dismissive view of most adults, editorialised, "America had better take thought as to how it will deal with the invasion. Indeed a restrained 'Beatles go home' might be just the thing." In the next year alone, the Beatles would have thirty different listings on the Hot 100.

On 3 January 1964, ''The Jack Paar Program'' ran Beatles concert footage licensed from the BBC "as a joke", but it was watched by 30 million viewers. While this piece was largely forgotten, Beatles producer George Martin has said it "aroused the kids' curiosity". In the middle of January 1964, "I Want to Hold Your Hand" appeared suddenly, then vaulted to the top of nearly every top forty music survey in the U.S., launching the Fab Four's sustained, massive output. "I Want to Hold Your Hand" ascended to number one on the 25 January 1964, edition of '' Cash Box'' magazine (on sale January 18) and the 1 February 1964, edition of the Hot 100. On 7 February 1964, the ''CBS Evening News'' ran a story about the Beatles' US arrival that afternoon in which Walter Cronkite said, "The British Invasion this time goes by the code name Beatlemania." Two days later, on Sunday, 9 February, the group appeared on ''The Ed Sullivan Show''. Nielsen Ratings estimated that 45 percent of US television viewers that night saw their appearance.

According to Michael Ross, "It is somewhat ironic that the biggest moment in the history of popular music was first experienced in the US as a television event." ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' had for some time been a "comfortable hearth-and-slippers experience." Not many of the 73 million viewers watching in February 1964 would fully understand what impact the band they were watching would have.

The Beatles soon incited contrasting reactions and, in the process, generated more novelty records than anyone—at least 200 during 1964–1965 and more inspired by the " Paul is dead" rumour in 1969. Among the many reactions, favouring the hysteria were British girl group the Carefrees' "We Love You Beatles" (No. 39 on 11 April 1964) and the Patty Cakes' "I Understand Them", subtitled "A Love Song to the Beatles". Disapproving the pandemonium were US group the Four Preps' " A Letter to the Beatles" (No. 85 on 4 April 1964) and US comedian Allan Sherman's "Pop Hates the Beatles".

On 4 April, the Beatles held the top five positions on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart, and no other act simultaneously held even the top four. The Beatles also held the top five positions on '' Cash Box''s singles chart that same week, with the first two positions reversed from the Hot 100. The group's massive chart success, which included at least two of their singles holding the top spot on the Hot 100 during each of the seven consecutive years starting with 1964, continued until they broke up in 1970.

Beyond the Beatles

One week after the Beatles entered the Hot 100 for the first time, Dusty Springfield, having launched a solo career after her participation in the Springfields, became the next British act to reach the Hot 100, peaking at number twelve with " I Only Want to Be with You". During the next three years, many more British acts with a chart-topping US single would appear. As 1965 approached, another wave of British Invasion artists emerged which usually composed of groups playing in a more pop style, such as the Hollies or the Zombies as well as artists with a harder-driving, blues-based approach like the Dave Clark Five, the Kinks, and the Rolling Stones. On 8 May 1965, the British Commonwealth came closer than it ever had to a clean sweep of a weekly Hot 100's Top Ten, lacking only a hit at number two instead of " Count Me In" by Gary Lewis & the Playboys. On 1 May 1965, the British Commonwealth nearly swept the ''Cash Box'' singles chart's Top Ten, lacking only a hit at number six instead of "Count Me In". The British Commonwealth also held down the top six on the Hot 100 on 1 May 1965 and the top six on ''Cash Box'' singles chart's Top Ten on 24 April 1965. That same year, half of the 26 ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart toppers (counting the Beatles' "I Feel Fine" carrying over from 1964) and the number-one position on 28 of the 52 chart weeks belonged to British acts. The British trend would continue into 1966 and beyond. British Invasion acts also dominated the music charts at home in the United Kingdom.

The musical style of British Invasion artists, such as the Beatles, had been influenced by earlier US rock 'n' roll, a genre which had lost some popularity and appeal by the time of the Invasion. However, a subsequent handful of white British performers, particularly the Rolling Stones and the Animals, would appeal to a more 'outsider' demographic, essentially reviving and popularising, for young people at least, a musical genre rooted in the blues, rhythm, and black culture, which had been largely ignored or rejected when performed by black US artists in the 1950s. Such bands were sometimes perceived by US parents and elders as rebellious and unwholesome unlike parent-friendly pop groups, such as the Beatles. The Rolling Stones would become the biggest band other than the Beatles to come out of the British Invasion, topping the Hot 100 eight times. Sometimes, there would be a clash between the two styles of the British Invasion, the polished pop acts and the grittier blues-based acts due to the expectations set by the Beatles. Eric Burdon of the Animals said "They dressed us up in the most strange costumes. They were even gonna bring a choreographer to show us how to move on stage. I mean, it was ridiculous. It was something that was so far away from our nature and, um, yeah we were just pushed around and told, 'When you arrive in America, don't mention the ietnamwar! You can't talk about the war.' We felt like we were being gagged."Archived a
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" Freakbeat" is a term sometimes given to certain British Invasion acts closely associated with the mod scene during the Swinging London period, particularly harder-driving British blues bands of the era that often remained obscure to US listeners, and who are sometimes seen as counterparts to the garage rock bands in America. Certain acts, such as the Pretty Things and the Creation, had a certain degree of chart success in the UK and are often considered exemplars of the form. Allmusic.com biography/ref> The emergence of a relatively homogeneous worldwide "rock" music style marking the end of the "invasion" occurred in 1967.

Other cultural impacts

Outside music, other aspects of British arts and engineering, such as BSA motorcycles became popular in the US during this period and led US media to proclaim the United Kingdom as the centre of music and fashion.

Film and television

The Beatles' film '' A Hard Day's Night'' marked the group's entrance into film. The film '' Mary Poppins'' – starring English actress Julie Andrews as the titular character, and released on 27 August 1964 – became the most Oscar-winning and Oscar-nominated Disney film in history. ''My Fair Lady'', released on 25 December 1964, starring British actress Audrey Hepburn as Cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle, won eight Academy Awards. And '' Oliver!'' released in 1968 won Best Picture, becoming the final musical film to do so until ''Chicago'' in 2002.

Besides the Bond series which commenced with Sean Connery as James Bond in 1962, films with a British sensibility such as the "Angry Young Men" genre, '' What's New Pussycat?'' and ''Alfie'' styled London Theatre. A new wave of British actors such as Peter O'Toole, Michael Caine, and Peter Sellers intrigued US audiences. Four of the decade's Academy Award winners for best picture were British productions, with the epic '' Lawrence of Arabia'', starring O'Toole as British army officer T. E. Lawrence, winning seven Oscars in 1963.

British television series such as ''Danger Man'' (renamed ''Secret Agent'' in its US airings), '' The Saint'' and '' The Avengers'' began appearing on US screens, inspiring a series of US-produced espionage programs such as '' I Spy'', ''The Man From U.N.C.L.E.'' and the parody series ''Get Smart''. By 1966, spy series (both British and US versions) had emerged as a favourite format of US viewers, along with Westerns and rural sitcoms. Television shows that featured uniquely American styles of music, such as ''Sing Along with Mitch'' and ''Hootenanny'', were quickly canceled and replaced with shows such as ''Shindig!

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