Music In The 1960s

In the mid 1960,s a number of rock and roll bands crossed into America in droves after being inspired by the success of the Beatles who had already made a breakthrough in America. The bands way of playing differed as they played a wide variety of rock which included hard rock, kinks and Herman’s Hermit

Most of the bands that took place in the invasion were playing blues or pop, with loud guitars and melodies. Between the years 1964 to 1966 the British topped the charts both in America and the United Kingdom. A second invasion occurred in the late 1960,s, many of the bands had become households name in the U.K and America.

By 1962, driven by the attitude that anyone could sing and the popularity of rock, most British teenagers developed interest in American rock and roll which they blended with local beats and came up with music that they played and sang proudly. Groups of young people with electric powered guitars began composing tunes such as melodic pop and electric blues. The defiant tune and image of the blues musicians was well received by the British youth and ultimately influenced the Artists of the popular invasion.  

The arrival of the Beatles to New York on the 7th of February 1964 is recognized as the occasion which led to other pop and rock groups cross into America, even though there had been earlier attempts in 1950,s, none had succeeded like the Beatles.

The Beatles formed in 1960. Was from Liverpool and played a major role in the invasion .they were the most successful music group in the sixties, selling about over a billion records world wide, releasing over 40 singles and leaving a legacy of being the group topped both the United Kingdom and United States of America charts.

Liverpool was the place where one could find the latest American hits before they were circulated in the other parts of Britain, this was because Liverpool being a seaport most of the sailors who visited the United States came back with the music.

The Beatles first public appearance in public in the United States was on a show hosted by Ed Sullivan on 9th February 1964. The studio had the capacity of only 703 seats but a record 50,000 people requested for seats at the studio and another estimated 73 million watched on television, as the Beatles performed five songs.

The Beatles right away became a house hold name in rock music and the most known music group, but at the end of the 60s the Beatle members went separate ways to begin solo careers. Another type of music known as Motown music it was produced by the first black owned company which was known for catchy lyrics.

Rock music had some negative aspects; it began to be associated with drugs. This was after a singer from the group Doors died of drug overdose

Other groups that made an impact apart from the Beatles were, the Pace makers, quintet and also the Dakotas. The first British music group that made it to the Americas top hit singles chart was the Tornados, a little time later the Beatles followed suit and soon the rest of the groups joined in 1963. Not all of the performances by successful British artists were successful in the United States of America like the case of Cliff Richard.

By 1964 London was the resident to a dozen musical groups like, rolling stones Dusty Springfield and many more. Newcastle was home to groups like the Animals, Birmingham was home to the moody blues, Belfast had the music group as the zombies.

From the year 1964 to 1966 scores of British artists went across the Atlantic into the United States of America following on the footsteps of the now successful Beatles, groups such as Manfred Mann, Petula Clark, Donavan’s and many more.

Right through 1966 and 1967, a movement which was opposed the war became an astonishingly very important concern in the political landscape of America. The movement received support of the most influential politicians, and eventually the movement gained support from the west coast through the hard work of the musical groups which had the support of most of the youth.

The musical icons included John Lennon, Jimmy Hendrix, and others. When addressing the audience, the icons saw them as a faction that could run the society in the best way they wanted, and oppose the authority .The music brought out the belief they shared on the war in Vietnam and the political state in America.

In the 1960s the music had a big role in addressing social problems such as war, and other forms of social repression that was seen as the major reason for the youth protests. The bands played to mammoth crowds to tackle such issues. But none of the events could have impacted more than the Woodstock festival that took place just outside New York City from the 15th to 18th August 1969. This was viewed as the peak after years of revolutions around the world; more than 500,000 came together to listen and watch the performance by some of the most established in the world.