Sunday Morning Playlist: British Invasion - Page 3

There really were three styles of rock popular in England during these formative years, and they differed depending largely on what city you were in. Some of the bands had evolved from skiffle, a British form of folk music usually played on improvised instruments and taking some cues from blues; Lonnie Donnegan represents the big name of British skiffle, who had an influential hit with Leadbelly's "Rock Island Line" in 1955. The Quarrymen are probably the most well-known skiffle group in America, by virtue of their later becoming the Beatles. Chuck Berry and Little Richard had a big effect on these bands in the late 50's, and their sound evolved into a fully electric, uptempo rock 'n' roll.

Other bands, like The Rolling Stones (middle class sophisticates from London), and The Animals (working class stiffs from Newcastle) took a more purist approach to blues, mimicing the vocal techniques, copping licks, recording material by blues artists, appearing onstage with them. Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, Howlin' Wolf, Elmore James were among the names these bands listened to. The Rolling Stones married blues-rock to Chuck Berry-style rock; the Animals stayed purer, but also added electric organ.

A third style of the first wave relied more on r&b, usually accentuated for its grit, among them Them (from Belfast) and The Who (originally The Detours, also from London). The r&b flavored British invasion groups were among the last to click in America, although they enjoyed robust sales in the U.K.

Other cities with active scenes that produced famous acts were Manchester, home to the Hollies; Birmingham, home to The Moody Blues; and of course, Liverpool, home to The Searchers, Gerry and the Pacemakers in addition to the Beatles.

Why was the British Invasion so influential to rock? Aside from reinvigorating the form and making it viable again, it introduces some new concepts to the music that have now become part of its formula, and very DNA. The British Invasion helped to popularize the notion of a band as a self-contained unit. Unlike the 50's bands, which generally had on acknowledged star, and a fairly faceless backing group as satellites (Somebody and the Somethings), many of the new British bands came branded as a single entity (the Beatles, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones). This bolstered the notion (in theory) that the band was more important than the individual, and that (again, in theory) the bassist was just as important as the singer, and the drummer every bit as integral as the guitarist. While it didn't always work out that way, in the case of the successful bands it often did, at least for a while.

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