7. The Hollies: I Can't Let Go
The Hollies, while somewhat more lightweight than the aforementioned groups, nontheless came up with a remarkable number of good, memorable, tuneful singles, and managed to remain a commercial force in America into the mid 1970's, one of a very small number of British Invasion acts to do so. The Hollies were formed in Manchester in 1962-3 by singer Allan Clarke and singer/guitarist Graham Nash and bassist Eric Haydock; shortly after they were signed to EMI following an appearance at the Cavern Club in Liverpool in 1963 they were joined by singer/guitarist Tony Hicks and drummer Bobby Elliott. Their first recordings, which included a lot of r&b covers, were pretty weak, but they shone on more pop-oriented material, eventually working out stellar three-part harmonies and shining lead guitar bits; the Al Gorgoni/Chip Taylor-penned "I Can't Let Go", which reached a modest #42 in 1966, is a gorgeous piece of uptempo pop-rock, with a fairly complex vocal arrangement with Nash singing counterpoint to the others, while Hicks gets a great ringing 12-string guitar solo. It was included on the U.K. album Would You Believe? and its counterpart Beat Group! in America. Linda Ronstadt covered "I Can't Let Go" in 1980, and took it to #31. The band didn't really break in the U.S. until 1966 with "Bus Stop"; a rash of good singles followed, including "Stop Stop Stop" "Carrie Anne" "King Midas In Reverse" and "Pay You Back With Interest". Nash departed in 1968, and formed Crosby, Stills, and Nash. Clarke split in 1972, after "Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress", but returned in 1974 for one more smash "The Air That I Breathe", before the Hollies finally ran out of commercial steam.
8. The Troggs: Wild Thing
The Troggs were latecomers to the British Invasion, not scoring until 1966 with "Wild Thing", but they left a lasting impression; "Wild Thing" has become something of a cultural artifact; even Jimi Hendrix covered it at the Monterey Pop Festival. It was written by Chip Taylor, who also had a hand in writing "I Can't Let Go" for the Hollies. Led by vocalist Reg Presley, the band, from Andover, were primitives; specializing in three chord bashfests, or rudimentary ballads; they only had three hits in the U.S.; "Wild Thing", "With A Girl Like You", and "Love Is All Around" are all classics of trashy proto-punk garage-band style noise, with the latter two being ballads. Various permutations of the Troggs remained active through the 70's; they were re-discovered by both the punk audience and garage rock archaeologists.
Article comments
1 - uao
I also salute: Dusty Springfield, Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas, The Creation, The Honeycombs, The Walker Brothers, Manfred Mann, Cilla Black, The Tremeloes, et. al.
I thought the article was already waaay too long. I'll add 'em on my blog's entry when I get time.
2 - The Proprietor
The opening chord of "A Hard Day's Night" still inspires much discussion and contention amongst guitarists and Beatles fans. One researcher actually put the chord through a Fourier transform to discover the actual components of the chord (which as any 12-string Rickenbacker owner will tell you, is not played with just that guitar). In all likelihood the chord was played simultaneously by Harrison and Lennon on guitar simultaneously (Lennon is generally considered to have used his Gibson J-160E on this track, not his Rickenbacker 325), McCartney playing a bass note on the Hofner, and George Martin playing a dissonant piano chord.
3 - uao
Your knowledge of musical equipment and guitar lore continues to astound me, Proprietor.
Fascinating analysis; it's always an education.
4 - Matt
Both the post and the Proprietor's add-on are good stuff. Thanks guys!
5 - ac/dc#1
i know that zepplin came about five years after the invasion, but they are the best rock band in the world besides the beatles and the stones. give them the credit that they deserve!!!
6 - ac/dc#1
even though led zeppelin came after the invision hey are still a good band. please include them in the blog!