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Outside of its home in the United States, the UK's brand of rock is undoubtedly the most well-known and widespread. Much of what has made rock music unique, in its ability to unite audiences and adapt new influences, came from British bands in the late 50s and early 60s.
1 British rock and the British Invasion (1958-1969)
Main article: British Invasion
American rock and roll had an impact across the globe in the 1950s, perhaps most intensely in Britain, where record collecting and trend-watching were in full bloom among the youth culture prior to the rock era, and where color barriers were less of an issue. Countless British youths listened to and were influenced by the R&B and rock and roll pioneers and began forming their own bands to play the new music with an intensity and drive seldom found in white American acts. This set the stage for Britain becoming a new center of rock and roll, leading to the British Invasion from 1958 to 1969.
In 1958 three British teenagers formed a rock and roll group, ' Cliff Richard and the Drifters (later renamed Cliff Richard and the Shadows). The group recorded a hit, " Move It ", marking not only what is held to be the very first British full on rock 'n' roll single, but also the beginning of a different sound -- British rock.
Cliff Richard and the Shadows became the most influential band in the UK and set standards for following British (and American) groups. Comprising two guitars, bass guitar and drums, they also changed the way the guitar was featured, introducing the Fender Stratocaster and the concept of a "lead guitarist" (virtuoso Hank Marvin) to the rock scene and featuring an electric bass guitar instead of the usual standup bass. Appealing almost exclusively to and hugely popular with youth in Britain (including the nascent Beatles) as well as across Europe, Cliff Richard and the Shadows also influenced many UK teenagers to begin buying records, a trend which would reach a peak with The Beatles a few years later. The group also paved the way for the Beatles in other ways, touring the US (without much fanfare) and whetting US record companies' appetites for a youth-oriented band to market stateside.
By the early 1960s, bands from England were dominating the rock and roll scene world wide, giving rock and roll a new focus. First re-recording standard American tunes, these bands then infused their original rock and roll compositions with an industrial-class sensibility. Foremost among these was The Beatles, comprised of four youths from Liverpool who became the single most important and influential act in the history of rock and roll. The Beatles brought together a near-perfect mix of image, songwriting, and personality and, after initial success in the UK, were signed in the US and launched a large-scale stateside tour to ecstatic reaction, a phenomenon quickly dubbed Beatlemania.
Although they were not the first British band to come to America, The Beatles spearheaded the Invasion, triumphing in the U.S. on their first visit in 1964 (including historic appearances on the Ed SullivanEd Sullivan ( September 28, 1902 October 13, 1974) was an American entertainment writer and television host, best known as the emcee of a popular TV variety show that was at its height of popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. Sullivan was originally a Show). In the wake of Beatlemania other British bands headed to the U.S., notably The Rolling StonesThis article is about the rock band. For the science-fiction novel by Robert Heinlein, see The Rolling Stones (novel). For the music industry magazine, see Rolling Stone. The Rolling Stones are a British rock band who rose to prominence during the mid- 19, who disdained the Beatles' clean-cut image and presented a darker, more aggressive image, The AnimalsThe Animals were a British rock and roll band of the 1960s, formed in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Comprising Eric Burdon (vocals), Alan Price (organ), Hilton Valentine (guitar), John Steel (drums), and Bryan 'Chas' Chandler (bass) their moderate success in their and The YardbirdsThe Yardbirds were an early British rock band, noted for spawning the careers of several of rock music's most famous guitarists, including Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page. Formed originally as the Metropolitan Blues Quartet in 1962 63 in London, t. Throughout the early and mid-'60s Americans seemed to have an insatialble appetite for British rock; one of the groups who made a greater mark in the USA than on the UK was Herman's HermitsHerman's Hermits was a British rock band in the 1960s, formed in Manchester, England in 1963 (see 1963 in music). After playing live for a time, they soon met future producer Mickie Most and released "I'm Into Something Good", though they hadn't actually. Other British bands, including The WhoThe Who is a British rock band. They were noted for the dynamism of their live performances and for their thoughtful music, including Tommy one of the first rock operas. While not a heavy metal band themselves, their distorted guitars, epic songwriting, a and The KinksThe Kinks a British Invasion pop/ rock band, were formed in London in 1963 by Dave Davies and Peter Quaife. The lineup with which they began their recording career was Dave Davies (lead guitar, vocals, songwriting); his brother Ray Davies (primary songwri, would have some success during this period but saved their peak of popularity for the second wave of British invasion in the late 1960s.
To Americans, the British Invasion was when British rock music started. To listeners in the UK and elsewhere, there was no invasion, for they always had these groups, as well as many who never gained worldwide recognition.
