How the Brits sold rock’n’roll back to America

what: The British Invasion

when: 1964-1966

where: the USA

February 3, 1959, Buddy Holly is killed in a plane crash; immortalised in Don McLean’s ‘American Pie’ as ‘The Day The Music Died’. This was the same year Elvis left to join the army and Little Richard to join the church, while both Jerry Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry faced allegations of statutory rape. American rock’n’roll was dead.

However, in Britain, a youth revolution was underway. Mixing rock’n’roll, rhythm & blues and doo-wop harmonies; British ‘beat’ music took America by storm. The Beatles broke down the doors with their first performance on the Ed Sullivan Show, watched by a record-breaking audience of 74 million. Their hit songs, sharp suits and ‘mop-top’ haircuts induced hysteria in American girls, shaking the establishment. The next two years saw an invasion of British artists on U.S. shores, leading to the international identity of rock music we know today.

Playlist:

1. ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’ – The Beatles
2. ‘I Only Want To Be With You’ – Dusty Springfield
3. ‘House of The Rising Sun’ – The Animals
4. ‘You Really Got Me’ – The Kinks
5. ‘She’s Not There’ – The Zombies
6. ‘Do Wah Diddy Diddy’ – Manfred Mann
7. ‘Downtown’ – Petula Clark
8. ‘I Can’t Get No (Satisfaction) – The Rolling Stones
9. ‘Wild Thing’ – The Troggs
10. ‘Sunshine Superman’ – Donovan

Spotify playlist: The British Invasion

The Beatles – 1st Ed Sullivan Performance