Who Started the British Invasion
One thing that must be gotten straight is that, in all actuality, a singer named Dusty Springfield singing, “I Only Want To Be With You” and a group called The Searchers singing ‘Sugar and Spice’, actually cracked into the pop music charts in ‘63, months before the Beatles landed on the shores of America, and could essentially be considered as the true beginning to the British invasion. Regardless, for histories sake, we shall begin with The Beatles.
It has been said that the British invasion of musical artists began February 7th, 1964 when the Beatles touched down in New York on that day. Since that time, the British invasion has become legendary for anyone interested in the pop music scene of that era, and I will give list of some of the most popular groups, some tidbits of trivia, and their influences on the pop music scene.
The Beatles–Not much needs to said about the Beatles except that they changed music and the way it was presented, they changed fashion, they changed the way we thought about perceptions and ideas, and essentially, in a broad sense, they changed the world as we knew it. No other band has ever meant so much to the world of music and art, and no one can ever mention the 60’s without mentioning The Beatles side by side.
Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotasmanaged by Brian Epstein of the Beatles, and possibly the second of the British bands to make it to America.
The Rolling StonesThe anti-Beatles whose scruffy look was in marked contrast to the Fab Fours clean and polished appearance. They became a force unto their own right, and are still performing to this day.
The KinksBegan by the Davies brothers, Ray and Dave, and were considered the hardest driving rock and roll musicians during the invasion.
