The British Invasion was
a never before seen trend that occurred in the mid-1960’s. Several popular
British rock and pop bands, as well as other elements of the newly emerging
British teen culture including fashion, literature and film, began to see a
growing rise in popularity over in America.[1]
Bands such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Kinks were at the
forefront of this surge. Throughout the 1950’s American pop music was slowly
developing a fan base in the UK, acts such as Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry and Ray
Charles became popular and introduced rock and roll to the United Kingdom.
The first band to break America was The Beatles,
with their record I Want to Hold Your Hand. A copy Life magazine
released in 1964 explained the beginning of the British Invasion, they wrote:
“In 1776 England lost her American colonies. Last week the Beatles took them
back.”[2]
Their reputations had proceeded them,
and the band had made the American news before their music had. The US was
aware of the growing Beatlemania in the UK and across Europe. Famously, Paul
McCartney stated, “I think one of the cheekiest things we ever did was to say
to Brian Epstein, ‘We’re not going to America until we’ve got a Number One
record.’”[3] This media attention and
attitude had already attracted attention and when they announced the American
release date for I Want to Hold Your Hand was January, the demand was so
big they rush-released it in December 1963. By the time the Beatles landed in America
for the first time, their record had held its place at number one for seven
weeks.
It is unknown why The Beatles caused such a
sensation across the United States so quickly. According to Rolling Stones
there are several reasons people believe they were such a hit. They suggest
that “in the aftershock of
President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, transferred to the Beatles all the
youthful idealism that had begun cresting under JFK.”[4] Arguing
that due to the devastation and panic caused by of the assassination of a
widely popular president, the American youth were looking for something to find
joy in and to connect with. But this acceptance of the Beatles and the sound of
British Rock and Roll opened the doors for the British Invasion, which inspired
a new generation of musicians.
[1] Robbins,
A. I., ‘British Invasion – Music’, Encyclopaedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/event/British-Invasion,
Accessed: 09/03/2020
[2] Puterbaugh, P., ‘The British Invasion: From the Beatles to the
Stones, The Sixties Belonged to Britain’, Rolling Stones, July 14 1988, https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/the-british-invasion-from-the-beatles-to-the-stones-the-sixties-belonged-to-britain-244870/,
Accessed: 09/03/2020
[3] What You
Don’t Know about the Beatles’ U.S. Debut, NBC News, February 7 2014, https://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/what-you-dont-know-about-beatles-u-s-debut-n24171,
Accessed: 09/03/2020
[4] Puterbaugh,
P., ‘The British Invasion: From the Beatles to the
Stones, The Sixties Belonged to Britain’, Rolling Stones, July 14 1988, https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/the-british-invasion-from-the-beatles-to-the-stones-the-sixties-belonged-to-britain-244870/,
Accessed: 09/03/2020
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