The British Invasion: A Revolution in Music

In class, the "British Invasion"has been mentioned briefly in alluding to famous musical groups like the Beatles and Rolling Stones who traveled from the United Kingdom to make their official debut in the United States, forever altering the very fabric of both American and world music. This period was largely centered within the 1960s but can also be considered to extend into the early 1970s, and with the rapid developments and improvements within technologies like radios and televisions, the popular new music of the decade gained more supporters at a more rapid pace than ever witnessed previously in American history. But why of all possible eras and musical styles of the day cause the musical revolution to result in the manner and magnitude to which it did?

By the 1960s, there had already been a large amount of development that had taken place through the beat movement, a countercultural response in opposition to the new world becoming too materialistic and emphasizing the importance of conformity, and performers like Allen Ginsburg and Jack Kerouac were gaining much popularity in large parts of the United States, particularly in the Northeast. The spreading of the beat trend ignited a revolutionary fervor within millions of Americans, and with the steady decline and resultant products of American record companies by the early 1960s, there grew to be an intense desire for musical change, as recording studios in the United States had begun to release mellower music. It was at this time that groups in the United Kingdom were performing and formulating new forms of music based largely off of former American songs from artists like Elvis, but they desired to achieve greater fame and fortune by performing in larger venues. It was not until the legendary Beatles, a band composed of four exceptional musicians, rose to prominence in 1964 when they arrived in the United States for the first time to present their musical stylings to American record companies. Other British artists like Dusty Springfield and Petula Clark largely benefitted from the initial success of the Beatles and paved the way for more artists to follow their footsteps in securing themselves recording contracts.

It was with the massive arrival of British music superstars that presented a major effect on the American nation together: an alteration in its essential culture. As more British artists arrived and were increasing in popularity, American artists as popular as Elvis Presley were losing recognition, causing an imbalance in the amount of American performances at this time. It was also common for most musicians at this time to begin their careers at young ages, and simple characteristics like the styles of clothing they wore or the manner in which they styled their hair presented themselves as pivotal in how the American youth would respond. Compared to American music of much of the 1950s and before, the lyrics of these new written songs of the 1960s alluded to sentiments of liberation and freedom from the old system of doing things, a common element shared with the beat movement. They would stimulate both young and older Americans alike to take part in a movement of counterculture and embrace the change of the world for the better. In sum, not only did the British invasion completely alter the musical stylings of the era and act as a reference to entire future generations of musicians, rather it also called for a change to the social order of the typical society of the same day.

Works Cited:

http://www.shsu.edu/~lis_fwh/book/british_invasion/British%20Invasion2.htm
https://www.britannica.com/event/British-Invasion