1. Chapter 8 – The British Invasion Continues and America Reacts
“I think with guitar smashing, just like performance itself, it’s a performance, it’s an act, it’s an instant, and it really is meaningless”
Pete Townshend of the Who
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Copyright © 2011 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

2. The Mersey Sound
Influence of Buddy Holly and the Crickets Instrumentation changes from string bass to electric bass guitar and acoustic rhythm guitar to electric rhythm guitar Holly’s use of solid-body guitar becomes common Some use of keyboards and/or string sections From Liverpool: the Beatles and Gerry and the Pacemakers From Manchester: The Hollies (with Graham Nash) and Herman’s Hermits
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3. The Mods
London youth subculture, “modernists” The Kinks, Ray Davies singer, songwriter, guitarist “You Really Got Me” (1964) popularized fuzztone Later songs dig at Mods, “A Well Respected Man” and “Dedicated Follower of Fashion” (both 1966)
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4. Listening Guide
“You really Got Me” by the Kinks (1964) Tempo: 138 beats per minute, 4 beats per bar Form: 4-bar introduction introduces 4 statements of a 1-bar riff that continues on 20-bar sections with a 10-bar instrumental between the second and third sections Features: Even beat subdivisions Strong backbeat in drums, tambourine on each beat Guitar fuzztone created by cut speaker cone Riff begins with a half-beat pickup Abrupt key changes, riff changes pitch to fit Accents on “really” and “me” Lyrics: Singer is enraptured by his girlfriend Charts: Pop, #7, British his, #1
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5. The Who
Background as Scorpions, then the Detours, High Numbers Pete Townshend (born in 1945), songwriter, guitar, multi-instrumentalist John Entwistle ( ), electric bass guitar Roger Daltrey (born in 1944), singer, some guitar Keith Moon ( ), drums Lambert and Stamp managers Monterey Pop Festival, stage destruction Concept albums The Who Sell Out (1967), Tommy (1969), and Quadrophenia (1973) Who’s Next (1971) synthesizer ad sequencer effects Membership additions after Moon’s death, Kenney Jones, drums, and John “Rabbit” Bundrick, keyboards Festival seating problem at Cincinnati’s Riverfront Coliseum (1979)
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6. Listening Guide
“My Generation” by the Who (1965) Tempo: 192 beats per minute with some variation, 4 beats per bar Form: 4-bar introduction, then mostly 20-bar periods Features: Uneven beat subdivisions Strong backbeat in drums Solo vocal lines responded to by group vocals 3rd period instrumental Daltrey stutters and stammers on solo vocal lines Abrupt key changes up a whole step, then ½ step, then whole step again Lyrics: The song is an outcry for rebellious youths who want to be free to do as they please and don’t ever want to be like “old” people Charts: Pop, #74, British hits, #2
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7. British Blues Revival Bands
Chris Barber’s band played traditional jazz, skiffle, and country blues Blues revival bands formed in early sixties: Blues Incorporated Rolling Stones John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers Spencer Davis Rhythm and Blues Quartet Yardbirds Graham Bond Organization Eric Clapton with Yardbirds, Bluesbreakers, Cream, Blind Faith, before solo career Blues revival band formed in the late sixties: Fleetwood Mac with Mick Fleetwood (drums), John McVie (bass), Peter Green and Jeremy Spencer (guitars)– Christine McVie joined 1970
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8. Listening Guide
“Crossroads” by Cream (1968) Tempo: 138 beats per minute, 4 beats per bar Form: 12-bar blues Instrumental introduction, full 12-bar chorus Features: Backbeat accented by drums Solid-body electric guitar with fuzztone and low-tension strings to allow for sliding and bending notes Bass plays riff patterns and long walking lines Lyrics: Combination of two Robert Johnson songs, “Cross Road Blues” and “Traveling Riverside Blues”– treated as a tribute to Johnson Charts: Pop, #28
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9. American Reaction
British brought new interest in American rock styles of the fifties British bands more popular than heavily produced pop music in early sixties America American bands imitate the British: The Monkees like early Beatles Garage Bands, raw and unrefined by studio production techniques
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10. Listening Guide
“Louie Louie” by the Kingsmen (1963) Tempo: 126 beats per minute, 4 beats per bar Form: 4-bar instrumental introduction with pickup 2-bar chordal ostinato repeats throughout song Vocal phrases 4 bars long 16 bar instrumental section Features: Even beat subdivisions in drums, uneven subdivisions in vocals, guitar, and electric piano Drums maintain a strong backbeat Lyrics: The singer has been sailing for three days and nights thinking about the girl that is waiting for him Charts: Pop, #2 for six weeks, British hits, #26
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11. Listening Guide
“Kicks” by Paul Revere and the Raiders (1966) Tempo: 132 beats per minute, 4 beats per bar Form: 4-bar introduction, then ABCDABCDCC, with C always having the same lyrics A, B and C sections are 8 bars First D has 4 bars, second has 8 bars Features: Even beat subdivisions Backbeat not stressed 2 bar guitar riff repeats in each A section, played on electric 12-strong guitar Another guitar riff in each D section The bass enters in the 3rd bar, plays riff in A sections, pounds eighth-note pulse in C sections Lyrics: Drugs can’t fill the girl’s emptiness and will lead to her eventual destruction. Charts: Pop, #4
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12. American Blues Revival
American rock promoters only interested in the blues after the popularity of the British blues bands Paul Butterfield blues Band from Chicago Canned Heat from L.A. Janis Joplin from Texas, then San Francisco Jimi Hendrix from Seattle, first hits in London Southern bands played the blues: Allman Brothers Band ZZ Top Jimmie and Stevie Ray Vaughan Johnny and Edgar Winter
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13. Listening Guide
“Red House” by Jimi Hendrix Experience (1967) Tempo: 66 beats per minute, 4 beats per bar Form: 12 bar blues Features: Uneven beat subdivisions Strong backbeat in drums Bass played on a hollow-body electric guitar with the bass turned up Hendrix’s guitar plays fills and is featured in instrumental choruses Hendrix uses string bending, vibrato, slides, and varies tone with wah-wah pedal Lyrics: The singer is disappointed on finding that his girlfriend has moved away while he was in jail and compensates by going after her sister
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14. Discussion Questions
During the late sixties, some people said that the British saved rock and roll. If true, what did they save it from? Would the postinvasion U.S. styles of garage bands and blues revival bands have become popular without the popularity of the British bands?
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