SURF, HOT RODS, & THE BRITISH INVADE1955 Rosa Parks refuses to give up seat on bus in Montgomery AL

1958 Alan Freed’s TV show cxl when mixed couple is seen dancing togetherJuly 1957 Lennon invites McCartney to join his group, the Quarrymen.Jan 1958 George Harrison joins John Lennon's group, the Quarrymen.

May 1958 Jimi Hendrix receives his first guitar, purchased by his father for $5May 1960 Frank Sinatra TV special to welcome Elvis back from the Army

1961 Cuban Missile Crisis1961 The Twist becomes International sensation

Dec 1961 The Beatles formed from the members of the Quarrymen, make their performing debut at the Cavern Club in Liverpool

Dec 1961 The Beach Boys, in one of their first public appearances, perform for a Ritchie Valens memorial concert in Long Beach, California

July 1962 Jimi Hendrix discharged from the Army & plays w/ Little RichardMay 1963 Beach Boys Surfin USA (Chuck Berry will sue for copyright infringement)

Aug 1963 March on Washington, Martin Luther King Jr. "I Have a Dream" Nov 1963 President Kennedy assassinated in Dallas

Feb 1964 The Beatles on Ed SullivanJuly 1964 The Civil Rights Act1965 The Voting Rights Act

1965 Gulf of Tonkin incident leads to US presence in South Vietnam

• CALIFORNIA DREAMS

• Post WWII California became a boom state and the Myth of the California Wonderland began.

• Postwar California had many advantages over other states.

• Had an abundance of natural resources• In 1961 was the #1 farm state in the union• Silicon Valley ushered in the computer age with $700

million in Defense contracts for Zenith, Motorola, etc..• 3rd largest state in land and diverse terrain & climates.• Population In 1940 – 7 million by 1962 - 17 million

• CALIFORNIA DREAMS

• Media outlets such as LIFE & NEWSWEEK Magazine described the state w/ incomes 25% above the national average, wide open jobs, plenty of houses with swimming pools, and Californians relaxed lifestyle.

• Several homegrown attractions came to symbolize the fairyland aura

• In July 1955 Disneyland opened in Anaheim CA• By 1965, 50 million visitors to the Magic Kingdom• The Mickey Mouse Club (featuring Mouseketeers such as

Annette Funicello) premiers Oct 1955 on ABC• California manufacturer MATTEL, who produced many Disney

licensed toys, introduces the BARBIE in 1959.

• SURFING IN THE USA

• Surf Music glorified 1 of the most attractive elements of the California myth: “sun-drenched beaches dotted with tanned, blonde, bikini-clad, Barbie-like beauties”

• Surfing: the sacred sport of Hawaiian kings made its way to California at the turn of the 20th century.

• 1959 2 things boosted Surfing’s popularity: • 1. Innovations of 2 surfboard companies that made the

boards easier to handle making them more attractive to teens

• 2. The hit movie GIDGET, a tale of a young girl who spends a summer on the beach and falls in love with two surfers

• SURFING IN THE USA

• Almost overnight teenagers began to buy the new plastic surfboards and by 1961 an estimated 30,000 California teens were surfing by 1963 over 100,000

• The new legions of predominately male teen surfers began to develop their own culture, style, dress, and language.

• Soon the teens had magazines and movies devoted to the beach and surfing.

• Two Dick Clark regulars Frankie Avalon & ex-Mouseketeer Annette Funicello would star in some of the biggest movie hits.

• Soon surfers would begin to listen to their own music as well, which originated with Dick Dale and his Del-Tones

• The Sounds Of Surf – DICK DALE

• Born in Beirut, Lebanon a teenaged Dale moved to California and joined the hordes of young surfers

• Also a guitar enthusiast Dale joined his two passions to create a new music for the surf culture

• During the summer of 1961 Dale and his band unveiled their new sound at weekend dances at the Rendezvous Ballroom near Newport Beach CA.

• In 1961 Dale and The Del-Tones self-released records to the surf crowd and eventually topped the California charts

• In 1962 they produced the surf classic “Miserlou”

• The Sounds Of Surf – DICK DALE

• In 1963 Capitol Records discovered Dale and pegged him “King of the Surf Guitar”

• Also in 1963 Dale landed a spot in the surf music classic Beach Party with Frankie Avalon & Annette Funicello

• By the end on 1963 Dale had become a true California celebrity

• LISTENING JOURNAL• DICK DALE - MISERLOU

• THE BEACH BOYS

• The Beach Boys brought the surf sound to the national scene.• Growing up in a suburb of LA, brothers Brian, Carl, and

Dennis Wilson formed the group in 1961 with cousin Mike Love & classmate Al Jardine.

• They were originally called “The Pendletones” after Pendleton style shirts California teens worn.

• The group blended the sound of 1950’s R&B electric guitars and the glossy vocal harmonies of boy groups as The Four Freshmen and girl groups such as The Ronnettes.

• They were managed by the Wilson’s domineering father Murray Wilson.

• THE BEACH BOYS

• Murray introduced the boys to a local music publisher who recorded the song (Surfin’) they auditioned with in only 2 hrs after hearing it.

• He was able to take the demo to local label Candix which released it in Dec 1961.

• Before releasing the song the label changed their name to The Beach Boys without even asking the group.

• The song was a success but Candix ceased operations only 2 months after the song hit the California charts.

• Murray continued to record the group and take demos to other labels.

• THE BEACH BOYS

• In June of 1962 they singed with Capital Records after getting some demos to a Capitol producer who took the songs to his boss.

• In May of 1963 they released the album “Surfin’ USA” • “Surfin’ USA” was a note for note reworking of Chuck Berry’s

“Sweet Little Sixteen”• The album established The Beach Boys as the Kings of Surf and

help spread the surf craze across the nation to the generally optimistic teens living in pre-Kennedy assassination America.

• LISTENING JOURNAL• SURFIN USA

• JAN & DEAN – Drag City

• Jan & Dean became surf icons with the help of The Beach Boys.

• They meet in junior high school and began singing together.

• They had a top 10 teen idol hit in 1959 with “Baby Talk” after appearing on American Bandstand.

• In 1962 they changed their style to surf after performing with The Beach Boys.

• Jan & Dean decided to add more surf music to their next album and asked Brian Wilson to get The Beach Boys to play the instrumental parts.

• JAN & DEAN – Drag City

• Brian Wilson was more than happy and even wrote a new song for them that added to the California myth with the line “2 girls for every guy”

• Near the end of 1963 surf music had became a national craze with help from The Beach Boys, Jan and Dean, and the #2 hit song “Whip Out” recorded by The Surfaris and popular surf movies.

• LISTENING JOURNAL• WHIP OUT- The Surfaris

• JAN & DEAN – Drag City

• Many of the Surf Group glorified another aspect of the California landscape: The automobile & more specifically THE HOT ROD

• In the early 60’s California had by far the most freeways with 850 miles of expressways and 2400 miles of multi-lane highways.

• The importance & need for automobiles in CA lead to another subculture among California teens.

• The Hot Rod subculture was promoted through Hollywood movies and the national press.

• Jan & Dean’s album DRAG CITY became synonymous with the Hot Rod Culture.

• JAN & DEAN – Drag City

• The title track “Drag City” was written for Jan & Dean by Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys and local Los Angeles DJ Roger Christian.

• Christian helped many surf bands write songs about dragsters even though in California, surfers and hot-rodders (or ho-dads) where considered rivals.

• LISTENING JOURNAL• JAN & DEAN – DRAG CITY

• SURFING IN THE USA

• In the early 1960’s Surf Music was dominating the charts in the USA

• However several movements in the US from folk singers in New York City and R&B soul singers in Detroit would soon find more main stream acceptance with changing attitudes in America following The Kennedy Assassination, the rise of the Civil Rights movement and growing tensions in southeast Asia.

• But starting in early 1964 no one would dominate the US charts more than an Invading Army of Rock & Rollers from across the Atlantic Ocean.

• THE BRITISH INVASION!

• After WWII England experienced a baby boom just like in the States.

• By the late 50’s and early 60’s the English baby boomers were teenagers.

• England experienced harder times after WWII then in the States, crippled by the war England enforced wartime rationing until 1954.

• Unlike their American counterparts British teens faced hard times upon finishing high school at age 15 or 16.

• Working class teens in England began to form to rival factions: The Rockers and The Mods

• THE BRITISH INVASION!

• The Rockers - modeled themselves after the American Teddy Boys of the 1950’s who wore black leather jackets, tight fitting blue jeans, greased their back in a pompadour style, wore black sunglasses and rode motorcycles.

• The Mods (short for The Modernist) had short hair, wore Italian style suits, good shoes, good shirts, and danced like madman. The Mods constantly changed to stay “in fashion”,often dyed their hair blonde and fueled the rise of the alternative fashion district at Carnaby Street in London.

• Many of these youths having free being unemployed and lacking direction turned to music

• THE EARLY BEATLES

• Formed in 1959, The Quarrymen, then Johnny and the Moon Dogs, then The Silver Beatles, then just The Beatles started as a skiffle band in the Cavern Club in Liverpool.

• Skiffle Music - type of popular music w jazz, blues, folk, and roots influences, usually using homemade or improvised instruments. Originating as a term in the United States in the first half of the twentieth century, it became popular again in the UK in the 1950s

• The Beatles cam from working class families in Liverpool and adopted THE ROCKER image.

• The early Beatles consisted of• John Lennon – guitar/vox • Paul McCartney - guitar/vox, • George Harrison - guitar/vox, • Pete Best - drums• Stuart Sutcliffe - bass

• THE EARLY BEATLES

• The early Beatles played cover versions of songs by such artist as Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, etc….when they formed in early 1960.

• They traveled to Hamburg Germany regularly & performed at different clubs during the period from August 1960 to December 1962; a chapter in the group's history which honed their performance skills, widened their reputation, and led to their 1st recording, which brought them to the attention of their 1st manager.

• When The Beatles return home - Stuart Sutcliffe quit the band moving Paul to bass, they began to perform around England sometimes billed as a Germany group, & began selling out of their 1st record drawing the attention of one of the most important people involved in their career BRIAN EPSTEIN

• BRIAN EPSTEIN

• Was born in 1934 into one of the wealthiest families in Liverpool.• He began his career as a salesman in 2 of his father’s shops: a

furniture shop and the other a music store.• Brian was successful and expanded his father’s record retailing

business.• He was getting bored with the sales business & was looking for

something else, when he began to notice The Beatles album selling out at his store.

• He saw them at The Caven Club in Liverpool and signed them to a management deal getting 25% of all of their net revenues.

• His 1st order of business was to change their ROCKER image to make them more palatable to the general public.

• BRIAN EPSTEIN

• Next Epstein arranged their live show and then began looking for other music professionals to help.

• He managed to get them an audition with many British record labels and they were rejected by almost every one.

• Famously, Decca Records rejected them, saying that "guitar groups are on the way out” & “The Beatles have no future in show business”.

• Epstein manage to set up one more audition with EMI producer & executive George Martin.

• Martin liked the group but only agreed to sign them if they replaced the drummer Pete Best.

• Epstein suggested that they replace best with a drummer from a rival Liverpool group named RINGO STARR, After growing frustrated with BEST, The Beatles agreed

• BRIAN EPSTEIN

• On September 11, 1962 The Beatles with Starr in tow recorded their 1st release for EMI “Love Me Do” & “PS I Love You”.

• Hiring Tony Barrow, a Decca Records publicity man, to promote the record Brian Epstein would soon make The Beatles a National Sensation in England.

• LISTENING JOURNAL• LOVE ME DO – THE BEATLES

• THE BEATLES invade AMERICA

• After success in England Epstein set his sights on America• He convinced Capitol Records to spend $50,000 on a “crash

publicity program”• It included 5 million stickers plastered on buildings, fences,

telephone poles, etc… in every state.• 1 million copies of a 4 page Beatle tabloid• 1 million copies of a promotional interview record• They also got Newsweek, Time, Life, The NY Times, etc.. to run

stories about “The Beatles are coming”• A week before they arrived in NYC “I Want To Hold Your Hand”

hit #1 on Billboard and stayed there for 7 weeks• On Feb 7, 1964 The Beatles arrived at JFK airport to massive

crowds of teens that followed them all over NYC.

• THE BEATLES invade AMERICA

• Beatlemania swept the country and on Feb 9 they made their 1st appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.

• Some adults disapproved of the new rage. The Herald Tribune called them “75% publicity 20% haircut 5% lilting lament”

• Ray Block (Orchestral leader on the Ed Sullivan show) said they “wouldn’t last a year”

• Later in July 1964 they released their 1st full length motion picture “A Hard Day’s Night”

• In August of 1964 they returned for a series of concerts and cemented their success in America and opened the door the States for a flood of British bands to come.

• THE BEATLES invade AMERICA

• As Beatlemania swept America, John Lennon remarked that The Beatles had become "more popular than Jesus” and was quoted by the American teen magazine, Datebook. Lennon originally made the remark when an English newspaper reporter, Maureen Cleave, interviewed him at home for a series of articles on the lifestyles of the 4 Beatles.

• There was a backlash among adults and the media who took the quote the wrong way.

• Lennon apologized for the comment.

• LISTENING JOURNAL – 1st Ed Sullivan appearance• All My Loving , Till There Was You , Sue Raney (cover) , She Loves You, I Saw Her

Standing There , I Want to Hold Your Hand

• THE MERSEY BEAT• After the success of The Beatles other British acts gained

popularity especially the one that had been in the Liverpool club circuit with them and where covered by THE MERSEY BEAT

• Mersey Beat was a music publication in Liverpool, England in the early 1960s. It was founded by Bill Harry, who was one of John Lennon's classmates at Liverpool Art College.

• Gerry Marsden, a truck driver, formed Gerry & The Pacemakers in 1959.

• The were managed by Brian Epstein and often opened for The Beatles in Liverpool.

• Epstein got them signed to Columbia Records and they appeared on Ed Sullivan & were one of the 1st acts to ride The British wave started by The Beatles

• LISTENING JOURNAL – DON’T LET THE SUN CATCH YOU CRYING

• THE MERSEY BEAT• Another Liverpool act to break the Mersey Beat sound in America

was THE SEARCHERS • Taking their name from a John Wayne movie they copied the style

and sound of American acts such as Buddy Holly & Gene Vincent.• In April 1964 they appeared on Ed Sullivan in the mist of

Beatlemania and rode the charts with their hit “Needles & Pins”.• However, they might be best remember for a later hit song “Love

Potion No.9”

• LISTENING JOURNAL• LOVE POTION NO. 9

• THE MERSEY BEAT• Groups from other parts of Great Britain began to invade America

with a sound similar to The Mersey Beat.• The Hollies from Manchester England proved to be one of the

more long lasting groups of the Manchester bands.• The group was started by Graham Nash & Allan Clarke who first

met in grammar school• They called themselves The Hollies after their musical hero Buddy

Holly• They were signed by an EMI producer who first saw them at The

Cavern Club in Liverpool.• They hit the top ten in America in 1966 with “Bus Stop”• LISTENING JOURNAL• BUS STOP

• THE MERSEY BEAT• Another Manchester band was Herman’s Hermits• Formed in 1962 by front man Peter Noone the band was later

signed to EMI by a producer who noticed Noone’s resemblance to a young JFK.

• The bands big hit was a Carol King song “I’m Into Something Good” with was recorded with studio musicians Jimmy Page & John Paul Jones (of later Led Zepplin fame)

• Listening Journal• I’m Into Something Good

• THE MERSEY BEAT• The DAVE CLARK FIVE, from the Tottenham section of London ( a

tough section associated with gangs and organized crime), poised to make the most serious threat to The Beatles early dominance of the American charts.

• In May of 1964 after appearing on the Ed Sullivan show they had 5 songs on the charts at once.

• Dave Clark (Drummer & Band Leader) was influenced heavily by Little Richard, Elvis, Fats Domino, Chuck Berry, etc… the same as John Lennon

• 1965 they copied the Fab Four by releasing their own full length feature film “Catch Us If You Can”

• Listening Journal• Do You Love Me / Glad All Over

• THE AMERICAN MERSEY BEAT• 2 American Producers took advantage of the Mersey Beat Craze

and created a prefabricated American version of The Beatles called The Monkees

• Inspired by the success of A Hard Days Night the producers formed a production company and placed ads in Hollywood trade papers looking for 17-21 yr olds for a new TV series.

• After auditioning 437 hopefuls The producers settle on 4 photogenic, energetic, & largely inexperienced applicants :

• MICHAEL NESMITH – unknown folk singer• MICKEY DOLENZ – Child actor & garage band musician• PETER TORK – Greenwich Village Folk Singer• DAVY JONES – the most experienced: had been on Broadway as

Oliver, had been on a popular TV show, & had released a pop album of which he had performed songs on Ed Sullivan

• THE AMERICAN MERSEY BEAT• NBC bought the TV series 24 hrs after seeing the pilot.• The producers hired top songwriters to write for the show.• The show attracted 10 million viewers every Monday night and the

group hit the top if the singles charts with songs from the show.• The Monkees patterned their success after The Beatles.• Before their debut LP they employed a similar “The Monkees are

coming” ad campaign & billing themselves as The American Beatles.

• LISTENING JOURNAL• I’m a Believer

• THE 2nd wav of THE BRITISH INVASION• During the mid 60’s The Beatles and the Mersey Beat bands and

their American counterparts began to face new competition from another group of British bands.

• Coming mostly from London and its suburbs a new group of British youth adopted American Electric Blues and its underdog image to blast a new sound across the Western world.

• This 2nd Invasion Wav was spear headed by none other than the bad boys of Rock and Roll

• THE ROLLING STONES

• THE ROLLING STONES• In 1956 The British Musicians Union ended its ban on American

musicians and American Blues Artist began to be invited to England.

• Inspired by seeing Muddy Waters and the like in person, bands like The Chris Barber band helped to popularize blues among British youths

• Former members of The Chris Barber band formed Blues Incorporated and began playing a regular Saturday night gig at the Ealing Club, a crowded basement club in London which was frequented by Keith Richards, Mick Jagger, and Brian Jones.

• Like The Beatles: Jagger, Richards, and Jones were 1st interested in Rockabilly but later turned there attention to digging deeper into its blues roots.

• THE ROLLING STONES• Jagger and Richards meet on a train after Richards spotted Jagger with a

handful of records by Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters, etc..• The two talked about their mutual love for Chicago style blues and

within a few weeks had formed a band called The Glimmer Twins with guitarist Dick Taylor.

• The band was just 2 guitars and a vocal but by mid-1963 they added a drummer and bass player and premiered at the Marquee Club in London on July 12, 1963 as The Rolling Stones.

• By the end of 1963 when guitarist Dick Taylor quit to form another blues band they reformed the line-up that would remain almost the same for over 40 years except for 1 tragic replacement in 1969 of Brian Jones.

• Mick Jagger – vocals• Keith Richards – guitar• Brian Jones – guitar• Bill Wyman – bass• Charlie Watts - drums

• THE ROLLING STONES• The Stones were disciples of the blues and originally recorded many

blues covers by Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Muddy Waters, etc…• To get the “Chicago” sound they traveled to Chicago to record in the

Chess Record studios.• The band took their name from a Muddy Waters song “Rollin’ Stone”

and meet him and Chuck Berry while recording in Chicago.• By April 1963 the Record Mirror and other London teen magazines

began to recognize The Stones and the new London R&B sound as the new hip underground music scene.

• THE ROLLING STONES turn raunchy• Andrew Oldham, a former employee of Brian Epstein and PR man for

Bob Dylan and The Beatles took over management of the group in May of 1963.

• At first he wanted to clean up the image of the group in the same matching suit look as The Beatles and other Brit bands.

• He quickly realized that The Beatles had cornered the market on this look & decided to take The Stones in the opposite direction.

• He changed their clothes, shaved a few years off of their ages, and convinced his label, London Records to blitz the media about the bad boys of Rock & Roll.

• One article in Melody Maker magazine read “Would you let your daughter go out with a Rolling Stone?” & described the band as “symbols of rebellion…against the boss, the clock, and the clean-shirt-a day routine”

• THE ROLLING STONES turn raunchy• With the help of their new manager, image, and their new friends The

Beatles (who gave them the song “I Wanna Be Your Man”) The Stones achieved near top ten success in England.

• Their first tour in the US however was not so successful, playing to empty stadiums and receiving lack luster industry support.

• On their 2nd tour of the US they began with an appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in which they were billed as a raunchy hip alternative to The Beatles.

• It worked parents and the media where appalled but the kids love it.• The media only added to their success by running stories about how

offensive they were.• The rest of the tour was meet with enthusiastic teen support.• Their success was continued with a less blues based and more song

oriented sound when Oldham insisted Mick & Keith write their own songs.

• THE ROLLING STONES turn raunchy• The Jagger/Richards writing team soon began to crank out hits and

eventually songs like “Satisfaction” , “Under My Thumb” , “Paint It Black” replaced the R&B covers as their main sound.

• LISTENING JOURNAL• SATISFACTION

• THE WHO

• The Who was another British band that made the transition from Chicago blues cover songs to writing their own material.

• Pete Meaden, a freelance publicist who worked with Andrew Oldham, managed and reshaped The Who, who were originally called The Detours

• Meaden tried to reshape their image which was closer to The Stones then The Beatles into sharp dressed Mods.

• Meaden even negotiated to have The Who featured in a film about Mods.

• After the film the band hired two new managers that re-enforced the Mod image but encouraged Pete Townsend to begin writing original songs.

• THE WHO

• Townsends 3rd song was “My Generation” which became the battle cry of the baby boomer Mods all through out England.

• The Who combined the blues sound of The Rolling Stones with “the look” of the fashionable Mods.

• They were also know for their on stage antics with drummer Keith Moon and guitarist Pete Townsend often throwing or even destroying their instruments during a performance.

• LISTENING JOURNAL• My Generation

• THE YARDBIRDS

• Another British band stepped in the blues.• Best known for launching the careers of a line of successive

guitar wizards.• 1963 – 1965 Eric Clapton• 1965-1966 Jeff Beck• 1966-1968 Jimmy Page

• LISTENING JOURNAL• For Your Love

• THE KINKS

• From the northern working class suburbs of London• Formed by Ray and Dave Davies who had briefly played

with The Rolling Stones.• Had a US top ten single with “You Really Got Me” &

charted again with “All Day and All of the Night” just 2 months later.

• Although they had chart success they had brief success in American when they were banned for 4 years by the American Federation of Musicians for unprofessional conduct during their 1st American tour in 1965.

• LISTENING JOURNAL• You Really Got Me

• THE SPENCER DAVIS GROUP

• Spencer Davis, a teacher and blues enthusiast, joined with Peter York and the Winwood brothers (Steve & Muff) to start another R&B based group.

• Steve Winwood was only 14 yrs old.• They followed the same path of The Who with blues covers

moving into writing their own music.• From 1965-1967 they scored several hits in Britain and

America

• LISTENING JOURNAL• Gimmie Some Lovin

• THE ANIMALS

• A group of poor young R&B enthusiasts from a northern mining town were named for their wild stage behavior

• The band became best known for a low key reworking of the folk blues song “House Of The Rising Song”.

• They chose the song to play while on tour with Chuck Berry as to not compete with his high energy show.

• The song became a number one hit on both sides of the Atlantic and The Animals successfully tour the US on their own in 1964.

• LISTENING JOURNAL• House of the Rising Sun