Just as American rock bands invaded Great Britain in the late l950s, the British bands invaded America on the coat tails of the Beatles in the mid l960s. Once the major record companies saw the effect the Beatles had on America, the companies rushed to sign almost any band that sounded and looked British. Just as in the Teen Idol era, many of the British groups signed by the record companies became a flash in the pan of Pop music yet a few would actually achieve artistic and commercial success.
One of the most enduring of the British Invasion bands is the Rolling Stones. Originally using a R+B sound, the Rolling Stones (sometimes simply called, the Stones), had by l963 evolved towards the typical rock and roll sound. By l963, the personnel of the band had stabilized to include Mick Jagger (lead vocalist), Keith Richard (guitar), Bill Wyman (bass), and Charlie Watts (percussion). The Stones' manager during the early period was Andrew Oldham, and just as Brian Epstein changed the Beatles, so Oldham altered the Rolling Stones.
In some of the Stones' earliest appearances, they wore suits and ties just as many of the early British groups did. At first, the Stones had difficulty selling tickets for their concerts. At one of their first American concerts, the Stones only sold 300 tickets in a theater that held 3,000! Oldham noticed that the audience reaction was more fervent when the Stones did something socially unacceptable; thus Oldham directed the Stones to change their persona to become the "bad-boys" of rock. They began to purposely flaunt the decadence of society and, of course, society and the press began to condemn them for their outrageous behavior. The Stones soon became "anti-heroes" and their popularity increased. Whereas the Beatles might have been strange to society, at least they were cute and were acceptable to the middle-class, but the Stones offended the middle-class.
85 As rock artists of the l950s discovered, once musicians become anti-establishment, a certain segment of the populace will be attracted to the groups. As trouble with the law increased, through their arrest for possession of drugs, their "bad-boy" image grew along with their anti-establishment popularity.
The Stones' early music was basically composed by others, but by l965, the Stones began to produce and perform their own material. The Beatles had Lennon/McCartney while the Rolling Stones had Jaggers/Richards as composers. Even though the Stones did not approach the technical and artistic advances of the Beatles, their stature in the history of rock greats is assured.
Other groups of importance within the British Invasion include, The Who, The Moody Blues, Elton John, The Byrds, The Yardbirds, the Dave Clark five, Donovan, the Kinks, and Pink Floyd (Some rock critics include groups such as the Moody Blues and Pink Floyd in a sub-style titled, Symphonic Rock). Many British bands, just as many American groups, had short, popular careers, significant only for pop entertainment value, yet these British groups contributed to the artistic evolution of rock music.
22. Electric (late l960s, early l970s)
The Electric era of rock evolved during the late l960s, almost as an off-shoot of the Northern California style. Many bands of this time became popular with an almost "larger-than-life" atmosphere surrounding them. The style is noted for its tremendous use of electronic amplification, guitar feed-back, dazzling stage spectacles (using lights and other theatrical props), simple chords, melodies and rhythms, and at times, drug- oriented lyrics along with liberal doses of psychedelia. Some music historians declare
86 this style as the predecessor to rock's Heavy Metal style. The term, Acid-Rock, is derived from this style.
An early pioneer of this style was the guitarist, Jimi Hendrix. Hendrix developed a virtuosity on the guitar that would influence countless rock guitarists of future generations. Along with technical advances on the guitar, Hendrix also introduced new timberal creations with the guitar. Hendrix established an almost cult-like following. Unfortuantely, Jimi Hendrix died of a drug overdose and his short, important career ended.
Michael Nesmith of the Monkees fame (the Monkees were a popular "manufacted" rock band of the late l960s designed for use on Television) discusses how the Monkees actually discovered Jimi Hendrix and brought his talent to America, and to the world of rock music:
There were a few incredibly unusual side effects to the Monkees, not the least of which was the strange case of Jimi Hendrix and the Monkees.
It is a little-known fact that Hendrix was introduced to the United States by the Monkees. Actually, he was discovered by Mickey Dolenz [a member of the Monkees] in a small club in London.
I can't remember why we were in London at the time, but I was hanging around the London pop scene with John Lennon. The Monkees were due to start an American tour and we needed an opening act.
So Mickey comes to me and says he heard this trio in a club the night before, and the rock'n'roll they played was unlike anything any of us had ever heard. At this point, we had enough control of our tours to demand who we wanted.
Mickey says he wants the trio, and I say fine, OK. Later that night, I trundled off to a club and met Lennon and McCartney and George Harrison and Eric Clapton. This was like me being with the Vatican, the pop priests of the time.
Lennon says, "Listen, you guys have to hear this." And he pulls out this little Sony tape recorder and plays "Hey Joe," by Jimi Hendrix, the same guy Mickey wants on the tour.
The table all of a sudden gets very quiet. It seems as though we're listening to a guy who has invented a new kind of music.
[Nesmith talks about his first meeting with Hendrix in a hallway] Then the door opens, almost as if by magic, and there stands Jimi Hendrix in all of his colors. Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding are standing on either side of him. Jimi's hair is standing straight up. He appears back-lit. And he begins to waft down the hall with these long,
87 flowing, multicolored paisley things. He has pinwheels for eyes. And I'm thinking, "Who is this?"
And he walks up to me and says, "Hi, Mike. I'm Jimi Hendrix."
I say, "Oh." That was all I could say. I was totally blown away by this man's presence. . . I thought, "Well, I want to hear this guy live."
Going to the arena early posed some security problems, so I disguised myself. I'm standing there, and he comes on, and the first song he does is "Purple Haze." I can remember being moved back, physically back, about two feet. I had never heard such music in my life. I thought, "The man has plugged into some celestial outlett."
[Nesmith talks about the Monkees young audience's indifference to Hendrix] From Raleigh to Forest Hills, and four to six dates in between, things went downhill. The girls would start yelling out, "We want the Monkees," somewhere in the middle of one of his songs, and it was very depressing to Jimi. Devatated him. Here was this guy, a musical giant, opening for four guys who are trying to duplicate a reasonable facsimile of their television soundtracks.
Finally in New York, at Forest Hills, the yelling for us got so bad during Jimi's set that he walked offstage. He was in a middle of a number. He threw his guitar down, flipped everyone the bird, said, 'Fuck you,' and walked off the stage.
I was standing with Mickey Dolenz, and I turned to Mickey and I said, "Good for him."45
Some other important artists and bands during this style included Steppenwolf, Cream, Vanilla Fudge, Jethro Tull, the Yardbirds, The Doors, and the Animals.
An important member of several of the preceding rock groups is Eric Clapton (guitar). When Clapton became a member of the Yardbirds, he had his first encounter as a rock guitar hero. After his tenure with the Yardbirds ended, Clapton performed with several other bands before he and his fellow musicians, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker, formed the rock band Cream. Clapton's popularity, especially with the British blues fans, began to grow enormously. During this period Clapton began to explore new areas of rock improvisation. Eric Clapton has also performed with other important rock artists such as George Harrison, Steve Winwood, and Leon Russell.46
The Doors, a Los Angeles rock band, became an important rock music influence during this time period. With their lead singer, an almost would-be poet Jim Morrison,
45Smith, Off the Record, 223-225. 46Hardy, Encyclopedia, 102.
88 the Doors were the group who most successfully carried "underground" music beyond an audience of "freaks" and students to a mass teenage market. Their music explored the mysteries, totems, and taboos of contemporary America.47