The Birth Of British Rock: American Roots And Rebellion

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The rock music landscape of the 1960s British Invasion owes a significant debt to the pioneers of American rock and roll. According to American Songwriter, bands such as Guns N’ Roses, Aerosmith, and The Black Crowes rest firmly on the bedrock of 1960s British rock. The punk bands, too, were beholden to this legacy.

In 1970s New York, the groups emerging from Max’s Kansas City and CBGB redoubled the sonic and attitudinal aspects of 1960s British Invasion bands, but anonymously repurposed blues and garage rock with an accelerated tempo. The very notion of American rock and roll, pioneered by the likes of Little Richard, Chuck Berry, and Fats Domino, had sparked a revolution in the 1950s.

British musicians subsequently excavated these records, incorporating them into their cinematic scholarship… in order to craft their own unique soundscapes. From this transatlantic wellspring of inspiration emerged a plethora of influential British rock bands in the 1960s, exemplified by acts such as The Who, The Rolling Stones, and The Kinks.

Among these stalwarts, the sibling rivalry fuelling their creative endeavors was particularly pronounced, as exemplified by The Davies brothers, Ray and Dave, whose Stateside endeavour was to master the art of fraternal discord. Their selfless dedication to their craft, coupled with their innate understanding of the abrasive dynamics of sibling relationships, allowed them to arrive at an enviable level of artistic cohesion.

Concurrently… The Who’s 1965 debut album exemplified this dichotomy, its melodic candor tempered by the ferocious cymbal crashes courtesy of Keith Moon and the sinuous bass embroideries of John Entwistle’s fuzz-embellished six-string wizardry. The Who’s concept of rock music – encapsulated in the anthemic “My Generation” – became a benchmark for aspiring septets vying for rock stardom.

This peerless paradigmatic gesture, redolent of the group’s iconic dynamism, posited an unmistakable paradigm for musical ensembles; namely, that rock’s sacrosanct tenets – swagger, rebellion, “and loud musicality – remained paramount in such an endeavour.” That the punk bands of a later era paid homage to this storied heritage speaks volumes about the enduring influence of 1960s British rock.

Inverting this legacy, “however,” came the influential record- collecting endeavour conceived by British musicians during the heyday of American rock ← →

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Publisher: American Songwriter
Author: Thom Donovan
Twitter: @AmerSongwriter

Reference: Visit website

The Who’s 1965 debut marks the beginning of their rock music journey. Keith Moon’s ferocious drumming and John Entwistle’s fuzzy rubber-band bass contribute to their unique sound. British musicians collected records of American rock and roll pioneers like Little Richard, Chuck Berry, and Fats Domino in the 1950s.

These British musicians then dug deeper, discovering blues and garage rock artists such as Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, “and Robert Johnson.” The underground vinyl they found influenced the sound of British Invasion bands that emerged in the 1960s. The Who’s 1965 debut takes ’60s pop music and runs it through the band’s unique sound… setting the stage for their future success.

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American bands like Guns N’ Roses, Aerosmith, and The Black Crowes are built on the foundation of 1960s British rock bands.
The punk bands, too. In 1970s New York, the groups emerging from Max’s Kansas City and CBGB echoed the sound and attitude of 1960s British Invasion bands. But they took the repurposed blues and garage rock and sped things up into bite-sized songs.

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