British Invasion and the Folk Revival - Essay Example

British Invasion and the Folk Revival The British invasion was, considerably, one of the major turning points of American popular music history. British invasion appears to be one of the reasons of Folk music promotion as well as the rock ‘n’ roll in the music history of America. Famous British artists managed to take over the music industry of America in the 20th century with their popular songs and albums. The beat groups particularly had major influence, recycling the American rhythm, blues and rockabilly songs of the 1950s. Number of events during that time arranged the convenient setting for this unexpected invasion. As it may be, the most significant reason of this onslaught proves to be the decline of the power of American music during the era of 1960s. The American rock ‘n’ roll was already facing a steady downfall in calibre and quality since the major record companies, supported and abetted by few of the top outlets of the time disregarded the music type. Major radio channels also betrayed it and considered releasing other products over it, which further deteriorated the condition of American rock ’n’ roll. The area of authority in pop music enjoyed by teen idols like Fabian and Frankie Avalon had directed numerous youth to commercial folk and jazz. While, an ostensibly everlasting stream of modernity songs and dance crazes added up to be a failed attempt in developing a durable core following for rock ‘n’ roll. (Gillett 32) The Beatles played an important and significant role in the American music history and it’s difficult to think of the British invasion taking place without them. An abundant number of bands sailed along to the top standards of American charts, did not prove to possess more talent than the uninspiring teen idols they had taken place of. However, the Beatles demonstrated to be an exceptional case. They were talented and were admired by the critics as well as the crowd. Beatles, after a short period of time producing American r & b-pop, and country music, carried on to compose rock classics. Their new taste and production turned out to be extremely admirable, which was destined to be carried through many generations to come. Performing in small clubs in England and Germany trained all the Beatles band members to be excellent musicians. There artistic quality and equally convincing vocals helped them promote their talent and achieve success. Despite the fact that the Beatles were doing so good and had the ability to pursue and win various numbers of fans, the conditions responded in an opposite manner. Their expectations were high but their achievements in terms of attracting American public were low. They tried many times to secure hit records on the American charts, composing songs which were great hits in the United Kingdom but couldn’t attain fame in the states. However, by late 1963, the American nation had to bare the tragic news of the assassination of famous president John F. Kennedy. This communal sense of grief and depression gave the Beatles a chance. With their addictive and captivating, upbeat pop songs, the Beatles proved to be the perfect reminiscence for America’s deprived nation. In addition, the fancy hairstyle presented by the band members gathered appreciable attention. Just like it was with the Elvis Presley’s extremely gelled hair in the 1950s. The Beatles managed to generate regarded controversy on the matter of adult endowment when it first attacked the public awareness. It served immediate integrity with America’s young generation, who were always looking for culture figures to entirely identify with, as well as to use it to criticize the authorities as an act of rebellion (Henke 64). In January 1964, the Beatles took a push start and went from being complete unknowns to becoming one of the most leading bands in the states. Their song ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ ranked to be number one on the billboard ‘Hot 100’. Many record companies were now interested in broadcasting Beatles despite any other band and this gave them a high value in the market. All these advancements made a meaningful impression on the British music scene in the United States. Many British artists of various types of genre were enthusiastically signed up by American label and were proudly promoted through the vast media. Even the not so famous artists in their home country England achieved countless opportunities and were admired by a handful of record companies. It was like the British music and stars had taken over the American music market. There were seemingly more British artists on the scene than Americans themselves. The airwaves were full of British talent. In fact, a large number of famous American singers including Elvis Presley were now in a controversial tailspin for their career. The British had totally taken over the charts swiping many Americans off the place. Only a few number of American artists managed to thrive the British invasion in the 1964. Particularly, the folk rock and garage punk movements were also influenced by English rock bands (Gillett 127). The most beneficial outcome of the British invasion, probably, was the role it played in changing the direction of unnecessary musical triviality rushing towards the American music charts. Many of the American charts and music facing downfall was lifted by the fresh and talented British idols. Acquiring the attention of many record companies and reviving the liveliness of music in America. British onslaught, within a year or two had enabled many Americans to lay down the fundamentals for the artistic invigoration of famous music during the second half of 1960s. All these aspects of British invasion proved to be major change in the music history of America. Now, shedding light on the folk music revival inside the America, we may notice the impact it had on the American music history. The revival of folk music in the 1960s is often viewed by many folk fans as the starting point of attraction of this type of music. One of the major figures in the history of folk revival and American music history is Bob Dylan. He plays an important role in marking the origination of folksingers. He had a unique way of writing his own material and presenting it in the public. Folk revival in general had various results on the American music. One of which was the propagation of bluegrass music and the dissemination of old timey music. In many ways, there were two types of artists during the folk revival; firstly, the ones who use to write their own lyrics to traditional music and, in few cases, started writing totally new melodies. On the other hand, were the so called old timers, they generally were immotile to traditional songs and ways and only practiced and followed old cultural music. The folk revival, however, introduced a new genre of music in the music industry known as the folk-rock. In some cases people give credit to the Weavers for the introduction of this inspiring new type, who also introduced the folk-pop movement. On the other side, some believe that it was Bob Dylan who had started folk-rock when he started playing electric along with the folk music in a folk festival in 1965. Fans did not appreciate this change at the beginning. Not praising Bob much for the destruction of the soft folk melody; however, later the new genre was admired and liked by many (Weissman 66). The 1960s as we know it was an obstreperous time in history of America. The outraged Cold war, the Civil Rights Movement etc. were at its peak. The America was going through a war against Korea and its allies. Hardships and other factors had brought a lot of change in the air. This era already had a type of grief and sorrow in the air. So, the folk songs were favoured heavily by the nation. The revival brought about an affectionate change for the public towards music. Many folk songs regarding freedom, peace, love etc. were sung by famous singers. These singers did not just sing the songs, but also personally joined and heart fully participated in the movements supporting peace. Many say that the peace movement and the Civil Rights would not have been so prosperous without the support of these singers and the encouragement given by the folk soundtracks. So the revival proved out to be a successful one, bringing about a change in the taste for music in the states and a change in the American history as well. Pondering over the reasons of the revival of folk music in the 1960s, we come to know of different reasons which motivated the singers in making folk music again. The folklorists of the era play a vital role in the revival of folk music. Folklorists travelling across the country in the hope of making the musical ways cultural to numerous communities made many traditional songs. They inspired a large number of people along with the African-American community towards their music. The songs these folklorists made and documented were a big motivation and inspiration towards the revival of folk music. Furthermore, another major reason towards the revival of folk music was the anthology (Henke 64). Filmmaker and record collector Harry Smith made a compilation namely ‘Anthology of American Folk Music’ which was praised by many folk singers of the time. This compilation showed the unique ways and styles of the folksingers, promoting the idea of folk music and motivating the folk singers to get back out there. This anthology played a vital role in the folk music revival. Also, thanking the famous singers like Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie of the 40s and the 50s and the group they performed with The Almanac Singers for becoming an inspirational idol for the upcoming folk singers of the 1960s. These legendary singers provoked the upcoming singers to work in the way of folk music and show their talents (Weissman 43) The folk revival along with the British invasion had changed much in the American music history. They proved to be the turning points in the way music was played and promoted in the states. Both helped in attracting public towards American music in a way and had helped the music industry in the states to gain success. References: Henke, James. The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll. NY: Random House, 1980. Gillet, Charlie. The Sound of the City: The Rise of Rock and Roll. London: Da Capo Press, 1996. Weissman, Dick. Which Side Are You On? An Inside History of the Folk Music Revival in America. NY: Bloomsbury Academic, 2006. 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