THE SIXTIES: THE BRITISH INVASION

A Personal Reflection by Alan L. Chrisman

I was privileged to grow up in the 1960s and witness the British Invasion come to
America. The CNN: THE SIXTIES episode on it brought back a lot of memories to
me-50 years later.
Its hard to articulate the effect The Beatles and other British groups had on us
then. Music up until that time had been pretty tame, not since the very early
days of rock n roll in the 50s, anyway. I remember seeing The Beatles on the Ed
Sullivan show and not knowing quite what to make of them. Everything about
them was different-their hair, their accent, their music, their humor, etc. They
were, as someone said, like aliens from a strange land. They were playing
American music, influenced by black music, but reflected through their own
words and sound. Upon hearing their first records the songs seemed to jump off
the vinyl-it was just pure energy and fun-this was their Yeah Yeah period. Along
with them, came many other talented British groups, after The Beatles had first
opened the floodgates to America-The Stones, Animals, Kinks, Zombies, The Who,
The Yardbirds, and many more. It was like a tsunami, one after the other, but
each a little different. Whats amazing is the quality of most of them, and all at
one time, unusual in pop culture.
Soon The Beatles themselves were making great advances in their song writing
and song subjects. They released 5 Lps (including two movie soundtracks) within
the next two years from 64-66 alone, plus singles. Artists today are lucky to put
out one every 2-3 years. Each album was a quantum leap from the previous one,
from the folk-rock of Rubber Soul to the psychedelic electric of Revolver. They
had been influenced by Dylan and he had gone from acoustic folk to electric
because of them and American folk-rock groups like The Byrds were born. This
was one of the greatest things to happen in the 60s, and rare, artists of all styles
were bouncing off each other. Technology had also advanced and The Beatles
began experimenting in the studio. A friendly rivalry developed and as the other
60s artists tried to keep up with the Beatles, and pop music was raised to whole
new levels. For the first time, perhaps, pop music could be about more than just
entertainment. When Sgt. Peppers came out in 67, it became clear that it could
be art as well. It could make social comments too, besides just boy and girl
songs which had dominated pop up until then. It also coincided with all the
political changes, the Civil Rights Movement, and The Vietnam War protests,
which were also taking place in The Sixties. As a black commentator said, they
were even liked in that community too, and this helped expose the races to each
other. As listeners, these immense changes in the music opened us all up to new
possibilities; we even believed that we could try and express ourselves too.
Rock was never the same again. Every generation probably thinks their own is
unique (and in some respects, it is), but THE SIXTIES, as I said, changed so much
and at one time. Rock music and THE BEATLES, especially, would have a profound
influence on the whole culture, then and in the future. There would likely be few
artists today, creating their own music or experimenting with sounds, if they and
some of the other artists in the 60s, hadnt opened the creative doors first or so
wide. Nobody would take rock music and culture seriously, as more than
entertainment only for teenagers, without them and the advances they made.
But it is the revolutionary music and possibilities they inspired, that I remember
most, even a half-century later and that will live on.



"Thank God for The Beatles", below, is a song written by Alan Chrisman
about the joy of the Beatles Invasion and The Sixties Rock n Roll.

Hear "Al & THE G-MEN" recording of at:
www.rockthistownproductions.com

"Thank God for the Beatles" Song lyrics by Alan Chrisman (Beatlely)
Growing up in the 60's
It was all Top 40
Straight middle-aged pop
And watered-down folk

Then They were on the Sullivan show
Shaking their long hair
There was nothing like it
Since Elvis had been there
Chorus
Dylan went electric Thank God for The Beatles
Despite the purists' boo And that back back back beat
But he knew full well We all wanted to rock rock rock
what he must do And to dance dance dance in the street

It was never the same
We could not sit still
We had to get up
and join in the thrill
Chorus, Instrumental
It still stands up
even till this day
and makes us want
to still get up and play
Chorus repeat last verse
chorus
Dance dance dance-2 times
She loves you, Yeah Yeah Yeah-3 times
Dance dance dance-2 times c. 2013