6.1 WORKSHEET 6

NOTE: THERE WILL A SHORT TEST NEXT WEEK (10/15) ON THE FIRST 4 WORKSHEETS (NO BEATLES).

In Worksheet 6, we will look other bands that came with the British Invasion. 

First, download Worksheet 6:

HIS:ROCK WORKSHEET 6.pdf Download HIS:ROCK WORKSHEET 6.pdf

Or you can copy and print here:

The British Invasion began in Liverpool, England, a town 200 miles from London. There is a river that runs close to Liverpool and another town, Manchester, the Mersey River. Groups that came from that area were called Mersey Beat groups.

The emergence of the Beatles into the R&R world disrupted the music scene considerably. Many acts that were comfortable on the US charts, now had to fight their way to even keep their careers going. There was such a fascination with anything British, that any act from Britain was going to get a free pass, at least for the moment. Some bands had careers that lasted a few years, and some had careers that lasted decades. The most significant band following the Beatles was the Rolling Stones.

THE ROLLING STONES

The Rolling Stones actually started as a blues band in London. The band's first manager was Andrew Oldham, a young man who was working in Brian Epstein's office.

Andrew Oldham with Mick Jagger

The huge success of the Beatles prompted him to manage his own group. Since the Rolling Stones were primarily a blues based group, one given to doing covers, Oldham did the group a great favor by encouraging Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, who were not inclined to write songs, to do so. And they became great songwriters.

Watch these 2 short clips to get an overview:

ROLLING STONES - MINI BIO 1 Links to an external site.

ROLLING STONES | MINI BIO 2 Links to an external site.

Their first original hit was "The Last Time." Many of the Stones' songs are written around a recurring guitar riff (just like many blues songs are), and this is one of them:

51. THE LAST TIME - ROLLING STONES Links to an external site.

The Rolling Stones first #1 hit, "Satisfaction," still ranks very high on most polls of top rock songs. The melody was written by Keith Richards in his sleep - he made a tape recording of it, and the words by Mick Jagger. Like "The Last Time," the song centers around a recurring guitar riff, played with a new technology, a "fuzz box," which made the guitar sound distorted.

52. SATISFACTION - ROLLING STONES Links to an external site.

Brian Jones, one of the founding members, was perhaps the most talented of the Rolling Stones, being able to play many instruments (in the above photo, he is on the far right). Unfortunately, his rock and roll lifestyle caught up with him, and he died in his backyard pool from drowning and drugs.

The Rolling Stones are one of the longest lasting rock  groups of all time, and have had hits in several decades. Are you familiar with the hits of the Rolling Stones? Here is a medley of some of their hits.

10 TOP ROLLING STONES SONGS Links to an external site.

OTHER BRITISH BANDS

Our next two bands were both Mersey Beat groups. Like the Beatles, the Searchers were from Liverpool, and in fact were competitors with the Beatles, playing the same clubs. While not being near as significant as other bands, they enjoyed a string of pop hits that sounded fresh, with harmonies and a 12 string electric guitar. One can hear all of that in our next music journal entry, "Needles and Pins." One interesting audible glitch in the recording is that the drummer's bass drum pedal is squeaking throughout the song! You can really hear it at the beginning, before the vocals.

53. NEEDLES AND PINS - THE SEARCHERS Links to an external site.

The Hollies were another Mersey Beat group, from the town of Manchester. They had hits throughout the '60s and '70s, and part of their lasting power had to do with the makeup of the band. Indeed, they had some of the same tools as the Beatles, in that they had more than one lead singer (and often used 3 part harmony), wrote great songs, and utilized clever guitar counterpoint.  For our journal:

54. BUS STOP - THE HOLLIES Links to an external site.

If you would a further look at the Hollies, this clip is very interesting:

HOLLIES IN THE STUDIO - ON A CAROUSEL Links to an external site.

The Spencer Davis Group was a relatively short lived band that drew a lot of attention, mainly because of the very young singer, Stevie Winwood, who was only 15 when he joined the band.

Precocious in guitar, keyboards, and voice, the talk about Stevie Winwood was that here was a kid who sounded like Ray Charles! For our journal:

55. GIMME SOME LOVIN' - SPENCER DAVIS GROUP Links to an external site.

Stevie Winwood left the group a few years later, and started his own series of groups, and has had a successful solo career ever since.

Now let's move to Module 6.2