6.2 WORKSHEET 6

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

We continue with our study of Worksheet 6, The British Invasion.

The Animals. Many British bands were strongly blues-based. You might remember the Rolling Stones started out as a blues band. One of those bands was the Animals, a group from Newcastle, a town in NE Britain. Much of the group's rough sound was due to the lead singer, Eric Burden, who emulated all the blues singers that influenced him.

Animals, with Eric Burden, center:

While the band had success as a blues based rock outfit, one song made them world famous: "House of the Rising Sun." This song has an amazing history to it, dating back centuries to traditional English folk songs. As settlers moved to different parts of the US, slight variations appeared. In 1937, folklorists John and Alan Lomax set up their recording equipment at a cabin in eastern Kentucky, and recorded a version by Georgia Turner, a 16 year old daughter of a coal miner. That version was released as a part of a Smithsonian Institute record. Soon, folk artists were recording their own versions, which eventually culminated into the Animals' version. Here is Georgia Turner's recording from 1937!

HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN - GEORGIA TURNER, 1937 Links to an external site.

In the folk music world this song fell into the category of "warning songs," in other words, don't make the mistakes that I made.

Here is the Animals' version, for our journal:

56. THE HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN - ANIMALS Links to an external site.

The Kinks. In London, young people fell into roughly 2 groups: mods or rockers:

The mods were the stylish kids – fans of psychedelic rock who wore skinny ties and suits and rode around the streets of England on scooters. The rockers were the tough kids; clad in leather, they greased their hair up into pompadours and took to the roads on motorcycles.

The Kinks were a mod band from London.

Ray Davies (above, far right) was the songwriter/singer of the band. His clever songs made the band a highly respectable and influential group. There first hit, "You Really Got Me," became an instant garage band classic, a combination of simplicity and catchy-ness. For our journal:

57. YOU REALLY GOT ME - KINKS Links to an external site.

"You Really Got Me" was later covered and made a hit by Van Halen.

The Who. The Who were also a mod band from the London area. After band name and personnel changes (like every other band), the group settled on the name The Who, with singer Roger Daltrey, bassist John Entwistle, drummer Keith Moon, and songwriter Pete Townshend. In earlier days, The Who incorporated "performance art" in their act, destroying the instruments on stage, accompanying the song "My Generation." Here is a short clip of them doing just that:

MY GENERATION - THE WHO Links to an external site.

The Who are in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the loudest band ever. Pete Townshend paid a price for that, having dealt with hearing problems for years. 

Special mention should go to drummer Keith Moon, who had his own unique style of playing, a wild looking drumset for the time,

and an outrageous, out-of-control lifestyle, which eventually killed him. With The Who  touring with Herman's Hermits, and celebrating his 21st birthday at a Holiday Inn, Moon's antics led him to be permanently banned from that hotel chain. Here he is on a talk show, discussing a similar episode:

KEITH MOON HOTEL ROOM STORY Links to an external site.

A short list of his legendary pranks:

KEITH MOON'S CRAZIEST PRANKS Links to an external site.

The Who's musical legacy includes the use of loud Marshall amplifiers, the bassist playing melodic lines, the popularity of the rock opera (Tommy), use of feedback, and guitar use of power chords.

For our last journal entry of Worksheet 6:

I CAN SEE FOR MILES - THE WHO Links to an external site.

FLASHBACK: Back in the day, when I was very young (in Texas) I was in a band that had a record contract with Decca Records. One of the fun things we got to do was open for various headliners, one of which was The Who! I thought Keith Moon, for all his self-destructiveness, was the friendliest of the group. I also have a memory of the 2 roadies of their band cussing up a storm (in a British accent, which I found hilarious), while they endeavored to patch up and repair all the damaged equipment from "My Generation." A few pictures from that time:

Here we are, backstage at a Who concert. I'm the kid on the table in the back. I wore very stylish socks back then!

Here is our bass player, Dean, with Pete Townshend:

And here we are on stage. I'm on the drums.

We are now ready for the next module next week!