British Invasion
Cream, “Crossroads”
1969
• Remake of Robert Johnson’s “Crossroad Blues”
• Electrified, Amplified, Distorted, Sped up
• Virtuosic guitar solo (Eric Clapton)
The Beatles
“Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”
1967
Surreal, dreamlike lyrics
Trippy, psychedelic timbre
Countercultural sympathies
• Fashion, design, lyrics
Rolling Stones, “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”
1965
• Title of song adapted from Chuck Berry lyrics
• Celebrated electric guitar riff
• Suggestive Lyrics
• Sexual energy
• (ironic?) irritation with consumer society
The Doors
“Break on Through”
1967
Heavy, distorted, bluesy rock
• propulsive, riff-based intensity
• vocals push, strain, and struggle
The Kinks
“You Really Got Me”
1964
• Breakthrough hit
• Bluesy, Raw, Rough, Chaotic
• Layering heightens intensity
• Foreshadows heavy metal and
punk musical techniques
Grateful Dead
“Truckin’ ”
On the road narrative
• long, loping, exploratory song
• Verse/chorus plus an extra section
The Who
“My Generation”
• Generation gap / Youth rebellion
• Notorious Live Performances
• Theatricalized violence
• Raw, loud, proto-punk defiance
• Angry, frustrated stuttering delivery
(some claim it mimics being high on amphetamines)
The Doors
Dark undercurrent of counterculture
Los Angeles band (debuts in 1967)
Distorted, driving psychedelic rock
Effects of the British Invasion
Regained interest for earlier American R&B
British Invasion music influences U.S. artists
(e.g. psychedelic rock, hard rock, heavy metal, progressive rock)
Dominates the U.S. pop charts in mid-1960s
Promotes model of a rock band as a self-contained group
that composes and performs their own tunes.
What was Psychedelic Rock
• Mix of electric blues, folk, rock, non-Western influences
• Trippy effects, improvisation
• Psychedelic imagery