The British Pop & Rock Revolution

(A User-Friendly Guide)

by Marc Alan Platt

 

The British may not have originated rock n’ roll, but they certainly exploited it 

much better than the American artists who started the ball rolling in 1956. 

 

In England, they had their own stars who did their own versions of folk, pop and rock n’ roll music and the kids went wild. 

 

The difference between America and Britain is not the supplier, but rather the demand. America originated the musical forms from its rural and urban bases and the Brits interpreted what they were hearing and churning out their own version of what they were hearing. The passion that young white rockers like The Rolling Stones, Animals and The Yardbirds brought to Blues and R & B music made a huge difference to WHITE audiences who liked their music a little harderedged. 

 

The Beatles made it more palatable for the pre-teens and teenagers in both Britain and later America. 

 

This book will focus on the context of the music from origination straight through to influencing future generations of musicians. 

 

At the time of its creation, this music was considered dispoable 'Flavor of the Week’ product. It really wasn’t until The Beatles ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ album came out during the Summer of Love (1967) that people really started taking notice of this music as art. 

 

AM radio was a huge part of the industry getting their message out. There was a lot of under-the-table deals and corruption to get airplay for artists. This made the radio deejays in England and America very powerful. 

 

There were many more small labels on both sides of the Atlantic, similar to what is happening today in music.

 

So it’s time to go back in time to where it all started in England with a jazz artist named “Antony” Donegan, who started raving up American folk songs with a guitar, washboard and a tea-chest bass. The music was called Skiffle. Once Donegan took the first name “Lonnie,” and recorded Leadbelly’s “Rock Island Line” this music took off and started influencing youngsters like Roger Daltrey, John Lennon and Paul McCartney. 

 

Skiffle evolved into rock n’ roll once Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly started their ascent.

 

This book will focus on the artists and the music as it made its way back to America where it all started in the early 1960s.