The History of Rock 'n' Roll (TV Mini Series) Britain Invades, America Fights Back (1995) User Reviews

Episode 3: Britain Invades America Fights Back

[ebiros2 · 7/10 · 24 October 2005]

While American producers were working on well organized music, a completely new way to create and perform music was being invented across the Atlantic.

Folk music went across the ocean, and was picked up by a musician who had background in jazz and the combination turned into skiffle music. In England this was the path many amateur musicians entered into playing music including two guys from Liverpool named John Lennon and Paul McCartney (and immediately following, George Harrison, and later Ringo Starr).

Beatles landed in America, and changed way rock n roll and way other musics created forever. Then the rush of other British musicians followed, and transforming of culture that became the '60s.

American musicians like Roger McGuinn, and David Crosby (BYRDS) was heavily influenced by the Beatles and started making their music modeled after them. Other American groups followed with their own brand of style such as Lovin Spoonful, The Young Rascals, and the Mamas and the Papas.

The exciting music revolution of the '60s is captured in this episode of rock n roll.

When London Was The Center Of Rock 'n Roll

[ccthemovieman-1 · 10/10 · 5 March 2009]

"The Beatles were a gift from God," says Tom Petty.

This episode, fittingly, begins in Liverpool, England, the "home" of the Beatles, the most famous rock group of all time. In the very early 60s, there was a band called "The Quarrymen" which had, among others, John Lennon. To make a long story short, outsider Paul McCartney met him, began writing songs with Lennon, joined the group....the rest is rock n' roll history along with George Harrison and later Ringo Starr all became ultra-famous as the re-named Beatles. By the way, we are shown a commentary next to the building where the Quarrymen played. In that plot is a tombstone with the name "Eleanor Rigby." We witness a 1963 concert of the Beatles doing "Twist and Shout" and the girls going berserk.

Tell me something: why to 10-15-year-old girls scream at concerts? Do they still do that? You can barely hear the bands in this episode with these young females screaming their lungs off during the song, weeping and even fainting. It's absurd!

Whatever, more Beatles history ensues, such as The Cavern Club and Brian Epstein. "Beatlemania" was the thing, though around 1963, especially when they first arrived in New York City. Nobody had ever seen crowds like that at the airport! By the mid '60s, London was the capital of rock 'n roll, not just with music but with wild clothing stores on Carnaby Street and all the music clubs.

Anyway, some other nostalgic songs enjoyed on this segment included The Beach Boys' "I Get Around;" The Temptations' "You Make My Life So Sweet;" Herman's Hermits' "Something Tells Me I'm Into Something Good;" Peter and Gordon's ""A World Without Love (a song written by Lennon and McCartney);" The Kinks' "You Really Got Me;" and a 17-year-old Marianne Faithful doing "As Tears Go By." It good to see Marianne today discuss performing at that young age.

By that time - the mid '60s - the Americans started countering with their own popular groups. We see The Supremes performing "You Can't Hurry Love;" The Lovin' Spooful doing "Do You Believe In Magic?;'" The Young Rascals with "Good Lovin; The Byrds with "Turn! Turn! Turn!;" The Mamas And The Papas' "Creeque Alley;" and that back to more British groups with The Who's "Can't Explain;" The Hollies' "Carrie-Ann" (which really was Marianne, dedicated to Marianne Faithful) and The Spencer Davis Group (with Steve Winwood) with "Keep on Runnin.'

More British groups broke out after the Beatles success. We watch a few examples, such as Gerry And the Pacemakers doing "Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying;" Eric Burdon and The Animals with their haunting "The House Of The Rising Sun;" The Searchers, "Needles and Pins." (The Searchers tell us here on this disc that they were named after the John Ford/John Wayne film of the same name.) The Rolling Stones, "Around and Around" arrived in the US a month after the Beatles and the teen screaming and mania continued, even if "they are so ugly they are beautiful," as one girl puts it. We see the Stones perform "Around and Around" and "I Can't Get No Satisfaction." Boy, Mick Jagger looks young.

Paul Kantner of Jefferson Airplane fame, had an interesting point about how all the English bands seemed to be so much better. "That's because we only saw the best of the British bands - the ones good enough to make it over here. Meanwhile, in America we saw all the good and the bad bands." Later, the British begin to get edgy with The Who and lead guitarist Peter Townsend smashing his guitar at the end of each concert...but that's for a later episode. Meanwhile, the "Motown Sound" in Detroit takes off, and that's the next episode in this series.

well focused entry in series

[postmanwhoalwaysringstwice · 10/10 · 16 April 2007]

The ten episode series of documentaries, "The History of Rock & Roll" hits a high note with the third installment, "Britain Invades, America Fights Back". After rock music gained a bit of acceptance, music began to lose a bit of the adventure and inspiration of those early years. In the early 1960's this American export came rushing back with a fresh sound courtesy of the pop stylings of the legendary Beatles, and the blues-infused pop rock of The Rolling Stones, as well as a flurry of other Brit-Bands. Instantly the American groups had some major competition that really tested their talent. Like previous episodes the sixty minutes are filled with archival footage crosscut with interviews with significant voices in music.

"The Beatles were a gift from God." - Tom Petty

[classicsoncall · 10/10 · 21 September 2017]

The Beatles take up a good part of this episode, having launched the British Invasion to the shores of America beginning in 1964. The Rolling Stones followed a few months after, both making their mark with appearances on "The Ed Sullivan Show". The Beatles and The Stones were positioned as the Good Guys and the Bad Guys of British rock, with the distinction made of 'who would you want your daughter to marry'?

It's said that everyone's personal Golden Age for things like music, television and other forms of entertainment generally coincide with the time you were in your early teens. That puts me smack dab in the middle of the 1960's, with it's attendant musical genres consisting of the British Invasion, Motown, the Beach Sound and all the other great rock 'n' roll that came out of that era. It was really a tremendous time to grow up, capped off with the feel good vibe of Woodstock in 1969.

Regarding the music from overseas, Jefferson Airplane's Paul Kantner had a pretty good observation when he noted that American bands at the time were threatened by the the sound and success of all the British bands coming over to the States, noting that they were all so good. Most folks didn't consider the fact that here in America, we got a taste of not only the good bands, but the bad and indifferent ones as well, so it made it seem like the Brits were so far head and shoulders above their counterparts here. But it was only the best that ever made it over here in the first place!

The episode backs up the Beatles with clips of Herman's Hermits, Peter and Gordon, The Animals, The Kinks, and Spencer Davis. A notable group that was missing I thought was The Dave Clark Five, who weren't in the lineup. An interesting bit of trivia that came out of this show had John McNally of The Searchers stating that they took their name from the John Wayne movie as a tribute to all the great American Westerns that captivated British young men at the time. I've read the same about Jagger and Richards also being big fans of the old cowboy movies.

The second part of this entry's title is 'America Fights Back', and the episode goes on to highlight some of the best of the home grown groups like The Supremes, The Lovin' Spoonful, The Rascals, The Byrds, and The Mama's and The Papa's. If you were around back then, you'll recall that Felix Cavalieri's group was originally called The Young Rascals, something generally not acknowledged today.

As usual, a host of well known artists are on hand to lend their perspectives on the era, musicians like Pete Townsend, Smokey Robinson, Gerry Marsden (Gerry and the Pacemakers), Quincy Jones and Peter No one (Herman's Hermits). As an aside, and as a commentary on the popularity of these groups that still exists today, I've seen Peter No one and the reconstituted Herman's Hermits three times in the past two years and they never fail to entertain. The sounds of the Sixties are still as fresh and vibrant as they were a half century ago, and I see no reason why the songs won't be around forever.

Note**** IMDb's spell check insists on separating Peter No one's last name to read as No one. See what I mean?