The British are coming! The United Kingdom of Great Britain. Its great cities-Liverpool, Manchester, London- the Brits showed up in the early sixties, and they brought American Black Blues with them. They would sound funny speaking, when singing though they sound like a “Yank”. Who woulda thunk it?
The Brits had been talkin' through their nose, bad teeth, all at once they became cool! Bond, James Bond! 007, Her Majesty's Secret Service! Shaken Not Stirred, along with Tom Jones, and Engelburt Humperdink, would be along for the ride. Their was a cologne- an aftershave called “English Leather”, though made in the USA, high school boys used lavishly! The Mods, the clothes...my Ma said, “They wear ties!” Not for long Ma!
The Beatles, The Stones, The Animals...hey, what the f--k. They played cricket, soccer, they had a Queen. We had a War of Independence from them. We became allies to defeat Hitler. They complained that the yanks were
“Overpaid, oversexed, and over here! And now their kids were back in the USA, for good!
Where do you think The Animals got “House of the Rising Sun”? The Rolling Stones name came from a Muddy Waters song. “Rollin' Stone”. What we had last heard from the British, “Ring around the Rosy” or “Jack be Nimble, Jack Be Quick”. The Beatles, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Jack Bruce, John Mayall, Led Zeppelin,Leon Russell and my favorite, Joe Cocker. They changed music! These would become some of the best. They covered black blues- Robert Johnson, Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee, Big Bill Broonzy, Lightnin' Hopkins, John Lee Hooker, Son House, BB King, the Chicago Blues, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, Bo Diddley.
This would lead to “Southern Rock” groups like Marshall Tucker,Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Allmans, Fabulous Thunderbirds, Black Oak Arkansas, Confederate Railroad, Molly Hatchet, ZZ Top, Zac Brown Band and many more. The British also loved American rock and roll like Eddy Cochran, and for a while, Jerry Lee Lewis.
Ike and Tina Turner... many American singers had hits in England in the early sixties while we listened to, ”That little Doggie in the Window” or “All I Want for Christmas”. The English loved the Blues and were rockin' before we listened to Chuck Berry's “Sweet 16”. Little Richard and Pat Boone (who covered Little Richard's songs)--- now there was a Rocker, ”Tutti Frutti.” Little Richard came in 17 on the chart, Pat Boone's version was number 12!A-wop-bop-a-loo-bop-a-lop-bam- boom tutti- frutti- aw-rooty!...
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