Origins
Beat
music originated in England in the early 1960’s. British beat or Mersey beat
originally pertained to bands from Liverpool, beside the River Mersey. The
beat format is largely responsible for the
British invasion of the American music scene beginning in 1964. The
exact origins of the term “Beat Music” seem to be uncertain. There are two
schools of thought on the origins of the term. One is that beat music had
little to do with the Beat Generation of the 1950’s and more to do with the
driving rhythms the bands featured in their music. On the other hand, The
Beatles, who were big fans of the Beat Poets like Keroac and Ginsberg and the
like, spelled their name with an “a” as a tribute to these poets of the 1950’s.
Liverpool was the epicenter for this new form of music. Liverpool is a major
port with links to America, this made for easy access to American records.
Ironically, these British groups were heavily influenced by American groups
like Buddy Holly and the Crickets, Chuck Berry and so on. Groups like The
Beatles , The Hollies, The Zombies, The Who, and of course The Rolling Stones
came out of this period, but we all know every word of every song these groups
ever put out. In America, beat music had a very unique sound, quite different
from its British counterpart. Much of the music from American groups of the
period has faded into obscurity. This is the music you never hear anymore, the
music you may have never heard of.
The
Beat Generation, or Beatniks, morphed into the Hippie Counter Culture Movement beginning
around 1965. The Hippie movement fueled the American music scene that was
getting underway in the early 1960’s, but it was overshadowed by the British
invasion. Early on there was some co-operation going on across the pond. Bob
Dylan wrote a couple of songs for Manfred Mann before hitting the big time with
Doo Wah Diddy. These Dylan composed
songs did fairly well on the British charts, but never caught on in the States.
If You Gotta Go, Go Now is an example
of one of these songs. If You Gotta Go is typical of that
Mersey sound. The American form of beat music became known as “Garage Rock,”
because the early bands were quite amateurish and some rehearsed their music in
the family garage. This form was much more raw and edgy sounding than the
British form. The difference is apparent when you compare the music from the U.K. with that which was going on here in the States. Let's take a look at If You Gotta Go and one of my favorites, The Witch by the Sonics, from Tacoma.
The difference is quite apparent, in all fairness, The Sonics were probably the rawest sonding band of the time, it was their trademark. Most of the other bands of this time had more polish, even so, there is still a marked difference between British beat and what was called garage music here in the States. In the coming weeks I will be focusing on the music from this side of the pond, starting from around 1965 up to about 1969. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Rock on groovy guys and gals!
I love how you incorporate the Beats into your 60s music review. This is an awesome bit of history. Also, you chose some bands that are obscure (at least to me)- it's nice to hear something new!!
ReplyDeleteErin, I'd be remiss if I didn't give you at least patial credit for this blog. The seeds of this idea were planted when we were covering the Beats in Creative Writing. Thank You. There is a wealth of material out there, the whole idea is to bring back some of the bands that have faded into obscurity. Drop in once in a while, there is much more to come.
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