The Animals: The Influential British Invasion Band

When they first started they had a huge amount of people started liking them, and then they started getting hits and before they knew it, they got accepted in the folk rock hall of fame. When they got into the hall of fame they made a song about it, but as soon as they did, they got rid of it because they thought is was bragging to much (Shirley, 1997).

The begins of rock and roll have always been challenged as to when they were first established. The most common argument is that is first started in Southern United states, the birth place of many of the first early rock and roll music hits. As the south always had a huge majority of slaves from Africa and immigrants from Europe, through the gathering of different influences that created a connection between African musical traditions with European instrumentation. Immigration of once slaves to populated urban centers including New York City and Chicago meant that both the black and white communities were living in close proximity, resulting in hearing each other's music and even ‘began to follow and impersonate each other's fashions’.

I am one of those rare “millennials” who appreciate pop culture from the past. I don’t forget about them; I carry them. I got into rock ‘n roll music since I was born. To me, rock ‘n roll music made me the man I am today.

The evolution of musicals has grown and changed tremendously throughout history. They have developed into something that no one ever dreamed they would be while leaving a gigantic mark on society. Rock and roll was one of the biggest changes that happened to the musical theatre industry. Not only was this cultural change a huge impact for society but also in musicals resulting in a huge change of what the content of musicals were and will be in the future. Rock and roll began in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s and this is when it first left a lasting impression on the public and changed the musical style that was a part of the time era. Because of the rising of this popular new art form, the musical theatre industry was grabbing onto this

The Monkees band was started in 1966 by Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider. Bob and Bert were influenced by the huge success of The Beatles Films A Hard Day's Night and Help. They wanted to copy what the Beatles did into a TV show. “They envisioned a show built around a real rock and roll band whose members would play themselves” (Pendergast 854). And in 1965 Bob and Bert put out an ad for a band called The Monkees. Over 400 people responded to the ad seeking young men (The Monkees 1). Out of the 400 people, David Jones, George Michael, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork were chosen for their cute looks adequate acting skills and above average pop-singing abilities (Pendergast 854). The show was extremely successful.

The band has sold over 75 million records worldwide. This proves that they were one of the best-selling music artists in history and since the band’s breakup, they are often considered as one of the greatest artists of all time. Two live and two studio albums have also reached the number one place on the Billboard 200 chart.

For thousands of years, music has been influencing people in extraordinary ways. The Beatles Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band should not be mistaken as an ordinary album. Without a doubt, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, an incredibly innovative album, stands as the most influential album of all time; it stands as a true masterpiece. People all around, especially artists, were influenced greatly by the innovations the album brought to the world of music. Many people have said that from the moment they heard the first track of the album, it was life changing. Like the first falling domino tile of a domino show, June 1, 1967, would mark the start of the influence of many generations of music to come. The album helped popularize concept albums, in which songs are connected to a theme, which would inspire many musicians to do the same. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was a psychedelic rock album; a manifestation of life in the 1960’s. This genre of rock is home to the work of numerous artists who were influenced by the album’s use of this style of rock. The hours of work put into by the Beatles to create this album surpassed those of any of their albums. Not only that, it altered the way music was recorded by creating their own recording techniques. Surely, these recording techniques and tactics were used by future artists in their work which then led to the creation of legendary music. Sgt. Pepper’s opened the gate to innovation; an album whose impact on

Formed in the sixties, The Rolling Stones consisted of Brian Jones, Ian Stewart, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Bill Wyman, and Charlie Watts. Referring to themselves as the World’s Greatest Rock and Roll band, the song “Rollin’ Stones” written by Muddy Waters is what stemmed into the band 's name. The Stones recorded and sold what is estimated to be more than a quarter million albums until the early 1980s when Jagger and Richard had a fight over musical direction and the group grew apart from each other and did not record any music for years. Soon after The Rolling Stones were accepted into the Rock and Roll hall of fame in 1989, the band got back together and begin making more music. In 1994 the Rolling Stones won their first Grammy with the song “Voodoo Lounge”. After this success, the Stones embarked on a major tour raising a gross income of almost three million dollars. Throughout the 2000s, the band released albums and performed on tours pleasing the music world still to this day with the oldest member, Charlie Watts being 75 years old.

The Beach Boys’ classic album Pet Sounds (1966) is widely known one of the most important rock and roll discs ever recorded. Rolling Stone magazine ranked Pet Sounds with number 2 on its list of The Greatest 500 Albums of All Time and it was voted number 1 by several other publications, including Mojo, New Musical Express, and The Times. "Pet Sounds" is an instrumental composed and produced by Brian Wilson and is the twelfth track on the 1966 album Pet Sounds by the American rock band The Beach Boys. Originally, this song was called "Run James Run" because Brian intended it to be used as the theme of a James Bond film. Pet Sounds" was recorded on November 17, 1965 at United Western Recorders, with Chuck Britz engineering. I was impressed about

The 1990s was a period of teen pop culture and dance pop culture that was originally stirred up in the late 70s and 80s. The 90s focused primarily on the teen population of many western countries. Companies and corporations looked to capitalize off the youth through trendy clothes, new technologies (video games), and ultimately Boy Bands. This new wave of bands contrasted greatly with the rock and roll bands of the previous generations. For instance, their style consisted of hip-hop, rap, and RnB fused with funk, soul and even dancing or performances. Also, 90s Bands were backed by a CEO and were not self-sufficient. Most of the time they didn’t even write their own music or even play an instrument for that matter. Music variety

The 1970s were an interesting era for rock music. It offered the genre a harder sound that was not prominent in the 1960s. This was due to the rise in hard rock, glam rock, and arena rock bands such as AC/DC, The Who, Van Halen, and Aerosmith. To go along with this transition in sound, the 1970s continued the experimental music scene that the 1960s created. Groups like Deep Purple, Electric Light Orchestra, and Pink Floyd (of course) helped progress rock music with their experimentation with song recording. With so many great artists, it is no wonder why so many people see the 1970s as being the best era for rock music. While there were tons of great bands in the seventies one band constantly is referred to as one of the

The Smashing Pumpkins were one of the most influential bands in the 90’s their timbre often fell under alternative rock. Musical preferences are formed at an early age, unknowingly the people in your environment help develop how partial you are to any genre. Growing up, my mom, and older sister listened to a variety of diverse progressive music. So majority of that exposure helped me at an early age identify what kind of “tone colors” I preferred. It makes it easier to pick the type of music you enjoy the most. Alternative rock, Synth, Goth Rock, Metal, Pop just about anything with a beat is ok to listen too. I just observed that Alternative Rock, and Synth Pop are a theme to most of my playlists. Certain bands take you home, there’s a sense of nostalgia that’s associated with certain bands. For myself The Smashing Pumpkins take me to a place in my mind, where its going to be ok, on a rough day that’s all I can do to get by. The reason being is I’m diagnosed as manic depressive with a bipolar disorder. Which means I suffer from a mental illness that is more common then most people realize. However, it is hard to talk about, your just different, and that’s not a bad thing. Some days you feel like it is the worst thing in the world, and I’ve been taught many coping mechanisms to deal with myself. The first cassette tape I ever received from my mom who is also a lot like me suffering from depression as well, was a Smashing Pumpkins tape of their 1995 album Mellon

The second artist I choose for my final is AC/DC. AC/DC is a hard rock band that formed in 1973. They have influenced generations with popular hard rock that when people hear it, it takes them back. In the beginning for AC/DC, they struck oil! In 1776, they went international with the album High Voltage which included that single and T.N.T. One artist who influenced AC/DC was Led Zeppelin, he showed AC/DC how to take rock n roll fundamentals and make them even harder. What made AC/DC so different was they were formed in Australia. On almost all of their songs, you can pick one song and right into the intro, it gets your blood pressure going. AC/DC is arguably the best at intro’s and overall music. There’s kids still wearing shirts that have

Around the same time the Sex Pistols had been dropped by EMI in early 1977, CBS, another major label, signed The Clash. An A&R representative Dan Loggins told Jon Savage, it was “easier for older, more experienced record people to contemplate taking on Punk than the contemporaries of Punk in the record companies” because they had seen other trends in music come and go (qtd. 304). Similar to the EMI deal offered to the Sex Pistols, CBS was not thinking about the implications of signing The Clash for artistic reasons or to further the band as musicians. Loggins says frankly, “The record companies are in business to make money … Our attitude towards them was that they had a uniqueness. I wasn't interested in looking at the Clash as a social phenomenon:

The 1975 is an English rock band originating from Cheshire, United Kingdom. The group consists of Matt Healy, Adam Hann, Ross MacDonald, and George Daniel. Topping the album charts, the 1975 became widely known across the UK. After a few years and a two EPs released, the British rock band became noticed among the United States and the majority of Europe. Their second album, I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it, featured a song display their attitudes towards America. The song, She’s American, recognizes the differences in culture between the US and their home country. It was inspired by the Englishman’s reaction towards a relationship with an American girl. This relationship ended fairly quickly due to the numerous differences Matt Healy realized he had with the American. These lines spoke to me, in particular, because of the way the lead singer/songwriter captures the essence of stereotypes. Matt Healy conveys the way social media influences us, introducing a way society plays a major role in our decisions. And, finally, he mocks the American population and their behavior with the repetition of certain lines.