PBS SPECIAL CLIP : HULLABALOO TELEVISION SHOW

We've written about the television show called Shindig.  Hullabaloo was Shindig's competitor. This YouTube Contributor video starts with a lot of artists who we cover here at WES BRYAN - MY LIFE IN MUSIC and then some. The Byrds, Loving Spoonful, Sonny and Cher, Four Seasons, Trini Lopez,The Bobby Fuller Four, Mamas and the Papa's, Nancy Sinatra, The Righteous Brothers, and so very many groups from Britain that invaded America.

DVD : ED SULLIVAN PRESENTS ROCK N ROLL REVOLUTION : THE BRITISH INVADE AMERICA - AMERICA FIGHTS BACK

I performed on the Ed Sullivan show, and a while back we contacted the owners of the archive to see if they have preserved that performance.  Never heard a thing.  These days the Ed Sullivan Show (SOFA Entertainment) has their own YouTube station.

This DVD is a series of Ed Sullivan show performances of The Beatles, Gerry (Marsden) and the Pacemakers, The Rollings Stones, The Animals, The Byrds, Bob Dylan, The Hollies, Herman's Hermits, James Brown, The Supremes, The Righteous Brothers, The Lovin' Spoonful, The Mamas and the Papas, The Beach Boys...Well selected by SOFA ENTERTNAINMENT to truly present the American and British bands that were hitting the charts about the same time in the min 1960's.  As you can see from the list, it touches on the American Invasion of Britain as well.


Hosted by Graham Nash and Michelle Phillips, Producted by Andrew Solt, Greg Vines, Leslie Tong, and written by Andrew Solt...  C 2011 SOFA Entertainemtn.

GRAHAM NASH PLAYS ON BUDDY HOLLY'S OLD GUITAR

Graham NASH mentions the guitar cover inspired by Elvis's guitar cover. Buddy hand tooled the leather cover himself!  See our post about Rick Nelson's guitar cover... use the Google search feature... and AL SHELTON or RICK NELSON to bring up that older post!

(451) THE BRITISH INVASION OF AMERICA and THE AMERICAN INVASION OF BRITAIN CONTINUE

So now that we've said what we've said about hits and charts, we looked at a number of charts for the year 1966 saw discrepancies about what number a song or three achieved. We were reminded of personal favorites and looked for songs we remember hearing that we expected to see.  Could be some of the songs we remember were on albums. 

For American songwriters, the mid 1960's were competitive and anxious times because of the success of bands like the Beatles of Great Britain and the Beach Boys of the United States were writing and performing their own songs and didn't need us.  There was an emphasis with the record companies that bands should have their own songs and with fewer hit makers looking to us to write songs for them, and a feel of change in the air, a lot of people in the business began to change their careers.

Even Phil Spector and his Wall of Sound that had put so many songs on the charts was loosing.  (Sonny Bono talks about that in his memoir, having to break the news to Phil, who he worked for prior to Sonny and Cher making it, that the Sound was beginning to be dated.)

What we see overall is evidence that the British Invasion of America is ongoing.  It's not all about the Beatles.  It's also about British hit makers Petula Clark, Paul Revere and the Raiders, The Rolling Stones, Donovan, and Peter and Gordon, on the same American charts as The Mamas and the Papas, The Lovin' Spoonful, The Supremes,  Nancy Sinatra, Johnny Rivers, and the made for television competition for the Beatles, The Monkees.

PETULA CLARK : DOWNTOWN : 1965 (THE PERFECT SONG FOR BLACK FRIDAY SHOPPING!)

Christine here. This is a song of childhood memories. I loved this song!  It brought to me the hustle bustle of going into the city from the suburbs where I lived, not an every day experience! PETULA CLARK was certainly part of the British Invasion of America.  These days when I think of Britain, I think of our friend Bear who seems to know of every break out artist that ever sang!  His blog BEARLY RAMBLING is amazing!

BEARLY RAMBLING BLOG - GREAT BRITAIN link here!

Can we actually expect anyone to be at home on the computer on "Black Friday", the day after Thanksgiving when so many Americans are off work and using the Thanksgiving holiday to do their Christmas shopping?  (The really organized people will also have everything wrapped and tucked away for Santa before going back to work on Monday!) Well yes, you can expect me to be home and NOT on the computer I'll probably be busy crocheting a dog sweater! 

(431) AFTER 1965 I WROTE MUSIC FOR TELEVISION AND FILM

After 1965 and the closure of American Music, the music publishing house where my five year song writing contact ended early with the death of the owner, Sylvester Cross, I decided to go independent, and like so many other American songwriters in that time when British Bands with their own singer-songwriters in the band were dominating the charts, I decided to try also writing music for television shows and films.

Honoring my contract that I'd left New York to move to Los Angeles for, I'd let offers to perform again and other opportunities go by the wayside. You can't live your life over, but sometimes you can't help wondering what might have been if you took a different road.

While many of my songwriter peers also took their chances at opening their own publishing houses and recording studios, many of my singer-actor peers were trying to move their singing into acting, like Elvis had been doing, but on television.

I watched a lot of television just like Elvis did and I was eager to place songs on some of them.

Very few have the lasting career of an Elvis Presley and even Elvis, despite all the movies he made that kept him in the public eye, was feeling the effects of the changes in music, what was selling, a different sound.

My friend always kept up on the latest music. He had records that were popular in the states sent to him when he was in the army in Germany, and he had the guys go down to the record stores in Hollywood and bring back records for his home juke boxes. In just a few years he'd need a "come back." But I don't want to go too far in my story yet.

(428) GENE PITNEY : SINGER-SONGWRITER, RECORDING ARTIST, PERFORMER

Gene had an album out in 1965, was still performing, still writing songs, still covering tunes recorded by other artists. He performed on Shindig, the hot rock and roll television show broadcasting from Los Angeles that featured the Americans who invaded Britain and the British who were invading the United States!

(423) BEACH BOYS : PROMOTIONAL FOR GIRLS ON THE BEACH SHOWS OFF THE COMPETITION BETWEEN THE BEACH BOYS AND THE BEATLES

The competition between the Beatles, who lead the way of the British Invasion of America, and our home grown Beach Boys was a theme of the summer '65 movie "The Girls On the Beach," as this promo proves. ( Christine : Hey, are those girl guitarists? Who has more fans? Which Beatle or Beach Boy was on the poster on your bedroom wall ?) This might have been the height of the song writing competition between Brian Wilson and the Paul McCartney - John Lennon team.

You can link to the Beach Boys on our sidebar where we just listed their site as it is today, which features their band as it is and a new CD. On this post we're linking to the IMBd movie database about the film so you can learn more! The actress Ahna Capri, who we blogged about in the past, appeared in this film. Use the search feature of this Google Blogger to locate that post and read a little Wes Bryan history.

(394) CHANGE WAS IN THE AIR

No doubt change was in the air.

One of the things that started happening about this time is that executives from various labels started changing labels.

Some of us who had been musical artists, singer-songwriters, and "Singing - Acting Sensations" started moving from making demos to music production.

There was a shuffle there, as the popularity of The Beatles and phenomenal sales of their records started creating more competition for chart space. (But keep in mind that a single or an album didn't necessarily have to chart to eventually sell enough to earn a Gold.)

Many of my peers who had put in more time entertaining than I did and who were identified with the 1950's started to feel it in their pocketbooks which meant that their labels were feeling it in their pockets too: eventually so many of those talented artists who had kept us all entertained, who had provided us the soundtrack of our youthful lives, would slowly loose coverage in the media too.

BUT NOT ELVIS!

(377) 1964 THE BEATLES TOUR AMERICA : CAPITOL RECORDS : STILL RECORDING "OLD TIME" ROCK AND ROLL

Christine here : The Beatles had been in the United States before, in 1963, and they lead a lot of British groups in what's been called "THE BRITISH INVASION" to success in America.

The Beatles got signed to Capitol Records, which had an association with EMI. Capitol put out the"Meet The Beatles" album, the first of four for that year. The Beatles were all over and up the charts. In Great Britain they put out an album called "Beatles For Sale." It was released as "Beatles IV" in the US.

The "Beatles For Sale" album was a tribute album to the early rock and rollers that the Beatles loved. It featured songs like Carol Perkins' "Honey Don't" with Ringo Starr singing, Carl Perkin's "Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby," with George Harrison singing, Buddy Holly's "Words of Love," sung by Paul McCartney and harmonies with John Lennon. While Paul and John were writing original songs and would become two of the most prolific and famous songwriters of the Twentieth century, they covered these songs that were already considered "oldies" too.

The Beatles were on the Ed Sullivan Show in February of 1964 and toured the country. By August of 1964 they were featured guests at a charity event in Los Angeles arranged by Capitol records ; old Hollywood stars brought their teenagers. Back in England they went on the popular rock and roll "Ready Steady Go" television show, which was a project of Dave Clark of the group Dave Clark Five.

I had several friends over the years who were major Beatles fans and I became one too, turned on to the group listening to their records. I still love these early albums. They had such energy! There was so much excitement!

The Beatles very much part of my introduction to Rock and Roll and my lifelong love of music.

(342) THE GIRLS GO CRAZY FOR THE BEATLES SHE LOVES YOU NOVEMBER 1963

If ever there was a threat to Elvis it was The Beatles. But we didn't know that just yet. Elvis kept up on what was happening in rock and roll in Britain and he had heard of the Beatles but I don't think any of us too them as seriously as we could have. Elvis was coming through the archives of the greatest Rock and Roll records ever made, looking for a song he wanted to record and make his own and playing demos for me up at the house.

Elvis, Buddy Knox, Jimmy Bowen, and the Rhythm Orchids, Bobby Darin, and me, were just a few of the early rock and rollers who were on The Ed Sullivan Show. And now it was the Beatles who would change the sound with appearances on television shows like Ed Sullivan. (Yes, Elvis sent them a congratulations telegram.)

Kennedy had been assassinated and the country was in despair. And while the Americans had first invaded Britain, now it was the British (they were called "the Brits" then, without offense) groups that would invade the United States.

(188) DIVERSITY ON THE CHARTS and COVER TUNES YESTERDAY AND TODAY

So far you've seen the diversity of hit records on the charts in the early 1960's, 1960-1961 (and we'll be heading for 1962 in the near future).

Doo Wop, Rockabilly, Novelty Tunes, an emerging surf music sound, harmonies that the Everly Brothers performed as well as opera-inspired songs like Elvis' "It's Now or Never," and so many other sounds, including the "Girl Groups" of Motown are represented on those charts as big sellers.

Because we live in 2008 and know about the history of Rock and Roll from the long view, we know that it's a matter of a couple years before what's been termed "The British Invasion" though in our opinion there was an American Invasion of Britian first. American artists like Gene Vincent and Eddie Cochran toured England, Buddy Knox and I almost got there, and it's well known that the Beatles and the Rolling Stones and so many other British originated bands that come along into fame mid to late 1960's are inspired by those early Rock and Rollers. Many of the hits of the late 1950's to early 1960's have become classics that have been recorded "Covered" time and time again.

Christine and I are really fascinated by what's been happening as some of the most famous Rock and Rollers are aging, and beginning to look to "standards" from the 1930's, 1940's, and 1950's. Linda Ronstadt's been doing it, Rod Stewart's been doing it... mining the classics from the Big Band Sound.

So before we go on with our Wes Bryan narrative, we're going to take a bit of a departure here on Wes Bryan -My Life in Music and we're going to post some of those "Oldies" and their "Covers."

We'll be depending on YouTube of course, and we want to thank again all those contributors that make a history of music oriented blog like ours more interesting.