Promotional Information

With the iconic battles between the Mods and the Rockers serving as a centerpiece, author James Perone investigates the origins, development, and consequences of the British Invasion.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments 1. Introduction: The Mods versus the Rockers 2. Skiffle and 1950s British Rockers 3. 1960-1963: From the Rocker Aesthetic to the Mod Aesthetic 4. The Beatles and Merseybeat: Balancing the Sides 5. A Different Sort of Balance: the Dave Clark Five 6. The Who and the Kinks: Mod to the Core 7. The Blues and R&B Bands 8. The Rolling Stones: It All Starts with the Blues 9. And Thats Not All: Other British Invasion Artists 10. Impact on America and Conclusions Selected Discography Bibliography

About the Author

James E. Perone is Professor of Music at Mount Union College, where he teaches American music and music theory, and chairs the Department of Music. He is the series editor for The Praeger Singer-Songwriter Collection, for which he has also written four volumes: The Sound of Stevie Wonder (2006), The Words and Music of Carole King (2006), The Words and Music of David Bowie (2007), and The Words and Music of Prince (2008). He is also the author of several Greenwood Press books, including Music of the Counterculture Era (2004) and Woodstock: An Encyclopedia of the Music and Art Fair (2005).

Reviews

This is a thoroughly engaging examination of the evolution of British popular music from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s. Perone (Mount Union College) uses the seemingly contrasting youth subcultures of mods and rockers as a metaphor for analyzing the process of self-identification and self-actualization among disenfranchised urban youth in Great Britain during this period… The most successful artists fused the music, fashion, and lingo of the rocker and mod subgroups to create a marketable image and sound that transcended mere imitation of US music icons to become creative, powerful forces in their own right, consequently shaping rock music history. Photos of key artists are included, along with notes and a selected discography. A listing of media (movies, recordings, television programs, etc.) that helped fuel the British invasion would have been useful. Recommended. All levels.
*Choice*

The development of British invasion rock music is chronicled from the 1960s to modern times, documenting tensions between two very different resort communities – the Mods and the Rockers. Each group claimed its own culture and style – but it was the Rockers that entered America with the Beatles in 1964, leading a generation of vast musical change fueled by British influences. Any library strong in rock music history needs this.
*Midwest Book Review*