Popular Culture: from Baseball to Rock and Roll
The pattern of early American imitation
and absorption of British models and the gradual reversal of the process
to a more reciprocal interrelationship also manifested itself in popular
culture. After independence Americans continued to import British sports
and games, transforming them in some instances -- for example, turning
rugby into football. British popular music maintained its ascendancy,
as did British theater, particularly evident in the many performances
of Shakespeare's plays and Gilbert and Sullivan's operettas. The circus
was another nineteenth-century British import that enjoyed enormous
popularity in America.
By the mid nineteenth century, American inventions such
as minstrel shows and, after the Civil War, wild west shows gained a
foothold in Britain. These entertainments paved the way for the popularity
after World War I of American popular music -- jazz and the blues --
and of American motion pictures. American influence in areas of mass
popular entertainment increased after World War II and led some observers,
who also noted the influx of many features of American consumerism --
such as fast food, supermarkets, and household appliances -- to comment,
sometimes negatively, on the "Americanization" of Britain.
In the 1950s, American rock and roll music was imitated
by British groups, who then refined it and, in the view of some, improved
it. In the 1960s, they exported their version to the United States with
such success that American commentators spoke of a "British invasion,"
led by groups including the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. Along with
the music came British fashions, such as the miniskirt, longer hairstyles
for men, and the "Twiggy" look.
At the end of the twentieth century, British performers
continued to be much in evidence on the American stage and screen. British
programs are hits on American public television. American interest in
British celebrities, including the Royal Family, remains high. Meanwhile,
most British towns have McDonald's and Pizza Huts as well as American-style
traffic jams. Mutual imitation and innovation, most conspicuously in
music, continues at a dizzying pace.
Cricket And Baseball
Although there are resemblances
between cricket and baseball, historians of sport have
contended that the national pastime of the United Stated
did not evolve from cricket. In 1859 Harper's Weekly
published images of the two games being played on the
same day in Hoboken, New Jersey. An American cricket team
is shown playing a British one.
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U.S. Women Lose Golf Match
in England,
ca. 1920.
Copyprint.
Prints and Photographs
Division, Library of Congress (217)
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A British-American Golf Match
British and American women's teams battle it out at Sunnydale,
England, in the 1920s. At the top is Glenna Collett (b.
1903), the American captain; her British counterpart,
Molly Gourlay (b. 1898), is at the bottom. The British
team won the match, 81/2 to 6 1/2.
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Origins of Baseball
The origins of baseball are obscure; it is often assumed that
the national pastime of the United States evolved from
the English children's game of rounders or "four-old-cat."
Here, however, is an image of a game that contains the
elements of baseball and is called by that name, published
in an English children's magazine of 1760.
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A Pretty Little Pocket-Book,
intended for the Amusement of Little Master Tommy, and
Pretty Miss
Polly. . . .
London: J. Newbery, 1760.
Early Printed Collections, The British Library (211)
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Pierce Egan. "The Second Contest
Between Cribb and Molineux, September 28, 1811."
Boxiana; or Sketches of Ancient and Modern Pugilism, .
. . London: G. Smeeton, 1812, p. 412.
Early Printed Collections, The British Library (214)
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Boxing
Boxing was another English sport imported
by Americans. Squared off here are the American champion,
Tom Molineaux (1784-1818), a freed slave and one of America's
first black athletic heroes, and the English champion,
Tom Cribb (1781-1848). The two fought forty rounds in
December 1810 in East Grinstead, England. Molineaux is
generally considered to have won the match, but he was
beaten by Cribb in a rematch the next year.
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The Boy's Own Paper,
[London], No. 1, Vol. 1,
January 18, 1879.
Modern Collections, British Library (215A)
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Rugby
Rugby football was invented at Rugby
School, England, in 1823, and became widely popular in
English public (i.e. private) schools. American football
evolved from rugby after the American Civil War. This
story describes a rugby football match between fictitious
rival schools, Parkhurst and Craven, in which the "Old
Boy" Adams scores a last minute "touch-down" to secure
victory for Parkhurst.
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Horse Racing
Horse racing was one of the earliest sports taken by English
settlers to America. Winner of the first Derby Stakes
run at Epsom, England, in 1780, Diomed was sold by his
owner to Virginia for fifty guineas in 1798. Though twenty-one
years old, Diomed lived another ten years and founded
a dynasty that included Sir Archy, American Eclipse, Boston,
and Lexington -- the greatest American sire of the nineteenth
century.
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"Diomed."
The Sporting Magazine, or Monthly Calendar of the Transactions
of the Turf, the Chace, . . .
for October, 1792, p. 44.
London: Printed for the Proprietors
and Sold by J. Wheble.
Early Printed Collections, The British Library (213)
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Henry Bishop.
"Home Sweet Home".
Words by John Henry Payne.
Philadelphia: J. G. Klemm, n.d.
Sheet music cover.
Music Division,
Library of Congress (219)
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British Tune, American Words
A particular favorite nineteenth-century
song was "Home Sweet Home." The tune was written by an
English-man Henry Bishop (1786-1855), who "in his day
enjoyed a commanding reputation as the guardian of the
best traditions of English song." The song with its present
words by American John Howard Payne first appeared in
the opera Clari or The Maid of Milan,
produced on May 8, 1823, in London.
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British Song in America
In the early nineteenth century many of the most popular songs
in America were British imports, among them "Woodman!
Spare That Tree." The tune was written in 1837 by the
English composer and singer, Henry Russell (1812 -1900),
during a temporary residence in the United States, where
he was organist and choirmaster of the First Presbyterian
Church in Rochester, New York.
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Henry Russell and George P. Morris.
"Woodman! Spare that Tree."
New York: Firth and Hall, 1837.
Sheet music cover.
Music Division,
Library of Congress (220)
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Portraits of Anne Merry.
Merry's Manuscript.
Page 2
[ca. 1830s]
Manuscript Division,
Library of Congress (220A)
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British Actress Triumphs in America
At age 15 Ann Brunton (1769-1808) became
a principal tragic actress at London's Convent Garden
Theatre. In 1796 she came to America, where she was for
a dozen years a leading actress under her married name,
Mrs. Merry. Shakespeare's Juliet was considered her best
role. Her professional triumphs were balanced by personal
sorrow; she was twice widowed and died in childbirth at
40.
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An American Actor in Britain
In the years before the American Civil War, American actors
began winning their laurels on the British stage. A protégé
of the great English Shakespearean Edmund Kean (1787-1833),
American Ira Aldridge (ca.1805-1867) played MacBeth and
King Lear in England, but his most famous role was Othello.
In the 1850s Aldridge was lionized on the European continent.
Here he is depicted as Aaron in Titus Andronicus
during a performance at the Britannia Theatre in Hoxton,
England, in 1852.
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Ira Aldridge as
Aaron in
Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus,
1852.
Engraving.
Prints and Photographs
Division, Library of Congress (227A)
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"Mr. Macready as Macbeth."
Engraving by Thomas Sherratt from the original painting by
Tracey.
London: John Tallis & Company, [between 1860 and 1880].
Prints and Photographs
Division, Library of Congress (223)
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Macready as Macbeth
English actor William Charles Macready (1793-1873) made three visits to America, the first in 1826. He was well known for his thorough emotional identification with each character he played. "I cannot act Macbeth without being Macbeth," he once said.
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Forrest as Macbeth
The first American-born tragedian to achieve stardom, Edwin
Forrest (1806-1872) dominated the American stage for more
than thirty years. Tall and handsome, he had an expressive
and powerful voice. Critics made comparisons with Niagara
Falls and storms at sea to describe his physical and emotional
powers during dramatic scenes.
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Forrest as Macbeth,
[between 1840 and 1870].
Copyprint.
Prints and Photographs
Division, Library of Congress (224)
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"Riot at the Astor-Place Opera-House,
New York."
Illustrated London News,
June 2, 1849, p. 369.
Woodcut.
enlarged version (380K)
General Collections, Library of Congress (225)
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The Astor Place Riot
A riot at the Astor Place Theater, New
York City, May 10, 1849, resulted in 23 dead and at least
100 hospitalized. The riot was caused by the professional
rivalry, with strong nationalistic overtones, between
two of the leading actors of the day, Edwin Forrest (1806-1872)
and William Charles Macready (1793 -1873). Forrest appealed
to the "common man," so extolled in Jacksonian America,
while the Englishman Macready, had a strong following
among America's elite. Forrest's fans stormed the Astor
Place Theater during an appearance by Macready, resulting
in mayhem and bloodshed that was contained with difficulty
by cavalry and militia units.
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Poster For The Mikado
Gilbert and Sullivan opened a production of The Mikado
in the United States in March 1885. In order to prevent
American copyright violations, the two had opened the
first production of The Pirates of Penzance
in New York, rather than London, in 1880. Despite Gilbert
and Sullivan's efforts to duplicate their success in controlling
unauthorized productions of Pirates, The
Mikado was widely pirated in the United States.
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The Mikado.
Chicago: John B. Jeffery,
ca. 1885.
Poster.
Prints and Photographs
Division, Library of Congress (228)
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Oliver Herford.
The Modern Argonauts with Their
Golden "Fleece,"
March 11, 1886.
India ink over pencil.
Prints & Photographs Division, Library of Congress (226)
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British Celebrities Making
Profits in America
This print parodies the Greek myth of
the voyage of Jason and the Argonauts seeking the golden
fleece. The modern argonauts are British creators -- writers,
librettists, and actors including Matthew Arnold (1822-1888),
Henry Irving (1838-1905), Lillie Langtry (1853-1929) and
W.S. Gilbert (1836-1911). Although complaining of being
robbed of their copyrights in the United States, they
are represented as having profited extravagantly from
American audiences, the real victims of the "fleecing."
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The Circus
The modern circus is considered to have been "invented" by
the Englishman, Philip Astley (1742-1814). Another Englishman,
famous equestrian John Bill Ricketts (d. ca. 1803), introduced
the Astley-style circus to the United States in 1792.
Numerous British circuses toured American cities, including
Thomas Taplin Cooke's Olympic Circus, which he brought
to the United States, 1836-1840. After the circus was
destroyed by a fire in Baltimore, Cooke returned to Edinburgh
and started a new one in 1840, advertised here.
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"Cooke's Circus."
Edinburgh: James Brydon, 1840.
Poster.
Prints and Photographs
Division, Library of Congress (221)
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Poster of the Barnum and Bailey
Great London Circus,
[1879].
Prints and Photographs
Division, Library of Congress (231)
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A Combined British-American Circus
In 1871 celebrated American showman and
promoter Phineas T. Barnum (1810-1891) established a circus.
Ten years later Barnum joined with James T. Bailey (1847-1906)
to create the most famous of all American circuses. Shown
here is an 1879 advertisement for a joint appearance of
Barnum's Circus and three British shows.
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Scottish Golfers
Golf was another British game exported to the United States,
where it became popular by the end of the nineteenth century.
Golf did not evolve into a distinctly separate American
game; the rules were copied from those used at St. Andrews,
Scotland. Above is a group of Scottish professionals,
ready for action at a tournament at Leith Links, May 17,
1867.
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Grand Golf Tournament of Professional
Players, Leith Links, Scotland, May 17, 1867.
Copyprint.
Prints and Photographs
Division, Library of Congress (216)
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The Beautiful Blonde
from Bashful Bend. Netherfield, Nottingham,
and London: Stafford, 1949. Poster.
Prints and Photographs
Division, Library of Congress (237)
The Library does not have permission
to display this image online.
Yankee in King Arthur's
Court.
Bradford: W. E. Berry, 1949.
Poster.
Prints and Photographs
Division,
Library of Congress (245)
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American Movies in Britain
American movies, which arrived in Britain
in the 1920s with American popular music, dominated British
theaters after World War II. These two American movies
were popular with British audiences in 1949. Note the
British Board of Film Censors' stamp of approval on the
lower left of the Betty Grable poster.
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Gershwin in London
George Gershwin's (1898-1937) musical,
Primrose, was produced and performed in London
in 1924; the show never played in the United States. "Berkeley
Square," is one of the songs from the show.
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George Gershwin.
Musical score for "Berkeley
Square" in Primrose,
London, 1924.
Music Division,
Library of Congress (235)
Reproduced by Permission
of
Warner Bros. Publications U.S. Inc.
GERSHWIN®, GEORGE GERSHWIN®, and IRA GERSHWIN®
are trademarks of Gershwin Enterprises.
All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission.
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Some Popular Performers
Although the dominance of American
rock and roll music was the most conspicuous feature of the British
pop culture scene in the years after World War II, the long tradition
of British performers thriving in the United States continued
both before and after war as did the favorable reception of their
American counterparts in Britain.
Jelly Roll Morton.
Music score for "London Blues."
Chicago: Melrose Brothers, 1923.
Music Division,
Library of Congress (236A)
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Jelly Roll Morton's "London Blues"
"London Blues" was dedicated to the British
capital by one of the giants of the blues genre, Jelly
Roll Morton (1885-1941).
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Invasion of American Popular Music
After World War I, American popular music --
blues, jazz, and Tin Pan Alley songs -- swept Britain, much as
British music invaded the United States in the 1960s. American
songs such as "Chicago" and "Manhattan" were consistently among
the most popular tunes in Britain in the 1920s.
Fred Fisher.
"Chicago."
New York: Fred Fisher Inc., 1922.
Sheet music cover.
Music Division,
Library of Congress (232)
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Lorenz Hart and Richard Rodgers.
"Manhattan."
New York: Edward B. Marks Music Co., 1925. Sheet
music cover.
Garrick Gareties Collection,
Music Division,
Library of Congress (233)
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The "Americanization" of The British Consumer
A conspicuous feature of the "Americanization
of Britain," said to have occurred in the years following World
War II, was what might be called "consumerism." American products
and business methods, designed to simplify the tasks and daily
routines of a society of mass consumers, infiltrated many areas
of British life. American-style supermarkets, restaurants, coin-operated
laundries, as well as American gadgets, customs, and foods took
root in British society and became as inescapable as American
popular music and movies.
"I cannot tell a lie. . . ."
Punch, July 7, 1976,
opposite p. 30.
General Collections,
Library of Congress (294)
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American Themes in British Advertising
To promote a housing development in the
town of Washington in northeast England, British advertisers
use one of the oldest of American myths -- George Washington
cutting down the cherry tree.
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American Invasion of British Kitchens
According to this magazine story, American-style
kitchens and labor-saving devices for the home were revolutionizing
the domestic life of British women in the early 1960s.
One result was the decline by two thirds from pre-World
War II levels of the number of British families employing
servants.
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"British Kitchens Are Going
American."
U.S. News and World Report,
May 2, 1960,
pp. 104-105.
Page 2
Bound Magazine.
General Collections,
Library of Congress (246)
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"Are the British Being Americanized?"
Saturday Review,
October 17, 1959,
pp. 14-15.
Page 2
Bound Magazine.
General Collections,
Library of Congress (247)
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The "Americanization" of London
Commenting on the proliferation of American
skyscrapers and other innovations in London, the author
remarks that "there seems little doubt that the resistance
that London has always maintained against the importation
of American ideas has noticeably weakened." The cartoon
at the lower right calls attention to the inroads of American
nylons, cereals and drive-in banking.
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Beer in Cans
In this article the noted observer of
Anglo-American relations, Alistair Cooke (b. 1908), humorously
describes the crumbling British resistance to the American
innovation of drinking beer in tin cans, a practice initially
denounced in Britain as another example of "the absolute
barbarity of the Americans." British pubs have been traditionally
served draught beer from kegs.
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Alistair Cooke.
"Beer in Tins."
The Listener,
November 3, 1966,
pp. 644-645.
Page 2
Bound magazine.
General Collections,
Library of Congress (248)
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More examples of the "Americanization" of Britain
The photographs above, all taken in 1959, furnish
more examples of the post-World War phenomenon called the "Americanization"
of Britain: an American-style supermarket advertising plum pudding
(251); an American-style self service laundromat, operated by
the Bendix Corporation, in Queensway, London (252); a British
woman having a hamburger at Wimpy's, a British chain of American-style
fast food restaurants (250); and two British men in a pub, the
Old Bull and Bush, Hampstead, London, drinking beer (Ind Coope)
from tins cans (249). All photographs are by Brian Seed, Black
Star Agency for U. S. News and World Report. Prints and
Photographs Division. Library of Congress.
Brian Seed.
British women in a supermarket,
1959.
Copyprint.
Look Magazine Collection,
Prints and Photographs Division,
Library of Congress (251)
© Brian Seed, 1959. Used with permission.
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Brian Seed.
Laundromats in Britain, 1959.
Copyprint.
Look Magazine Collection,
Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress
(252)
© Brian Seed, 1959. Used with permission.
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Brian Seed.
British woman eating fast-food
hamburgers, 1959.
Copyprint.
Look Magazine Collection,
Prints and Photographs
Division, Library of Congress (250)
© Brian Seed, 1959. Used with permission.
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Brian Seed.
British men drinking beer
from cans, 1959.
Copyprint.
Look Magazine Collection,
Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress
(249)
© Brian Seed, 1959. Used with permission.
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Rock And Roll Music
In the 1950s American
rock and roll music dominated the British popular music
scene more completely than jazz and the blues had done
in the 1920s. The first rock and roll tunes to make a
major impact in Britain were Bill Haley's (1925-1981)
"Shake, Rattle and Roll" and "Rock Around the Clock,"
both released in 1954. Other pop singers and groups who
quickly obtained wide popularity and inspired numerous
British imitators were Little Richard (b.1932), Chuck
Berry (b. 1926), Jerry Lee Lewis (b. 1935), Buddy Holly
(1936-1959) and the Crickets, the Everly Brother (Don,
b.1937; Phil, b.1939), and Elvis Presley (1935-1977).
The influence of American music is shown by British teenagers
dancing on the "rock 'n' roll railroad car," a youth club
run by the Reverend John Oates, who played the bass in
his clerical robes.
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Elvis Presley, 1957.
Photograph.
Prints & Photographs Division,
Library of Congress (256)
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Swinging Britain
The Beatles
and other British rock groups helped create in the 1960s
a milieu that emphasized youth, exuberance, and innovation
not only in music but in fashion. Young Americans found
British fashions as appealing as the music crossing the
ocean. American publications carried advertisements that
promoted British products or American products that fit
the cool image. The "London Look" was epitomized by the
most famous British model of the era, "Twiggy" (Leslie Hornsby,
b. 1949). Along with fashion, British television shows such
as The Avengers and James Bond films furthered the "Swinging
Britain" image.
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"The London Look"
Here are a group of images that illustrate
the "London Look," the hot fashion style of the mid-1960s. Young
London, number 242, shows British fashions and at the right the
influential designer, Mary Quant (b. 1934), popularizer of the
mini-skirt, and other members of the London fashion community;
number 282 shows the most famous British model of the era, Twiggy
(Leslie Hornsby, b. 1949), "the 17 year old Cockney sprig," modelling
British fashions in New York "on the first leg of a six week working
tour of the U.S.;" number 283 shows various venues of mod British
fashion, including the shrine, Carnaby Street; on the wall, above,
are advertisement in American magazines, numbers 284 A, B and
C, promoting the "London Look."
"The London Look."
Yardley Cosmetics Advertisement.
Seventeen,
March 1965, p. 12.
Copyprint.
General Collections, Library of Congress (284A)
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London Fog®
Advertisement.
The New Yorker,
March 12, 1966, p. 37.
Copyprint.
General Collections, Library of Congress (284B)
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"Oh to be
in London."
Time,
April 15, 1966, pp. 34-35.
General Collections,
Library of Congress (283)
Page 2
- Page 3
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British Music After The 1960s
British
performers continued to be popular in American beyond the
1960s. Shown in the graphic panel above are several groups
that became or continued to be popular in the 1970s. More
recently, raves have illustrated the rapidity with which
events and innovations in popular culture now pass between
Britain and America. Originating in the 1980s (probably
in Britain), the rave is an extended dance, dominated by
a disc jockey. Participation in which gives devotees what
they claim to be an almost religious sense of community.
An authority has called the rave an example of "technoshamanism."
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The British Invasion
American rock and roll music inspired a host
of British imitators but no British group made an impression on
the American market until the advent of the Beatles at the end
of 1963. The Beatles' popularity in the United States was phenomenal;
in March 1964 they achieved the unprecedented feat of having the
top five singles on the nation's charts. Their success in the
American market emboldened other British groups like the Rolling
Stones to test the trans-Atlantic waters. The success of the Beatles
and their compatriots prompted American disc jockeys to coin the
phrase "the British Invasion." When the post-1960s decades produced
new forms of pop music -- punk, rave, etc., -- the reciprocal
borrowing and assimilation of American and British pop musical
culture had become so thorough that it became difficult to determine
national origin.
The Library does not have permission
to display this image online.
Publicity photograph for The
Beatles, 1963.
Motion Picture,
Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division, Library
of Congress (238a)
Capitol
Records.
"What's Happening in Beatle
Land?"
New York, January 29, 1964.
Press Release.
Motion Picture,
Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division, Library
of Congress (238b)
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"Here Come The Beatles"
This publicity material was released
by Capitol Records just prior to the Beatles first American
tour in February, 1964. Capitol notes the remarkable sales
of the Beatles' first American single, "I Want to Hold
Your Hand," and of the group's LP, Meet the Beatles.
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The Rolling Stones
One of the most successful British groups
following the Beatles into the esteem of American rock
fans was the Rolling Stones in whose music critics detected
"a more defiant spirit, expressed in snarling vocals [and]
raucous guitars."
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Randy
Tuten.
"The Rolling Stones."
San Francisco: Tea Lautrec Litho, ca. 1969.
Poster.
Prints and Photographs
Division, Library of Congress (244)
Courtesy of Bill Graham Presents, Inc.
©B.G.P. 1969
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"Twiggy:
Click! Click!"
Newsweek,
April 10, 1967,
pp. 62-63.
Page 2
General Collections,
Library of Congress (282)
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British Model Twiggy
British model Twiggy (Leslie Hornsby,
b. 1949) epitomized the "London look" that swept the United
States in the 1960s. Twiggy's short hair style and super-short
miniskirts were widely imitated. Her first American visit
in April 1965 was captured in this Newsweek
article.
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Record Album Covers
Below are record album covers of American rock
musicians who were popular in Britain in the 1950s and 1960s as
well as those of British groups popular in the United States in
the 1960s and 1970s. In the 1950s British rock groups tended to
imitate American groups and re-record their most popular songs,
a trend that was in some instances reversed in the 1960s, when
American groups copied British songs, especially those by the
Beatles. A striking example of the recycling of music by British
and American groups is the song, "The House of the Rising Sun."
Recorded early in this century in Appalachia by the American folklorist,
Alan Lomax, "The House of the Rising Sun" was a staple in the
repertoire of American singers such as Leadbelly (Hudie Ledbetter
[1888-1949]), Josh White (1915-1969), Roy Acuff (1903-1992) and
Woody Guthrie (1912-1967). The record album covers, above, show
the song migrating from Bob Dylan (b.1941) in 1962 to the British
group the Animals in 1964 and to the American group, The Supremes
in the same year. It was also recorded by British performers Lonnie
Donegan and Marianne Faithful.
The Supremes.
A Bit of Liverpool.
Detroit: Motown, 1964.
Album cover.
Motion Picture,
Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division, Library
of Congress (273)
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The Beatles.
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Hollywood: Capitol Records, 1967.
Album cover.
Motion Picture,
Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division, Library
of Congress (275)
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Bob Dylan.
New York: Columbia, 1962.
Album cover.
Motion Picture,
Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division, Library
of Congress
Courtesy of Columbia Records (271)
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The "Chirping"
Crickets.
Brunswick Records, 1957.
Album cover.
Motion Picture,
Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division, Library
of Congress (264)
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The Animals, Includes
Their Hit Single, "House of the Rising Sun."
MGM. 1964.
Album cover.
Motion Picture,
Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division, Library
of Congress (272)
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Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps.
Bluejean Bop!
Hollywood: Capitol, 1956.
Album cover.
Motion Picture,
Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division, Library
of Congress (269)
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Elvis Presley.
New York: RCA Victor, 1956.
Album cover.
Motion Picture,
Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division, Library
of Congress (265)
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Little Richard.
Here's Little Richard.
Hollywood: Specialty Records, ca. 1950.
Album cover.
Motion Picture,
Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division, Library
of Congress (268)
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The Dave Clark Five.
Chaquita/In Your Heart.
New York: Cortleigh Records, 1964.
Album cover.
Motion Picture,
Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division, Library
of Congress (277)
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Carl Perkins.
"Whole Lotta Shakin."
New York: Columbia, [1958?].
Album cover.
Motion Picture,
Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division, Library
of Congress
Courtesy of Columbia Records (267)
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England's Newest
Hit Makers: The Rolling Stones.
New York: London, 1964.
Album cover.
Motion Picture,
Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division, Library
of Congress (276)
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Kinks.
The "Live" Kinks.
Burbank, California: Reprise, 1967.
Album cover.
Motion Picture,
Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division, Library
of Congress (279)
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Bill Haley and
His Comets.
Decca, 1958.
Album cover.
Motion Picture,
Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division, Library
of Congress (266)
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The Beatles.
Meet the Beatles.
[Scranton, Pennsylvania]: Capitol Records, 1964.
Album cover.
Motion Picture,
Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division, Library
of Congress (274)
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"Young London."
Seventeen, March 1965,
pp. 108-109.
General Collections,
Library of Congress (242)
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British Fashions for Young Americans
In an introduction to a 1965 article
on British fashion, Seventeen, the leading
magazine for teenage girls, explored various aspects of
the craze for anything British, including music, hairstyles,
and London night clubs.
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Americans and the "Royals"
One of the striking features of American
mass popular culture in the period after World War II is
the widespread fascination with the British royal family.
A foretaste of this phenomenon occurred in the fall of 1860,
when the first member of the British royal family ever to
visit the United States, Albert Edward, Prince of Wales
(later King Edward VII, 1841-1910), created a sensation
in New York City. About 300,000 people, one half of the
city's population, turned out to see the prince ride through
town; so many of members of the city's high society crashed
a ball given in his honor on October 12, 1860, that the
dance floor collapsed.
The fortunes of Edward VIII (1894-1972)
were followed closely in the United States, especially because
of the turmoil resulting from his abdication, December 11,
1936, to marry a divorced American, Wallis Simpson of Baltimore.
Queen Elizabeth II has made state visits to the United States
for two major historic events, the 1957 celebrations of
350th anniversary of the founding of the first successful
English colony at Jamestown and the 1976 Bicentennial. More
recently, Americans have followed the lives of others in
the royal family, especially the queen's eldest son, Prince
Charles, and his late wife, Princess Diana.
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Edward,
Prince of Wales (later the Duke of Windsor) wearing
an Indian costume on his first visit to the United States,
1919.
Copyprint.
New York World-Telegram and Sun Collection,
Prints and
Photographs Division, Library of Congress (290)
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"Edward,
Prince of Wales, 1860."
Harper's Weekly,
New York, October 6, 1860.
Copyprint.
Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress
(289)
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Queen Elizabeth
II and Prince Philip
at Jamestown, October 17, 1957.
Copyprint.
New York World-Telegram and Sun Collection,
Prints and Photographs Division,
Library of Congress (292)
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