British Invasion '64 - The Year That Changed Rock & Roll Forever

"They've got their own groups. What are we going to give America that they don't already have?"

- Paul McCartney"

They give the teenagers something that thrills them, a vision. The boys and girls of this age are young men and women looking for something in life that can't always be found, a joie de vivre."

- Leopold Stokowski, American Symphony Orchestra Conductor

"I knew England would get even with us for the Boston Tea Party."

- An American barber

The first weeks of the year 1964 were cold, gray, and somber, as America was reeling from the tragic death of its vibrant young President. But then something began piercing through the desolate haze: a sound, both new, yet also echoing the thrilling, unbridled energy of early Rock and Roll . . . an energy that had been almost utterly tamed in recent years.

Up to this time, British bands had been wholly unsuccessful at gaining a lasting foothold in American Rock and Roll. But suddenly, all of that changed forever as four young men led an army across the ocean, and from that moment on, nothing would ever be the same again.

The British Invasion was more than just The Beatles . . . it was The Dave Clark Five, The Rolling Stones, The Animals, Peter and Gordon, The Swinging Blue Jeans, Dusty Springfield, The Zombies, The Kinks, and so many others. And 1964 was more than just a year . . . it was the gateway to vast changes in music and culture. And the British Invasion was the soundtrack to it all