The British Invasion & the '60s
The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Who and the Kinks conquer the world, and Bob Dylan plugs in — the decade rock became the center of culture.
Part of Rock
31 moments in this segment.
- — The Beatles — Love Me Do. The Beatles' first single, in October 1962, opened the door to everything.
- — The Beatles on Ed Sullivan. 73 million Americans watched the Beatles' 1964 Sullivan debut — the British Invasion had landed.
- — The Animals — The House of the Rising Sun. The Animals' 1964 folk-rock reworking became a transatlantic number one.
- — The Beatles — A Hard Day's Night. The 1964 film and title track showed the Beatles at the peak of Beatlemania.
- — The Kinks — You Really Got Me. The Kinks' 1964 power chords are often called the first hard-rock, even proto-metal, riff.
- — Them — Gloria. Van Morrison's Them cut the garage-rock standard Gloria in 1964.
- — The Yardbirds — For Your Love. The Yardbirds — school for Clapton, Beck and Page — bridged blues and psychedelia.
- — The Byrds — Mr. Tambourine Man. The Byrds' 1965 jangle invented folk-rock and lit up American radio.
- — The Rolling Stones — (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction. Keith Richards's fuzz riff made Satisfaction the Stones' 1965 breakthrough.
- — Bob Dylan — Like a Rolling Stone. Dylan's six-minute 1965 single tore up the rules of the pop song.
- — Bob Dylan goes electric at Newport. Dylan plugging in at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival split the folk world and remade rock.
- — The Who — My Generation. The Who's 1965 anthem of youth and its stuttered defiance became a manifesto.
- — The Hollies — Bus Stop. The Hollies brought jangling harmony pop to the British Invasion.
- — The Troggs — Wild Thing. The Troggs' 1966 riff became one of garage rock's defining songs.
- — The Rolling Stones — Paint It Black. The Stones' dark, sitar-laced 1966 number one pushed rock into new textures.
- — The Beach Boys — Good Vibrations. Brian Wilson's 1966 'pocket symphony' pushed the pop single into art.
- — The Beatles — Strawberry Fields Forever. The Beatles' 1967 single announced the studio as an instrument and psychedelia's arrival.
- — The Kinks — Waterloo Sunset. Ray Davies's 1967 portrait of London is one of rock's most beloved songs.
- — The Beatles — Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The 1967 album that made rock a serious art form and defined the Summer of Love.
- — Small Faces — Itchycoo Park. Small Faces brought mod energy and psychedelia together in 1967.
- — The Moody Blues — Nights in White Satin. The Moody Blues fused rock and orchestra ahead of prog in 1967.
- — The Velvet Underground & the underground. The Velvet Underground's 1967 debut sold poorly but shaped everything to come.
- — Steppenwolf — Born to Be Wild. Steppenwolf's 1968 anthem coined 'heavy metal thunder' and soundtracked Easy Rider.
- — The Zombies — Time of the Season. The Zombies' baroque-pop classic capped the British Invasion.
- — The Rolling Stones — Jumpin' Jack Flash. The Stones' 1968 comeback single restored their raw blues-rock power.
- — Cream — White Room. Cream's 1968 psych-blues epic showcased Clapton's wah-wah guitar.
- — The Beatles — Hey Jude. The Beatles' seven-minute 1968 anthem topped charts worldwide.
- — The Band — The Weight. The Band's 1968 Americana redefined rock's roots and roused Dylan's circle.
- — Creedence Clearwater Revival — Proud Mary. CCR's swamp-rock made them one of the biggest bands of the late '60s.
- — The Who — Pinball Wizard. From the 1969 rock opera Tommy, the Who expanded what an album could be.
- — The Beatles — Come Together. From Abbey Road, the Beatles' final masterpiece in 1969.
