What's your favorite pre British invasion musician/band?

[BikerDude]

Jerry Lee Lewis is a great musician. I do not not about his career in the 60s though, there was a lot of controversy when he married his cousin.

Oh it was supposed to be in the 60's?
I'm a renegade and didn't even notice.

 

[Carl Perkins]

Oh it was supposed to be in the 60's?
I'm a renegade and didn't even notice.

I’m talking about the folk and surf music of that time. Bands like the ventures and musicians such as Bob Dylan.

 

[BikerDude]

I’m talking about the folk and surf music of that time. Bands like the ventures and musicians such as Bob Dylan.

So many rules man.
Where are the positive vibes?
Freedom man!

 

[Old Dude]

There must have been bands who continued to play the American Rock’n’Roll from the 50s. They may have been obscure though and may have not been signed to any record labels. Are there any American bands from that time who played Chuck Berry styled Rock’n’Roll and had that 50s sound during that time? If so could you name some?

I imagine there must have been some. But I was only around ten years old, so I only have first hand recollections of what was on the radio at the time. Later on, I started paying attention to things and reading music history articles, and going out of my way to learn things. Sadly, the names of obscure bands from the early 60's are not well documented. Now, I would imagine that almost all of the "beginner" bands where the people who later got famous started out in were covering 50's songs, in the 50's style. In Bruce Springsteen's autobiography, he talks about the band he started out in during that era playing mostly instrumental covers.

 

[Carl Perkins]

I imagine there must have been some. But I was only around ten years old, so I only have first hand recollections of what was on the radio at the time. Later on, I started paying attention to things and reading music history articles, and going out of my way to learn things. Sadly, the names of obscure bands from the early 60's are not well documented. Now, I would imagine that almost all of the "beginner" bands where the people who later got famous started out in were covering 50's songs, in the 50's style. In Bruce Springsteen's autobiography, he talks about the band he started out in during that era playing mostly instrumental covers.

What music did you grow up with back in the day? What were your favorite artists/bands?

 

[Needs More Cowbell]

The group Sha Na Na was one of the most popular bands focusing on retro rock through the 1960's and 1970's.
Besides appearing at the Woodstock Festival, they had their own TV show in the mid-70s

Blue Moon:

From Woodstock-At The Hop

More From Woodstock- Teen Angel

From their TV Show

 

[Old Dude]

What music did you grow up with back in the day? What were your favorite artists/bands?

For me, "back in the day" was from about 1960 until I got out of high school in 1969. I was aware of music when I was under 10 years old, but aside from a few favorite songs, I didn't pay much attention to artists or bands. In Junior High, I started paying attention to music, but I grew up in a household where all different kinds of music were heard. My favorites ranged from my father's recordings of the 1812 Overture, or the Soundtrack from the TV Series "Victory at Sea", which was some of the best modern neo-classical music ever written, or his extensive collection of recordings of Bach, Wagner, and other "heavy metal" symphonic music. When bands like Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd came along, to me they were just more of one of my favorite styles of music. My mother's taste ran towards male lounge singers like Sinatra, Robert Goulet, Tony Bennett, and Gordon Macrae. I especially liked broadway power ballad songs, like "Soliloquy" from Carousel. Songs like Meat Loaf's recording of "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad" or REO Speedwagon's "Keep On Loving You" were a natural progression from that. At school, I really got into folk music, so I listened to a lot of Dylan, New Christy Minstrels, Simon and Garfunkel, and others. I liked instrumental surf rock a lot, because much of it reminded me of some of my dad's classical music. I really liked the early 60's girl group sound. I was always in the school chorus, plus my church choir. I learned the discipline of practicing and practicing to get the music right, and that carried over into my taste in rock. I seldom liked free-form jams nearly as much as carefully crafted songs. I preferred the Al Kooper version of Blood Sweat and Tears over undisciplined improv bands like the Grateful Dead. Chicago, at first, knocked me away. I wore out the grooves on all my Moody Blues albums. At the same time, I appreciated simple, old-fashioned pop music as a pleasant noise for my ears. I liked the Grass Roots, Herman's Hermits, the Dave Clark Five, Tommy James and the Shondells, and other bands of that ilk. I liked the Seekers, the early Bee Gees, the Turtles. I could appreciate Tom Jones and Engelbert Humperdinck. I enjoyed female singers like Dusty Springfield, Leslie Gore, and others. Any band with great song lyrics appealed to me, so I was a major fan of the Doors.

I never appreciated country until I got older. I really disliked most dance-oriented soul music. Never really got into polkas, except for dancing at ethnic weddings. And most jazz just left me shaking my head, then and now.

Bottom line, with some notable exception, I liked almost EVERYTHING from the 60's. For me, the British Invasions, first and second, were just blips on the continuum, not indications of major changes. To be honest, at the time of the first British Invasion, I didn't know or care that the Knickerbockers or Beau Brummels were really American. I liked that tight, British sound regardless of what country the artists came from. And, to be honest, the first time I heard "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" on the radio, I thought it was the Everly Brothers with a new, better backup band.

 

[Carl Perkins]

The group Sha Na Na was one of the most popular bands focusing on retro rock through the 1960's and 1970's.
Besides appearing at the Woodstock Festival, they had their own TV show in the mid-70s

Blue Moon:

From Woodstock-At The Hop

More From Woodstock- Teen Angel

From their TV Show

I really liked their cover of “At the hop”. Great version!

 

[Carl Perkins]

For me, "back in the day" was from about 1960 until I got out of high school in 1969. I was aware of music when I was under 10 years old, but aside from a few favorite songs, I didn't pay much attention to artists or bands. In Junior High, I started paying attention to music, but I grew up in a household where all different kinds of music were heard. My favorites ranged from my father's recordings of the 1812 Overture, or the Soundtrack from the TV Series "Victory at Sea", which was some of the best modern neo-classical music ever written, or his extensive collection of recordings of Bach, Wagner, and other "heavy metal" symphonic music. When bands like Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd came along, to me they were just more of one of my favorite styles of music. My mother's taste ran towards male lounge singers like Sinatra, Robert Goulet, Tony Bennett, and Gordon Macrae. I especially liked broadway power ballad songs, like "Soliloquy" from Carousel. Songs like Meat Loaf's recording of "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad" or REO Speedwagon's "Keep On Loving You" were a natural progression from that. At school, I really got into folk music, so I listened to a lot of Dylan, New Christy Minstrels, Simon and Garfunkel, and others. I liked instrumental surf rock a lot, because much of it reminded me of some of my dad's classical music. I really liked the early 60's girl group sound. I was always in the school chorus, plus my church choir. I learned the discipline of practicing and practicing to get the music right, and that carried over into my taste in rock. I seldom liked free-form jams nearly as much as carefully crafted songs. I preferred the Al Kooper version of Blood Sweat and Tears over undisciplined improv bands like the Grateful Dead. Chicago, at first, knocked me away. I wore out the grooves on all my Moody Blues albums. At the same time, I appreciated simple, old-fashioned pop music as a pleasant noise for my ears. I liked the Grass Roots, Herman's Hermits, the Dave Clark Five, Tommy James and the Shondells, and other bands of that ilk. I liked the Seekers, the early Bee Gees, the Turtles. I could appreciate Tom Jones and Engelbert Humperdinck. I enjoyed female singers like Dusty Springfield, Leslie Gore, and others. Any band with great song lyrics appealed to me, so I was a major fan of the Doors.

I never appreciated country until I got older. I really disliked most dance-oriented soul music. Never really got into polkas, except for dancing at ethnic weddings. And most jazz just left me shaking my head, then and now.

Bottom line, with some notable exception, I liked almost EVERYTHING from the 60's. For me, the British Invasions, first and second, were just blips on the continuum, not indications of major changes. To be honest, at the time of the first British Invasion, I didn't know or care that the Knickerbockers or Beau Brummels were really American. I liked that tight, British sound regardless of what country the artists came from. And, to be honest, the first time I heard "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" on the radio, I thought it was the Everly Brothers with a new, better backup band.

That’s really interesting. You have definitely listened to a lot. Let me ask, did you like or dislike disco music?

I’m still pretty young, but I have definitely listened to a lot different music. Thanks to the internet, it’s easier to find all this music compared to 20 years ago. I started listening to 80s music at first and then went backwards all the way back to the 40s. My favorite decade of music is probably 50s because of the Dowop and early Rock And Roll from that decade that I absolutely love. I don’t mind the 60s either, CCR and the Doors are excellent. The Beatles are great too, but I do not like the others as much.

The 70s is mixed for me. I like some disco, but some of it is just too simple for my taste. It also gets repetitive.

The 80s is mixed for me. I do not enjoy it that much.

The 90s. I haven’t listened to a lot of that decade, but I do enjoy some of the grunge music from it.

I like Country. Anything with Johnny Cash in it is gold in my opinion. That’s probably why I like Rockabilly music which has a more southern rock feel to it with country elements.

 

[Old Dude]

That’s really interesting. You have definitely listened to a lot. Let me ask, did you like or dislike disco music?

The best thing about smoking the Devil's Lettuce in the 1970's was that I got to sleep through disco. The only thing that prevents disco from being my absolutely most hated musical genre was the introduction of rap.

I like Country. Anything with Johnny Cash in it is gold in my opinion. That’s probably why I like Rockabilly music which has a more southern rock feel to it with country elements.

I came to appreciate country music much later in life. But now, I enjoy both old "classic" country, and the new-style country that country purists hate. I was born with a country voice, despite having rock and pop tastes. So, when performing myself, whatever I sing often ends up sounding country. Johnny Cash is one of my favorite artists to listen to, but when I sing country cover songs, it's often Kris Kristofferson. Of course, a lot of Cash's songs are Kristofferson covers. Lately, I've really gotten into the White Buffalo. I just put one of his songs on the "What Are You Listening To?" thread. Nowadays, the lines between rock, pop, and country are so blurred that categorizing is difficult to impossible.

As for rockabilly, that's another genre I got into later in life. In heavy rotation on my in-car MP3 player are Imelda May, Devil Doll, and other rockabilly artists.

Speaking of coming to appreciate genres late, the one kind of music my mother played I could never get into was swing. Now, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Squirrel Nut Zippers, and other neo-swing bands are also in high rotation on my MP3 player.