The End of an Era: John Lennon’s Assassination and the Impact on the British Invasion

On the seventh of February in the year 1964, one of the most significant events to hit the music world was set into motion. With the arrival of the four-man band, The Beatles, the phenomenon known as the "British Invasion" began in America. In addition to the Beatles, America was also graced by bands such as the Kinks, the Who, the Rolling Stones, Herman's Hermits, the Animals, and the Dave Clark Five, all of whom together changed the way America looked at music, as well as influenced the teens of the 1960s.

Perhaps the most influential band, the one that truly started the British Invasion, was the Beatles, which was comprised of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison. Starting an epidemic known as “Beatlemania”, the Beatles gained the attention and adoration of teens across America. Commonly referred to as "longhairs," the Beatles drew the stares of teenagers and adults alike; teens wanted to look like them, adults wanted to give them a haircut. While the Beatles signature look was at first frowned upon, their mop-tops eventually helped to bring about the "hippie" look that was popular in the 1970s.

In addition to influencing the culture of the 60s, the Beatles also drastically changed the world of music. The Beatles were one of the first bands to stress the importance of putting out quality full-length albums, rather than an album with one hit song surrounded by other, lesser, filler songs. In addition, the Beatles also pioneered the music video, with their first film, A Hard Day's Night, that was released on the sixth of July, 1964. The film portrayed several days in the life of the stars, and included musical sequences to songs such as "Can't Buy Me Love," "Strawberry Fields," and "Penny Lane;” each musical sequence in and of itself could be considered its own separate music video. With 14 of their albums, including Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Magical Mystery Tour, Abbey Road, and Let It Be, reaching number 1 in the United States, the Beatles were a force to be reckoned with when it came to influencing the world of music.

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That being said, the world was rocked again on the eighth of December, 1980 with the assassination of John Lennon, the group's lead singer. People responded all over the world, and on December 14th, 1980, crowds of people gathered both in Liverpool, England, as well as in New York City, where a group of 225,000 people joined together in Central Park for ten minutes of silence; additionally, this ten minutes of silence was included on all of the New York City radio stations, as a sign of respect to the beloved singer. The Beatles have had major influences on other modern bands, such as Nirvana, the Beach Boys, the Foo Fighters, and the Eagles.

Another majorly influential band involved in the British Invasion was the Rolling Stones, composed of Brian Jones, Ian Stewart, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Bill Wyman, and Charlie Watts. Like the Beatles, the Rolling Stones became popular in the United States in the early 1960s and were immediately recognized for their long hair. The Rolling Stones not only influenced the youth of Britain and America, they also changed the focus of blues culture and integrated blues into the rock and roll genre. In addition to winning the first ever awarded Grammy Award for Best Rock Album in 1995 for Voodoo Lounge, the Rolling Stone magazine was also named after the popular band. With of nine of their albums, including Out of Our Heads, Sticky Fingers, Black and Blue, and Tattoo You reaching number one in the United States, the Rolling Stones took the U.S. by storm, assisting the Beatles with the British Invasion.

The British Invasion was arguably the greatest, most influential moment in all of music history. With the arrival of bands like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, as well as many other British bands to America, American culture as well as American music influence changed drastically. The long-haired “boy bands” created a sense of teenage rebellion in the United States; teenagers embraced the hippie vibes while adults tried to oppress the societal changes that the Invasion was bringing to America. These kinds of bands made a major difference in the music world, starting with the invasion of America and moving across the globe.

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