British rock and roll
British rock and roll, or sometimes British rock 'n' roll, is a style of popular music based on American rock and roll, which emerged in the late 1950s and was popular until the arrival of beat music in 1962. It was important in establishing British youth and popular music culture and was a key factor in subsequent developments that led to the British Invasion of the mid-1960s. Since the 1960s, some stars of the genre, most notably Cliff Richard, have managed to sustain successful careers and there have been periodic revivals of this form of music.
For the general history of rock music in Britain, see British rock.British rock and roll
Late 1950s, United Kingdom
- Electric guitar
- string bass or later bass guitar
- drums
- piano
- saxophone
Influence[edit]
In general, early British rock and roll was a second-class product and made little impact on the American market, where British acts before 1963 were almost unknown. In Britain too their significance was limited. British rhythm and blues bands like the Rolling Stones and the Yardbirds deliberately turned away from rock and roll towards its sources in America, and even the subsequent generation of beat bands that owed much more to rock and roll, frequently covered songs by American artists like Chuck Berry, but rarely used material from British acts.[1] Early British rock and roll was undoubtedly an inspiration and influence on the instrumentation and shape of the beat music that spearheaded the British Invasion, but it had to be changed significantly into something new and vital in order to have any impact outside of its own borders.[1]