About This Quiz
Looking back, it may seem that bands like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones have always been around. But they were part of a wave of British music that flooded the U.S. in the 1960s. See how much you know about the British Invasion with our quiz.While they identified Americans Chuck Berry, Elvis and Buddy Holly as influencing their music, the British sound came most often from bands that wrote and performed original tunes.
One-hit-wonder Acker Bilk, a clarinetist from England, has the honor of being the first British artist to top the American pop charts with his song on May 26, 1962.
The Beatles tried repeatedly to breach U.S. shores in 1963 with songs that had topped the U.K. charts. But it was 1964's "I Want to Hold Your Hand" that finally led them to No. 1.
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President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in November 1963, sending the country into national mourning. The Beatles' energy, wit and upbeat music helped bring the U.S. out of its depression.
The Animals hit in 1964 with the most popular version of the folk song that has been around since at least the early 1900s and has been covered by everyone from Woody Guthrie to Andy Griffith.
DC5, as all the cool kids called them, first charted with "Glad All Over." By the time it was all over, they had sold more than 50 million records.
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The biggest thing to come out of the band was Steve Winwood, who left in 1967 to form Traffic and then left that for a solo career.
The Stones seemed determined to be the band your parents warned you about, coming on unsmiling and raunchy. It seems to have worked for them.
Petula Clark's song, written by Tony Hatch after his first trip to New York, is an upbeat tune about a nightclub that never closes.
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The Kinks' biggest hit came in 1970 with "Lola," maybe the only hit song (or at least the first) about an encounter with a cross-dresser.
Rolling Stone magazine called this phenom "the Dylan-esque folk singer turned psychedelic minstrel."
The Who was already enormously popular in England with hits like "My Generation" and "I Can't Explain" before storming the U.S.
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The song was written for Faithfull by The Rolling Stones' Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, along with their manager Andrew Loog Oldham.
Gerry and the Pacemakers had their first U.S. hit in 1964 with "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying," which reached No. 4 on the Billboard charts.
Incredible musicians like Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones, who went on to fame and fortune themselves, backed Noone on many of Herman's Hermits' tunes.
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Tom Jones began life as Thomas John Woodward. His first U.K. hit, "It's Not Unusual," led to spots on "The Ed Sullivan Show," and the rest, as they say, is history.
Their rich harmonies of The Hollies led to 22 hits on Billboard's Hot 100 in the U.S. between 1964 and 1975, making them the No. 4 British hit-makers of the period.
The album features 14 songs — six covers and eight original tunes that highlight the band's range.
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Born in Scotland, Lulu had her first British hit at age 15 with a cover of The Isley Brothers' "Shout."
While they became famous for their caveman sound, The Troggs also recorded ballads, including "Love Is All Around."
The Nashville Teens' biggest hit, "Tobacco Road," was also American-inspired, taken from the 1932 book of the same name by Erskine Caldwell.
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The band also reached No. 10 in the U.S. with "Mighty Quinn" in 1968. Manfred Mann later had success with his band Manfred Mann's Earth Band.
The band — from Liverpool, England, like the Fab Four — had more success in England, but it didn't manage to make hips shake again in the U.S.
Springfield peaked with the 1968 album "Dusty in Memphis," produced by Jerry Wexler, who had produced Aretha Franklin and Ray Charles.
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After having held the top spot for only four weeks total before 1964, Brits took hold for more than half of the next two years. They also had 65 singles in the Top 40 in 1964 and 68 singles in 1965.
In addition to a string of Top 40 hits, the Yardbirds graduated arguably the top three British guitar players of the era: Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page.
It's no wonder the duo — Peter Asher and Gordon Waller — was a success with material like the Lennon-McCartney written "A World Without Love."
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OK, this one was too easy. The Zombies also had almost as much staying power as the undead of today. They hit the U.S. charts with "Time of the Season" in 1969.
The Who struggled to get a foothold on American soil, until they landed with "Happy Jack" and never looked back.
The Fab Four were the undisputed leaders of the British Invasion. Seemingly overnight in January 1964, Beatlemania had the whole country in a frenzy that was just the beginning of a love for all things English.
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