Rise of British Invasion

The British Invasion was a wave of British rock and pop acts that became hugely popular in the United States in the mid-1960s. It began with the arrival of the Beatles, whose appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in February 1964 was watched by tens of millions of Americans. Other groups followed, including the Rolling Stones, the Kinks, the Who, the Animals and the Dave Clark Five, and they dominated the American charts. The movement changed popular music by encouraging bands to write their own songs and by reviving interest in the American rhythm and blues that had inspired many of the British musicians. It also reached fashion, film and youth culture.

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