The Mersey Sound
The first sound of the British Invasion to reach American shores was the Mersey sound, named for the Mersey River which flows through Liverpool. The term also applied to the several bands which were managed by Brian Epstein in addition to the Beatles. For the most part the Mersey sound was dominated by guitars, and used strong vocal harmonies in four or five member lineups. The sound developed from American music, including the music of Buddy Holly and the Crickets, which according to John Lennon was the inspiration for the name Beatles. It was combined with another style known as skiffle.
The Beatles success and the high visibility of Brian Epstein in it led to him signing several other Liverpool bands which had some success in Great Britain, but not necessarily in the United States. Gerry and the Pacemakers followed The Beatles to the United States, and had one hit which reached number four on the American charts, Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying, but by 1966 they disbanded. Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas also enjoyed some success early during the British Invasion, appearing on The Ed Sullivan Show and performing songs written for them by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, but by the end of 1965 they had charted their last hit.
The Searchers followed the Beatles path to the United States, appearing on The Ed Sullivan Show in April 1964. It was the high point of their career in the United States. Their album Meet the Searchers reached number 22 in the US, though it was modified from the British version to include their single Needles and Pins, which helped it in the charts. Other Liverpool acts gained modest success in the UK and Europe, but none achieved lasting success in the United States. Cilla Black, also managed by Epstein and supported by the Beatles, was heavily marketed in America prior to her appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. She made just a few additional appearances on American television and at New York’s Plaza Hotel.
By 1966 the Mersey sound, which was also called beat music, was waning. The Beatles were by then writing songs far removed from the sound they developed playing in Liverpool and Hamburg, and they took their audience with them in the new musical direction. While the music sold well in the form of their records, much of it could not be reproduced on stage. The original Mersey sound faded from the scene as the bands abandoned it in favor of other instruments and musical styles. By 1966 both the Beatles and the Rolling Stones had experimented with sitars and other instruments, including in the case of the Stones the recorder, autoharp, dulcimer, and tabla.
The Mersey sound was what launched Beatlemania in England and the reaction to them there led to their immediate acceptance in the United States. The British Invasion was a direct result of the Mersey sound, which was influenced by American music, brought to the port of Liverpool by sailors and immigrants. The British Invasion of 1964 was thus born in, among other places, the Texas honky-tonks where Buddy Holly and others like him learned their craft and developed their style. The British Invasion didn’t so much bring a new sound to America, it returned an old one, albeit in the accents of the communities of Great Britain.