21. The British invasion rejuvenated American rock and roll
Until 1964, British acts had failed to gain popularity in the United States, where music fans regarded them as tepid imitations of American rock and roll. But by 1964 American rock and roll was little more than a tepid imitation of itself. The British Invasion introduced a fresh sound by injecting new ideas into American music. When the Rolling Stones made their first tour of America in 1964, their setlist was almost entirely American rhythm and blues songs and blues standards, as well as Chuck Berry’s rocker, Carol. The British bands, in particular the Beatles and the Stones, also changed the way American bands recorded their music.
In America, albums usually included two or three high-quality tracks – the singles – and the rest was for the most part filler. The British bands didn’t typically repeat their singles on albums, and instead produced albums which contained higher-quality tracks. In the United States, Capitol (The Beatles) and London (the Rolling Stones) issued copies of albums which differed in content from the British releases, including the bands’ hit singles and removing other tracks. American bands recognized the higher quality content of the British albums and began to change the way they recorded their own music, with bands demanding more control over the process from producers.