In summary, England was dreary, gray, rainy , still rationing  until 1955 and still recovering from WWII.  English youth witnessed American up beat music, jazz, movies, photographs, TV shows, which seemed to show America had it all.  

On the other side, American Youth were taken aback by the loss of Buddy Holly, the absence of Elvis in the Army, the loss of Eddie Cochran, Chuck Berry in prison, Little Richard in the ministry.  By 1964, America was ready for a musical "youthquake" and needed a large dose of something different and fun.  So the two year British invasion began.

It was good for both sides....  

Current members

• Mick Jagger – lead and backing vocals, harmonica, rhythm guitar, percussion, keyboards, bass (1962–present)

• Keith Richards – lead and rhythm guitars, bass, keyboards, percussion, backing and lead vocals (1962–present)

• Ronnie Wood – lead, rhythm and slide guitars, bass, backing vocals, pedal steel guitar (1975–present)

Former members

• Brian Jones – lead, rhythm and slide guitars, harmonica, keyboards, sitar, Appalachian dulcimer, marimbas, recorder, saxophone, percussion, backing vocals (1962–1969; died 1969)

• Ian Stewart – piano, organ, percussion (1962–1963; touring and session musician 1963–1985; his death)

• Bill Wyman – bass, keyboards, piano, backing and occasional lead vocals (1962–1993; guest 2011, 2012, 2023)

• Charlie Watts – drums, percussion, occasional backing vocals (1963–2021; his death)

• Mick Taylor – lead and slide guitars, bass, synthesizers, congas, backing vocals (1969–1974; guest 1981, 2012–2014)  

2024 Wikipedia

The historical conclusion of the British Invasion is ambiguous. The wave of British Invasion largely faded as US culture shifted in response to the Vietnam War and the resulting civil unrest in the late 1960s and early 1970s. British progressive rock acts of the 1970s were often more popular in the US than their native Britain, as the US working class was generally favorable to the virtuosity of progressive rock acts, while the bands' British audience was confined to the more genteel upper classes.

A subsequent wave of British artists rose to popularity in the early 1980s as British music videos appeared in US media, leading to what is now known as the "Second British Invasion". Another wave of British mainstream prominence in US music charts came in the mid-1990s with the brief success of Spice Girls, Oasis, Blur, Radiohead and Robbie Williams. At least one British act would appear somewhere on the Hot 100 every week from 2 November 1963 until 20 April 2002, originating with the debut of the Caravelles' "You Don't Have to Be a Baby to Cry". British acts declined in popularity throughout the 1990s, and in the 27 April 2002 issue of Billboard, none of the songs on the Hot 100 were from British artists; that week, only two of the top 100 albums, those of Craig David and Ozzy Osbourne, were from British artists.

The latest movement came in the mid- to late 2000s, when British R&B and soul artists such as Amy Winehouse, Estelle, Joss Stone, Duffy, Natasha Bedingfield, Florence Welch, Adele, Floetry, Jessie J, Leona Lewis, Jay Sean and Taio Cruz enjoyed huge success in the US charts, which led to talk of a "Third British Invasion" or a "British Soul Invasion". Boyband One Direction have also been described as being a major part of a new "British Invasion" due to them being the first British band to have their debut album at number one on the US charts along with their overall dominance in America.

Wikipedia

"Baba O'Riley" is a song by the English rock band The Who, written by the guitarist, Pete Townshend. It is the opening track to the Who's fifth album, Who's Next (1971). In Europe, it was released as a single in October 1971, coupled with "My Wife". Performances of "Baba O'Riley" appear on several Who live albums.

Widely regarded as one of the Who's finest songs and as one of the greatest rock songs of all time, "Baba O'Riley" appears in Time "All-Time 100 Songs" list, Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time", and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll.

Townshend wrote "Baba O'Riley" for his Lifehouse project, a rock opera intended as the followup to the Who's 1969 opera Tommy. In Lifehouse, a Scottish farmer named Ray would have sung the song at the beginning as he gathered his wife Sally and his two children to begin their exodus to London. When Lifehouse was scrapped, eight of the songs were salvaged and recorded for the Who's 1971 album Who's Next, with "Baba O'Riley" as the lead-off track.The song title refers to two of Townshend's major inspirations at the time: Meher Baba and Terry Riley.

The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London by brother Ray and Dave Davies.  The band emerged during the height of British rhythm and blues and Merseybeat*.  They were part of the British Invasion of the United States until the brothers started to constantly fight in 1965.  

Their hit "You Really Got Me" became an international hit and reaching the Top 10 in the United States.  They were influenced by American R&B and rock and roll at first but later embraced British music Hall, folk, and country.  Ray Davies had a writing style that reflected on English culture and lifestyle.  

The band had a revival in the late 1970 and 1980s with their albums "Sleepwalker" 1977, "Misfits" 1978, Low budget 1979, "Give the People What They Want" 1981 and "State of Confusion" 1983.  Many groups such as Van Halen, the Jam, the Pretenders covered their songs, which helped boost Kinks record sales.  

The Kinks have had five Top 10 singles on the US Billboard chart.  Nine of their albums charted in the Top 40.  In the UK, they have had seventeen Top 20 singles and five Top 10 albums.  The original Kinks were inducted into the "Rock and Roll Hall of Fame" as well as the "UK Music Hall of Fame.  There were talks over the years of a reunion but due to the brothers continued animosity the latest news is there has been little progress towards an actual Kinks reunion for a new studio band album as of 2021.  

The band gave its last public performance in 1996 and formally broke up in 1997.  Much about the creative tension between the Davies brothers.

Definition*

*Merseybeat:  Beat music, British beat, or Merseybeat (after bands from Liverpool and nearby areas beside the River Mersey) is a popular music genre, influenced by rock and roll, skiffle, and traditional pop music, that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1960s. Wikipedia "Beat Music" last edited on 8 March 2021 

Original members

• Ray Davies – lead and backing vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, harmonica (1964–1997)

• Dave Davies – lead guitar, backing and lead vocals, occasional keyboards (1964–1997)

• Pete Quaife – bass, backing vocals (1964–1966,[199][63] 1966–1969; died 2010)

• Mick Avory – drums, percussion (1964–1984)

Later members

• John Dalton – bass, backing vocals (1966,[200][63] 1969–1976)[201]

• Andy Pyle – bass (1976–1978)

• Jim Rodford – bass, backing vocals (1978–1997; died 2018)

• John Gosling – keyboards, piano, backing vocals (1970–1978)

• Gordon Edwards – keyboards, piano, backing vocals (1978–1979; died 2003)[1]

• Ian Gibbons – keyboards, piano, backing vocals (1979–1989, 1993–1997; died 2019)

• Bob Henrit – drums, percussion (1984–1996)

• Mark Haley – keyboards, piano, backing vocals (1989–1993)[2]

The Small Faces were an English rock band from London, founded in 1965. The group originally consisted of Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones and Jimmy Winston, with Ian McLagan replacing Winston as the band's keyboardist in 1966. The band were one of the most acclaimed and influential mod groups of the 1960s, recording hit songs such as "Itchycoo Park", "Lazy Sunday", "All or Nothing" and "Tin Soldier", as well as their concept album Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake. They evolved into one of the UK's most successful psychedelic bands until 1969.

When Marriott left to form Humble Pie, the remaining three members collaborated with Ronnie Wood, Wood's older brother Art Wood, Rod Stewart and Kim Gardner, briefly continuing under the name Quiet Melon, and then, with the departure of Art Wood and Gardner, as the Faces. In North America, the Faces' debut album was credited to the Small Faces.

The Dave Clark Five was sometimes call the DC5, was formed in 1958 in Tottenham, England as an English rock and roll band.  In 1964 "Glad All Over" knocked the Beatles "I Want to Hold Your Hand" off the top of the UK Singles Chart.  The song reached number 6 in the United States.  This was their only number 1 hit in the UK. The DC5 charted again in the US chart in 1965 with their cover of Bobby Day's "Over and Over".  

The Dave Clark Five were the second group of the British Invasion to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show in the United States for two weeks in 1964.  They would eventually have 18 appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show.  40 hits in the US between 1964 and 1967 which made the DC5 one of the most commercially successful acts of the British Invasion.  They even briefly were a serious rivel for the Beatles.  The group disbanded in early 1970.  

Dave Clark wrote, produced, appeared in, and partly presented the television documentary  "The Dave Clark Five and Beyond:  "Glad All Over" in 2014.

The Spencer Davis Group was formed in 1963 in Birmingham after the Welsh guitarist Spencer Davis encountered vocalist and organist Steve Winwood (then aged 14 and still at school), and his bass playing brother Muff Winwood performing at a pub, the Golden Eagle, as the Muff Woody Jazz Band. He recruited them and Pete York on drums to form the Rhythm and Blues Quartette, which performed regularly in the city. In 1964, they signed their first recording contract after Chris Blackwell of Island Records saw them at an appearance in a local club; Blackwell also became their producer. (Island was then a small independent label with UK Fontana contracted for distribution.) Muff Winwood came up with the band's name, reasoning, "Spencer was the only one who enjoyed doing interviews, so I pointed out that if we called it the Spencer Davis Group, the rest of us could stay in bed and let him do them."

The group's first professional recording was a cover version of "Dimples", released as a single in 1964. In late 1965, they gained their first No. 1 single with "Keep On Running", written by reggae musician Jackie Edwards. In 1966, they followed this with another Jackie Edwards-written No. 1 hit "Somebody Help Me" and the Top 20 hit "When I Come Home", this song a collaboration between Edwards and Steve Winwood. "Keep On Running" and "Somebody Help Me" were issued as singles in the US on Atco during 1966, but due to lack of promotion, neither of them gained airplay or entered the American charts.

During late 1966 and early 1967, the group achieved two more hits with "Gimme Some Lovin'", which went Top 5, and "I'm a Man", which went Top 10. Both of them sold over one million copies, and were awarded gold record status. "Gimme Some Lovin'" was written by Davis and the Winwood brothers, while "I'm a Man" was written by Steve Winwood and the group's producer Jimmy Miller.[10] These tracks proved to be their breakthrough in the US, where they were now signed to United Artists Records, both going Top 10 there.

The Herman's Hermits were formed in 1964 in Manchester, England and was a beat rock and pop group originally called Herman and His Hermits.  The Hermits featured a 15 year old, child star,  Peter Noone and charted with number 1 hits in both UK and in America.  Their first song was a cover of Gerry Goffin and Carole King's "I'm into Something Good".  It replaced the Kinks number 1 hit "You Really Got Me" in the UK and  later peaked at no. 13 in the US.  The Hermits never did chart #1 again in Britain but had again charted in America with "Mrs. Brown You've got a lovely Daughter" and "I'm Henry the Eighth, I Am".  

The band played most of their own instruments on most of its singles, including "I'm into Something Good", "Can't You Hear My Heartbeat", "Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter", "I'm Henry the VIII, I Am" and "Leaning on a Lamp Post".  On Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter, Noone purposely used an exaggerated British accent and recorded it as an afterthought with just two microphones.  

When Noone left the group in 1971, the band continued to record with a replacement singer Pete Cowap.  They signed with RCA Records in the UK as "The Hermits".  They recorded two singles and an unreleased album.  They also cut singles for Buddah, Private Stock and Roulette records but did not receive much success.  

Keith Hopwood and Derek Leckenby eventually started a music company, Pluto Music.  Pluto Music is still in business as of 2019 working on commercial and animation soundtracks.  Hopwood became a composer of scores for film and television.  Karl Green has become a manager of sound systems for concert venues.  Derek Leckenby died of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 1994, leaving Barry Whitwan the only member of the original "Hermits" left.  

The current band is Whitwam on drums, lead singer and bassist Geoff Foot, guitarist Paul Cornwell and keyboard is Tony Hancox.  Peter Noone continues to play solo shows billed as "Herman's Hermits" starring Peter Noone".  Legal disputes between Whitwam and Noone have forced both to use the names "Herman's Hermits starring Barry Whitwam" or in Peter's case, Herman's Hermits starring Peter Noone" when they tour in North America.

Band members

Original members are listed in bold.

Current members

• Barry Whitwam – drums (1964–present)

• Geoff Foot – lead vocals, bass (1980–present)

• Tony Hancox – keyboards, backing vocals (2017–present)

• Ray Frost – lead guitar, backing vocals (2019–present)

Former members

• Peter Noone – lead vocals (1964–1971, 1973)

• Derek Leckenby – lead guitar (1964–1994; died 1994)

• Keith Hopwood – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (1964–1972)

• Karl Green – bass, backing vocals (1964–1980); lead vocals (1972–1980)

• Pete Cowap – lead vocals, rhythm guitar (1971–1972; died 1997)

• John Gaughan – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (1972–1975)

• Frank Renshaw – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (1975–1982)

• Rod Gerrard – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (1986–1995)

• Eddy Carter – lead guitar, backing vocals (1994–2013)

• Kevan Lingard – keyboards, backing vocals (2006–2016)

• Paul Robinson – keyboards, backing vocals (2016–2017)

• Paul Cornwell – lead guitar, backing vocals (2013–2019)

• Justin LaBarge – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2015–2019)

• Duncan Keith – lead guitar, backing vocals (2019)

• Wikipedia, Herman's Hermits, last edited on 15 April 2021, at 21:50 (UTC).

The Hollies are an English pop rock band formed in 1962. One of the leading British groups of the 1960s and into the mid-1970s, they are known for their distinctive three-part vocal harmony style. Allan Clarke and Graham Nash founded the band as a Merseybeat-type group in Manchester, although some of the band members came from towns further north, in east Lancashire. Nash left the group in 1968 to form Crosby, Stills & Nash, though he has reunited with the Hollies on occasion. 

"Carrie Anne" is a song written by Allan Clarke, Graham Nash, and Tony Hicks and released by British pop rock group the Hollies. It was recorded on 1 May 1967 and was released as a single in the same month by Parlophone Records in the United Kingdom and Epic Records in the United States. It became a hit in 1967, reaching No.3 on the UK Singles Chart. It was also a hit in the US and Canada, peaking at No.9 on both pop charts. It also reached No.4 in the Irish charts. 

"Just One Look" is a song co-written by American R&B singers Doris Troy and Gregory Carroll. The recording by Doris Troy was a hit in 1963. The Hollies, Anne Murray, Linda Ronstadt and Iain Matthews each achieved great success with the song. There have also been many other versions. 

Gerry and the Pacemakers, were a British beat group prominent in the 1960s Merseybeat scene. In common with the Beatles, they came from Liverpool, were managed by Brian Epstein, and were recorded by George Martin. Their early successes alongside the Beatles were instrumental in popularizing the Merseybeat sound and launching the wider British beat boom of the mid-1960s.

They were the first act to reach number one in the UK Singles Chart with their first three single releases: "How Do You Do It?", "I Like It" and "You'll Never Walk Alone". This record was not equaled for 20 years, until the mid-1980s success of fellow Liverpool band Frankie Goes to Hollywood. Another of their most famous songs, "Ferry Cross the Mersey", refers to the River Mersey, which flows past Liverpool, and was the title song for the film of the same name. The group also enjoyed some success in North America as part of the British Invasion with seven of their singles reaching the US top 40, the most popular being "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying".

Gerry Marsden led the group on and off through the years, until his retirement in 2018. Since his death in 2021 (at his request before his retirement), his bandmates (from his final lineup of the band) returned to touring as Gerry's Pacemakers.

How Do You Do It?   The writer of the song, Mitch Murray, offered it to Adam Faith and to Brian Poole but was turned down. George Martin of EMI, who felt the song had enormous hit potential, decided to pick it up for the new group he was producing, the Beatles, as the A-side of their first single. The Beatles recorded the song on 4 September 1962 with Ringo Starr on drums. The group was initially opposed to recording it, feeling that it did not fit their sound, but worked out changes from Murray's demo-disc version. 

Murray disliked their changes, the decision not to release the Beatles' version was primarily a business one, as EMI publisher Ardmore & Beechwood were interested in publishing Lennon–McCartney material.

Martin still had faith in the song's appeal. Consequently he had another new client, Gerry and the Pacemakers, record "How Do You Do It?" as their debut single in early 1963. 

The Searchers are an English Merseybeat group who emerged during the British Invasion of the 1960s. The band's hits include a remake of the Drifters' 1961 hit, "Sweets for My Sweet"; "Sugar and Spice" (written by their producer Tony Hatch); remakes of Jackie DeShannon's "Needles and Pins" and "When You Walk in the Room"; a cover of the Orlons' "Don't Throw Your Love Away"; and a cover of the Clovers' "Love Potion No. 9". With the Swinging Blue Jeans, the Searchers tied for being the second group from Liverpool, after the Beatles, to have a hit in the US when their "Needles and Pins" and the Swinging Blue Jeans' "Hippy Hippy Shake" both reached the Hot 100 on 7 March 1964. 

"Love Potion No. 9" is a song written in 1959 by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. It was originally performed by the Clovers, who took it to No.23 on the US as well as R&B charts that year. It reached #20 in Canada.

The Searchers recorded it in 1964 and reached No.3 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and No.2 on Cash Box during the winter of 1965.

Herb Alpert and The Tijuana Brass did an instrumental version (side 2, track 1) on his 1965 album Whipped Cream and Other Delights.

The Yardbirds are an English rock band, formed in London in 1963. The band started the careers of three of rock's most famous guitarists: Eric Clapton (1963–1965), Jeff Beck (1965–1966) and Jimmy Page (1966–1968), all of whom ranked in the top five of Rolling Stone magazine's list of 100 greatest guitarists. The band's other members during 1963–1968 were vocalist/harmonica player Keith Relf, drummer Jim McCarty, rhythm guitarist Chris Dreja, and bassist Paul Samwell-Smith, with Dreja switching to bass when Samwell-Smith departed in 1966. The band had a string of hits throughout the mid-1960s, including "For Your Love", "Heart Full of Soul", "Shapes of Things", and "Over Under Sideways Down". 

"Shapes of Things" is a song by the English rock group the Yardbirds. With its Eastern-sounding, feedback-laden guitar solo and environmentalist, anti-war lyrics, several music writers have identified it as the first popular psychedelic rock song. It is built on musical elements contributed by several group members in three different recording studios in the US, and was the first Yardbirds composition to become a record chart hit; when released as a single on 25 February 1966, the song reached number three in the UK and number eleven in the US. 

"Over Under Sideways Down"

Manfred Sepse Lubowitz (born 21 October 1940), known professionally as Manfred Mann, is a South African-born musician, resident in the UK since 1961. He is best known as a founding member of the bands Manfred Mann, Manfred Mann Chapter Three and Manfred Mann's Earth Band. 

In 1962, he met drummer and keyboard player Mike Hugg at Clacton Butlins Holiday Camp; together they formed a large blues-jazz band called the Mann-Hugg Blues Brothers. This eventually evolved into a five-piece group named after him, and they signed a record deal with EMI in 1963, under the HMV label.

Prominent in the Swinging London scene of the 1960s, the group regularly appeared in the UK Singles Chart. 

Three of their most successful singles, "Do Wah Diddy Diddy", "Pretty Flamingo", and "Mighty Quinn", topped the UK charts. The band's 1964 hit "5-4-3-2-1" was the theme tune for the ITV pop music show Ready Steady Go!. They were also the first southern-England-based group to top the US Billboard Hot 100 during the British Invasion.

The band split up in 1969.

"Do Wah Diddy Diddy" was soon covered by British R&B, beat and pop band Manfred Mann. Manfred Mann's version was released on 10 July 1964. It spent two weeks at No. 1 of the UK Singles Chart in August and two weeks at No. 1 of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in October. Billboard said it "features powerful beat with Mann's solo echoed by male chorus." 

Them were a Northern Irish rock band formed in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in April 1964, most prominently known for their 1964 garage rock standard "Gloria" and launching Van Morrison's musical career. The original five-member band consisted of Morrison, Alan Henderson, Ronnie Milling, Billy Harrison, and Eric Wrixon.

Them scored two UK hits in 1965 with "Baby, Please Don't Go" (UK No. 10) and "Here Comes the Night" (UK No. 2; Ireland No. 2). The latter song and "Mystic Eyes" were top 40 hits in the US.

Morrison quit the band in 1966 and went on to a successful career as a solo artist. Although they had relatively few hit singles, the group had considerable influence on other bands, such as the Doors.

The band's recording of "Gloria" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999. It was ranked No. 69 in Dave Marsh's 1989 book, The Heart of Rock and Soul, The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever and "Mystic Eyes" was ranked No. 458. "Gloria" was listed at No. 208 in the 2004 Rolling Stone magazine's feature The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

"Baby, Please Don't Go" is a traditional blues song that was popularized by Delta blues musician Big Joe Williams in 1935. Many cover versions followed, leading to its description as "one of the most played, arranged, and rearranged pieces in blues history" by French music historian Gérard Herzhaft.

After World War II, Chicago blues and rhythm and blues artists adapted the song to newer music styles. In 1952, a doo-wop version by the Orioles reached the top ten on the R&B chart. In 1953, Muddy Waters recorded the song as an electric Chicago-ensemble blues piece, which influenced many subsequent renditions. By the early 1950s, the song became a blues standard.

In the 1960s, "Baby, Please Don't Go" became a popular rock song after the Northern Irish group Them recorded it in 1964. Jimmy Page, a studio guitarist at the time, participated in the recording session, possibly on rhythm guitar. Subsequently, Them's uptempo rock arrangement also made it a rock standard. Paul Revere & The Raiders, AC/DC, Aerosmith, John Mellencamp and the Amboy Dukes are among the rock groups who have recorded the song. "Baby, Please Don't Go" has been inducted into both the Blues and Rock and Roll Halls of Fame.

"Gloria" is a rock song written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, and originally recorded by Morrison's band Them in 1964. It was released as the B-side of "Baby, Please Don't Go". The song became a garage rock staple and a part of many rock bands' repertoires.

"Here Comes the Night" is a 1964 song, written by Bert Berns. It became a hit for Northern Irish band Them, fronted by Van Morrison, in March 1965, charting at No. 2 in the UK and No. 24 in the US. Them's single is listed at either No. 33 or No. 36 in the Top 100 best-selling UK singles during the calendar year 1965, depending on source.

The song was originally released as a single in both the UK and the US. by another Decca Records' artiste, Lulu, in November 1964. Lulu's recording charted at No. 50 in the UK, and failed to chart at all in the US.

 Solo singers such as Dusty Springfield, Cilla Black, Petula Clark, Tom Jones and Donovan