Indian Resonances in the British Invasion, 1965-1968

Abstract

B y the mid-196os, roughly ten years after its inception, Rock music was poised to undergo an extremely concentrated period of growth and experimentation. Conventions were being shed, prescribed patterns superseded, and an extremely rapid development ensued. The 12-bar blues and standard pop-song formats certainly did not disappear, and continued successfully in the Rock mainstream, but they were no longer as dominant as before. New musical influences and instruments began to be heard, and the magic of the recording studio made previously unthinkable effects commonplace. Much of this exploration would be done by English groups, members of the Invasion, so called because of their success and influence on the American musical scene. As some of these bands began to experiment with exotic influences, the traditional Rock language began to expand. As such musical explorations became more common in the Rock world, they also became more confident, less cute and novelty-like. In 1964, the Kinks (most famous at that time for the hit singles You Really Got Me and Day and All of the Night) told the British