MU106 Great Composers

Sixties British Songwriters

Schedule: Class 3

Early British Rock and Pop
 
British pop music in the mid to late fifties seemed to interest only the British and some nostalgic denizens of the British Commonwealth of Nations. In the aftermath of the Second World War, America dominated Western pop music, its songwriters establishing the models and its performers setting the standard. When rock 'n' roll emerged in the mid fifties, the British were unsure how to duplicate its rhythmic and melodic flavor. The closest they were able to approximate this music came in the distinctly British genre of skiffle, itself an imitation of American jug band music.

With the advent of Elvis, Britain began to produce its own brand of young male crooners; but most often they covered tunes written by American songwriters. British audiences most often preferred the British version of the performers, but they tended to like American songs. British songwriters attempting to duplicate American models had trouble at first, but by the beginning of the sixties they began to create their own distinctive sound.

• Jerry Lordan: “A Girl Like You” (June 1961)
• John Schroeder & Mike Hawker: “Don’t Treat Me Like a Child” (February 1961)
• Geoff Goddard: “Johnny Remember Me” (August 1961)
• John Beveridge & Peter Oldman: “A Picture of You” (May 1962)
• John Lennon & Paul McCartney: “Please Please Me” (January 1963)