Reflections on 60s Music

Global Influences on the American Pop Charts of the Sixties: In early 1964, The Beatles, Dusty Springeld, the Rolling Stones and other British groups repackaged American soul and blues and dominated the top of the U.S. charts for several years. The “British Invasion” was a phenomenon on both sides of the Atlantic and internationalized the rock scene and provided the model for Americans to dominate international popular music for years to come. But the invasion began earlier. “Telstar” and “Stranger on the Shore” from England (1962-63), “Sukiyaki” from Japan (1963) and “Dominique” from Belgium (1963) were all best-selling No. 1s. Other international hits from the decade include “My Boy Lollipop” (1964, No. 2) and “The Israelites” (1969, No. 9), both from Jamaica; the Zulu “Mbube” covered as “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” (1961, No. 1); and South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela’s “Grazing in the Grass” (1968, No. 1). In fact, the ubiquity of the British rock sound crowded out some of these diverse sounds from the top of the charts in the mid-’60s. How did these transnational cultural borrowings occur, who benefited and how did such international one-hit wonders (at least in the USA charts) affect mainstream culture?

Influential British Film Scores of the 1960s: In this presentation we will go beyond the widely acknowledged pop music influences of groups like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones and explore the influence of a variety of British composers and filmmakers of the 1960s on American cinema and culture. We will sample and discuss the film scores of various composers, including: Malcolm Arnold (Whistle Down the Wind – 1961); John Addison (Tom Jones – 1963); The Beatles (A Hard Day’s Night – 1964; Yellow Submarine – 1969); Gerald Fried (Dr. Strangelove – 1964); Stanley Kubrick, compiler, (2001: A Space Odyssey – 1968); Lionel Bart (Oliver – 1968); William Walton (Battle of Britain – 1969); and John Barry (On Her Majesty’s Secret Service – 1969).

Newton Key is a professor of history at Eastern Illinois University, focusing on British history and early modern history. He has advised students on research from 17th-century print culture to London murderesses to 18th-century riots to race and rock in Britain during the 1950s and ’60s. He co-authored a text and sourcebook on early modern England (now revising both for third editions) and has published articles on various aspects of the period and on digital technology. In the ’60s he drew images of imaginary pop bands he named and kept his own weekly pop charts.

Jemmie Robertson is assistant professor of trombone and euphonium at Eastern Illinois University, where he performs with the Faculty Brass Quintet and the Faculty Jazz Combo, and directs the Eastern Crossbones. He is an active musician in the Chicago area and, in 2006, completed a D.M. at Northwestern University. He also holds degrees from Yale University and the University of Northern Colorado. In 2014, he released his second solo CD, The Conditions of a Solitary Bird, featuring unaccompanied works by Lawrence Borden, Frigyes Hidas and Phil Snedecor. His first solo CD, A New Day Dawning, was released on the MSR Classics Label in 2008. Dr. Robertson is organizing the first Mid-West Trombone Euphonium Conference (MTEC) to take place Oct. 31-Nov. 2, 2014, on the EIU campus. MTEC is conceived to promote pedagogy, research and performance for low brass instruments. Robertson also enjoys lecturing on the evolution of jazz and rock and is developing a new film music course for EIU.