James E. Perone is Professor of Music at Mount Union College, where he teaches American music and music theory, and chairs the Department of Music. He is the series editor for The Praeger Singer-Songwriter Collection, for which he has also written four volumes: The Sound of Stevie Wonder (2006), The Words and Music of Carole King (2006), The Words and Music of David Bowie (2007), and The Words and Music of Prince (2008). He is also the author of several Greenwood Press books, including Music of the Counterculture Era (2004) and Woodstock: An Encyclopedia of the Music and Art Fair (2005).

This is a thoroughly engaging examination of the evolution of British popular music from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s. Perone (Mount Union College) uses the seemingly contrasting youth subcultures of mods and rockers as a metaphor for analyzing the process of self-identification and self-actualization among disenfranchised urban youth in Great Britain during this period… The most successful artists fused the music, fashion, and lingo of the rocker and mod subgroups to create a marketable image and sound that transcended mere imitation of US music icons to become creative, powerful forces in their own right, consequently shaping rock music history. Photos of key artists are included, along with notes and a selected discography. A listing of media (movies, recordings, television programs, etc.) that helped fuel the British invasion would have been useful. Recommended. All levels.

• Acknowledgments1. Introduction: The Mods versus the Rockers2. Skiffle and 1950s British Rockers3. 1960-1963: From the Rocker Aesthetic to the Mod Aesthetic4. The Beatles and Merseybeat: Balancing the Sides5. A Different Sort of Balance: the Dave Clark Five6. The Who and the Kinks: Mod to the Core7. The Blues and R&B Bands8. The Rolling Stones: It All Starts with the Blues9. And Thats Not All: Other British Invasion Artists10. Impact on America and ConclusionsSelected DiscographyBibliography

James E. Perone is Professor of Music at Mount Union College, where he teaches American music and music theory, and chairs the Department of Music. He is the series editor for The Praeger Singer-Songwriter Collection, for which he has also written four volumes: The Sound of Stevie Wonder (2006), The Words and Music of Carole King (2006), The Words and Music of David Bowie (2007), and The Words and Music of Prince (2008). He is also the author of several Greenwood Press books, including Music of the Counterculture Era (2004) and Woodstock: An Encyclopedia of the Music and Art Fair (2005).

This is a thoroughly engaging examination of the evolution of British popular music from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s. Perone (Mount Union College) uses the seemingly contrasting youth subcultures of mods and rockers as a metaphor for analyzing the process of self-identification and self-actualization among disenfranchised urban youth in Great Britain during this period… The most successful artists fused the music, fashion, and lingo of the rocker and mod subgroups to create a marketable image and sound that transcended mere imitation of US music icons to become creative, powerful forces in their own right, consequently shaping rock music history. Photos of key artists are included, along with notes and a selected discography. A listing of media (movies, recordings, television programs, etc.) that helped fuel the British invasion would have been useful. Recommended. All levels.

• Acknowledgments1. Introduction: The Mods versus the Rockers2. Skiffle and 1950s British Rockers3. 1960-1963: From the Rocker Aesthetic to the Mod Aesthetic4. The Beatles and Merseybeat: Balancing the Sides5. A Different Sort of Balance: the Dave Clark Five6. The Who and the Kinks: Mod to the Core7. The Blues and R&B Bands8. The Rolling Stones: It All Starts with the Blues9. And Thats Not All: Other British Invasion Artists10. Impact on America and ConclusionsSelected DiscographyBibliography

James E. Perone is Professor of Music at Mount Union College, where he teaches American music and music theory, and chairs the Department of Music. He is the series editor for The Praeger Singer-Songwriter Collection, for which he has also written four volumes: The Sound of Stevie Wonder (2006), The Words and Music of Carole King (2006), The Words and Music of David Bowie (2007), and The Words and Music of Prince (2008). He is also the author of several Greenwood Press books, including Music of the Counterculture Era (2004) and Woodstock: An Encyclopedia of the Music and Art Fair (2005).

This is a thoroughly engaging examination of the evolution of British popular music from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s. Perone (Mount Union College) uses the seemingly contrasting youth subcultures of mods and rockers as a metaphor for analyzing the process of self-identification and self-actualization among disenfranchised urban youth in Great Britain during this period… The most successful artists fused the music, fashion, and lingo of the rocker and mod subgroups to create a marketable image and sound that transcended mere imitation of US music icons to become creative, powerful forces in their own right, consequently shaping rock music history. Photos of key artists are included, along with notes and a selected discography. A listing of media (movies, recordings, television programs, etc.) that helped fuel the British invasion would have been useful. Recommended. All levels.

• Acknowledgments1. Introduction: The Mods versus the Rockers2. Skiffle and 1950s British Rockers3. 1960-1963: From the Rocker Aesthetic to the Mod Aesthetic4. The Beatles and Merseybeat: Balancing the Sides5. A Different Sort of Balance: the Dave Clark Five6. The Who and the Kinks: Mod to the Core7. The Blues and R&B Bands8. The Rolling Stones: It All Starts with the Blues9. And Thats Not All: Other British Invasion Artists10. Impact on America and ConclusionsSelected DiscographyBibliography