As Americans begin the annual celebration of our independence from Great Britain, officially established on July 4, 1776, I’m reminded that this is also the 40th year since our big bicentennial celebration of 1976.
It’s no small irony that this past week Britain itself was reeling after a historic vote in which that country chose to leave the European Union, a politico-economic union of 28 member countries in Europe and designed to ensure the free movement of people, goods, services and capital across their boundaries and to support common policies on trade, agriculture and development.
The effects of that vote have been huge as financial markets worldwide saw large swings in the week since the final vote was tallied in the U.K. Let’s just say that the U.K. rocked our world once more with a decision that will likely take years to fully implement and decipher, but one that will have ramifications for generations.
It won’t be the first time though.
The Brits have rocked our world for ages, particularly musically. Ever since the first British Music Invasion in 1964 when the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Herman’s Hermits, Dusty Springfield, the Who, the Animals, Manfred Mann, and many other bands and solo artists crossed the Atlantic and changed music forever, we have been entertained by no other country nearly as much.
Even the second British Invasion, which occurred in the 1980s and included bands like Duran Duran, Culture Club, Billy Idol, Eurythmics, Tears for Fears, Simple Minds, ABC, A Flock of Seagulls and others, kept us rockin’ and watchin’ (via MTV) as it reaffirmed Britain’s royal status as principal ground breaker for new music worldwide.
The merging of British rock and roll into American culture has been legendary for more than half a century now, and it is but one example of many that reflect our current friendly relationship with the old country.
So it is on this special occasion – July 4th weekend 2016 – that djrobblog celebrates the 240th anniversary of our own independence from the United Kingdom, and the longstanding alliance with our friends across the pond.
It’s a Spirit of ’76 countdown, so let the fireworks begin now and raise both countries’ flags as we countdown the 76 Greatest British music acts here in America since the first British Music Invasion of 1964.
Continue reading (and listening by clicking the artists’ links) to see if your favorite British act made it!
Happy Fourth!
DJRob
