Before they arrived in the U.S., The Beatles were warned that it wouldn’t be easy to make it big in America. In response, John Lennon nervously laughed and said, “Well, I just hope it goes alright.” Needless to say, it went more than alright. In 1964, CBS announced: “The British Invasion this time goes by the code name Beatlemania.”
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Beatlemania turned into Britishmania. From The Rolling Stones to The Animals to The Kinks, British bands dominated the airwaves in the ’60s and created a culture full of long-haired Anglophiles with electric guitars and floral suits. So, what exactly happened? How did America become so English-crazed that they began to dress like the English, style their hair like the English, and even borrow their slang?