The Animals, The Yardbirds, Kinks, Peter and Gordon, Chad and Jeremy (who were bigger stars here than in their homeland), Manfred Mann, Freddie and The Dreamers, Wayne Fontana and The Mindbenders, The Moody Blues, and Gerry and The Pacemakers were all also teen idols stateside.
Tom Jones appealed to not just teens, but their mothers, older sisters, grandmothers, and just about every female on the planet. Many didn't care if he could sing a lick at all! But he could. And extremely well. And was so darn handsome doing it!
Jones began singing professionally in 1963, performing as Tommy Scott with The Senators, a Welsh beat group. While singing in a local club, he got the attention of Gordon Mills, an artist manager. Mills signed him, changed his name (shortened, rather, from Thomas Jones Woodward), and helped him record his first single for Decca Records (that company again!), ”Chills And Fever”, released in late 1964. And then came ”It's Not Unusual”.
Acting upon all this sudden activity, American record companies scrambled to sign anybody with long hair and an English accent.
Now where did all of this sudden British activity leave the current American acts? Well, a few thrived and went on to further success (The Beach Boys, The Four Seasons), some fell on hard times and were “temporarily displaced” (Dion, Bobby Vee), and some were “permanently displaced” (The Shirelles, Ruby and The Romantics).
Many previous teen idols, R + B acts, and girl groups were casualties of the British Invasion, which was ironic, for most of the British acts loved their music. But the Americans were a resilent bunch. And there arose a new regiment to help their fallen comrades and take up the battle:
One of the most successful was Paul Revere and The Raiders, who ventured forth with ”Just Like Me” (late 1965). Dino, (Dean Martin, Jr.), Desi (Desi Arnaz, Jr.) and Billy( Hinsche) debuted with ”I'm A Fool”, also from 1965.
The Beau Brummels, The Young Rascals (later The Rascals), Gary Lewis and The Playboys, The Lovin' Spoonful, The Cyrkle, (managed by Brian Epstein, but they were American), The Byrds, The McCoys, Mitch Ryder and The Detroit Wheels, The Walker Brothers (Discovered in England, but still American),
The Turtles, The Righteous Brothers and Johnny Rivers, among others, also fired back with hits and teen appeal from the flanks to keep the British on the run. But the Brits had a secret weapon: female ammunition in the form of Hayley Mills and Twiggy.
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