Lets not forget to mention that The Beatles were also influenced by the American bands The Beach Boys and The Byrds as well.

Where to start with this thread?

Dylan and Zappa being unknown? Dylan has been on tour non-stop since 1988, and has played well over 2000 shows since that time, and I doubt there is anyone with any music knowledge at all who hasn't heard of him.

The Village Green Preservation Society-- the lyrics are oversimplified to purposely portray a metaphoric time in life when things were simpler...

The comment about the Rolling Stones' fake rebellion (or whatever the exact wording was)... I don't think there was anything fake about the Stones in the late '60' and early 70's. That might be as real as rock every got.

I consider the original big 4 of the British Invasion to be the Beatles, Stones, Who, and Kinks, but the British didn't stop invading. Zeppelin, the entire progressive movement, Brit Pop, the list goes on and on... and our culture seems completely intact... don't really understand that comment??

Culture intact
 

Really?

I doubt anybody will take you seriously anymore.

:rofl:

That happened for me when he said the British Invasion of 1964 kept people from hearing about Frank Zappa, Frank's first album came out in 1966.

There's a few things wrong with this statement:

1) not every British band is part of an 'invasion'. During the 70s there were a lot of popular American bands(Alice Cooper, Kiss, The Eagles, Aerosmith). In fact, America probably took more than 50% of the rock share at the time. Even if they didn't, I don't think the fact that British bands were still popular, and noteworthy bands like Black Sabbath were British, constitutes as an 'invasion'.

2) The entire progressive movement? That's not true at all. If anything listen to middle European psychadellic rock in the 60s, they were melding classical, jazz, and avant garde in an arguably 'progressive' way for awhile(ask Jack Pat, he's discovered a few of them). Not to mention, middle European progressive rock. Canterbury may have been the catalyst. King Crimson, Yes, and Genesis might have been British bands as well. But does that mean to discredit Gong, Magma, Amon Duul, Faust, Can, etc. from being important prog bands?

3) Brit pop is entirely unfair. It's like saying "The Japanese are the absolute kings of J-pop, no country compares".

The 'British Invasion' is a significant event in music history, but the problem is, it's hyped as the birth of music. I mean, guitar rock has always had an undeserved bias in it's popularity. Rock N' Roll was in it's infancy at the time, to be honest, and exploded as the 'replacement' for genres like jazz which were hitting new heights of maturity.

Good writers
 

Saying that John Lennon or Paul McCartney are good writers is nonsense. Anyone with an unbiased view can see this.

Overshadowed
 

The British Invasion had artists getting getting recognition they didn't deserve. Frank Zappa should have been as famous as the Beatles.

Frank Zappa is only famous because he sang songs about eating Husky pee tainted snow. Buy a best of from Best Buy, and realize it's a compilation of some of his worst work. I mean songs like "Fine Girl" which are definitive sarcastic B-sides that you could only imagine your 85 year old sexist uncle listening to.

Zappa's whole appeal was his abrasiveness. He hated love songs, he hated politeness, he hated easy lyrics, he was 100% sarcastic prick, arrogant, overachieving. Daringly self centered in his approach to music. THAT is why he's a genius. He wrote his thing, his way, and still somehow made a fantastic living off of it. If he had to cater to be as famous as the Beatles, he'd never achieve like he did as a technical songwriter.

If he has too stand, and smile, and spew out mindless hippy love garbage he wouldn't be Zappa. However, that doesn't mean he got the shaft, he IS a household name.