

"A Day in the life"
1964
1964 was the year that the 'British Invasion' of the American and global charts really took hold. Bands like the Beatles, Gerry and the Pacemakers, The Dave Clark Five and later The Rolling Stones started to appear in the Hot 100. American group The Beach Boys also joined in the party. This hurt the careers of many of the teen market solo male vocalists. Elvis meanwhile, continued to spend a lot of time in Hollywood making formulaic movies and soundtracks albums, which meant that the quality of his musical output continued to deteriorate. Tragically, Elvis' high school friend and fellow rockabilly rocker Johnny Burnette was killed in a boating accident. C&W singer Jim Reeves was killed in a plane crash, while R&B singer/songwriter Sam Cooke was gunned down in a motel in Los Angeles.