This two-session virtual course taught by Kit O’Toole examines the influences of these genres on what would become the British Invasion, which would ultimately transform music worldwide. The class will survey the artists that would predate the Beatles: Billy Fury, Cliff Richard, the Shadows, Tommy Steele, The Vipers Skiffle Group, and much more. It will reveal just how different the UK and US charts looked prior to the British Invasion, and how these artists and numerous genres contributed to the transformation from 1950s to 1960s sounds.