The British Invasion, Examined

Soundcheck | May 3, 2010
A country at war. Economic dire straits. An oil crisis. Sound familiar? Find out how today’s headlines parallel the conditions that helped create British pop music in the 1950s and ‘60s. Ethnomusicologist Gordon Thompson of Skidmore College joins us to talk about his book “Please Please Me: Sixties British Pop, Inside and Out.” Also: Elizabeth Pitcairn joins us to perform on her Red Violin, the Stradivarius famed for its dazzling sound and mysterious history and the inspiration for Francois Girard's film The Red Violin.

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