The song that sparked the British invasion.
The song that inspired the British musicians who sparked the British invasion. In July, 1955, a London Dixieland/trad jazz guitarist, Lonnie Donegan, recorded a speeded-up version of a 1930s American folk track, ‘Rock Island Line’, made famous by blues icon Lead Belly. Donegan’s ‘Rock Island Line’ directly inspired a generation of British musicians, from the…