Record Companies And Labels In The 1960 S/70 S/80 S. Lennon And Mccartney: A Revaluation Of These Songwriters And Performers

After the decline of the Great American song and its composers, American popular music was characterised by the relatively mediocre work of most of the recording artists of the early to mid-fifties, However, the late 1950s and the decades which followed witnessed a new golden age of pop and rock.  This was in large part driven by the forces of the major record companies and a plethora of smaller labels who established the modern recording industry with which many of us grew up.  In America, The giants RCA Victor and Columbia were joined by Motown, Chess, Atlantic and others while in the UK Decca and EMI were forced into drastic re-thinks of their products as labels like Island, Virgin and Factory Records defined a new era.

I propose to spend some time in the latter part of the term on a revaluation of some of the songs of Lennon and McCartney, inviting discussion of the notion that Lennon was the genius, the inspirational “working class hero” while McCartney was a relatively lightweight teen idol.  As always, we welcome friends and enthusiasts old and new.

The course starts on Thursday 17th September 2026