Power Pop - Formative Years: Mid 1960s Through The Early 1970s

Formative Years: Mid 1960s Through The Early 1970s

Writing for Allmusic, John Dougan described the genre's origins:

The musical sourcepoint for nearly all power pop is The Beatles. Virtually all stylistic appropriations begin with them: distinctive harmony singing, strong melodic lines, unforgettable guitar riffs, lyrics about boys and girls in love; they created the model that other power poppers copied for the next couple of decades. Other profound influences include The Who, The Kinks and The Move, bands whose aggressive melodies and loud distorted guitars put the "power" in power pop.

Pete Townshend of The Who coined the term "power pop" in a 1967 interview in which he said: "Power pop is what we play—what the Small Faces used to play, and the kind of pop The Beach Boys played in the days of 'Fun, Fun, Fun' which I preferred." The Beatles and The Byrds, along with The Who, The Small Faces and The Beach Boys, are often cited as the progenitors of power pop.

The Who, inspired by the melodicism of The Beatles and the driving rhythms of American R&B, released several songs—"I Can't Explain", "The Kids Are Alright", "Substitute", "I'm a Boy" and "Happy Jack"—in their early mod phase (1965–1966) that can be considered the first true power pop songs. These songs are propelled by Keith Moon's aggressive drumming and Pete Townshend's distinctive power chords, and have strong melodies and euphonic harmonies.

The Who's role in the creation of power pop has been cited by singer-songwriter Eric Carmen of the Raspberries, who has said:

Pete Townshend coined the phrase to define what The Who did. For some reason, it didn't stick to The Who, but it did stick to these groups that came out in the '70s that played kind of melodic songs with crunchy guitars and some wild drumming. It just kind of stuck to us like glue, and that was okay with us because The Who were among our highest role models. We absolutely loved The Who.

The Beatles released harder-edged, yet melodic, singles such as "Paperback Writer" and "Day Tripper" in 1965–66, as well as album tracks such as "And Your Bird Can Sing". However, four years before the term "power pop" was coined, The Beatles were already recording a series of influential hits that some have retroactively classified as power pop, including "From Me to You", "She Loves You", "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and "Can't Buy Me Love".

Several groups that arose in the wake of The Beatles' success were important in the evolution and expansion of the power pop style, such as The Hollies and The Monkees, as well as "softer" acts such as The Beau Brummels, The Cowsills, The Zombies and the "bubblegum" singles of the Kasenetz-Katz production team. Other acts such as The Knickerbockers, The Easybeats and The Outsiders contributed iconic singles. Writer John Borack has noted, "It's also quite easy to draw a not-so-crooked line from garage rock to power pop."

By 1970 the distinctive stylistic elements of power pop were clearly evident in recordings by the British group Badfinger, with singles such as "No Matter What", "Baby Blue" and "Day After Day" serving as templates for the power pop sound that would follow.

Although the formative influences on the genre were primarily British, the bands that developed and codified power pop in the 1970s were nearly all American. The Raspberries' 1972 hit single "Go All The Way" is an almost perfect embodiment of the elements of power pop and that group's four albums can be considered strongly representative of the genre. Some of Todd Rundgren's early and mid-1970s solo work also touched on power pop, as did the recordings of Blue Ash, the Flamin' Groovies, Artful Dodger and The Dwight Twilley Band. The most influential group of the period may have been Big Star. Though Big Star's initial early 1970s career met with no commercial success, they developed an avid cult following and members of later bands like R.E.M. and The Replacements spoke enthusiastically of their esteem for the group's work. The Replacements even recorded a song entitled "Alex Chilton" in honor of Big Star's frontman.