The Kinks were one of the other British Invasion bands, not as famous as the Beatles or the Rolling Stones, but longer-lasting than the former and perhaps more melodious than the latter. They formed up in 1962 in London, with Ray Davies on vocals and guitar, Dave Davies (yes, they were brothers) on lead guitar and vocals, with Pete Quaife on bass and Mick Avory on drums.
They started as the Ray Davies Quartet, which name doesn’t really show a lot of imagination. That may be why they quickly changed names: they became the Ramrods in 1963, the Pete Quaife Band in 1963, the Ravens from 1963 to 1964, and then the Bo-Weevils for a time in 1964, before settling on the name we all know them by now: The Kinks.
They had a neat sound, borrowing from American R&B and rock while folding in elements of British music hall and folk. They took a little while to gain some traction, but in 1964, their first big hit blew up the charts on both sides of the Atlantic, that song being You Really Got Me. After that, they were on their way.
These are some of my top Kinks picks.
You Really Got Me (1964): This was, as noted, the Kinks’ first real hit, with a neat, rambunctious sound. The rather ragged lead guitar sound was achieved when Dave Davies slashed the speaker cone on his amp with a razor, yielding the sound that would become known as “fuzz.” Ray Davies, who wrote the song, later told Rolling Stone:
I just remembered this one girl dancing. Sometimes you're so overwhelmed by the presence of another person and you can't put two words together.
All Day And All Of The Night (1964): This tune, released the same year as You Really Got Me, was actually based in part on the older song. The band was still new to the music scene with only one hit to their name, and reportedly their record company wanted to get more hits while the getting was good, and in this song, they got it. There was a rumor at the time that Jimmy Page, not Dave Davies, did the guitar work on this song, but Ray Davies denied it, claiming that Jimmy Page had only come in from a neighboring studio to listen while the Kinks were recording – and Davies goes on to call Page an “a**hole,” stating that “he can put all the curses he wants on me because I know I'm right and he's wrong."
Tired Of Waiting For You (1965): As is so often the case, this is a song about a guy infatuated with a girl. Ray Davies wrote the song while he was attending the Hornsey School of Art in London, before the band was formed, and then the band pepped it up some.
As far as a guy being infatuated with a girl, that’s certainly possible. I’ve been married to a girl for almost 35 years, and I’m still a little infatuated with her.
Sunny Afternoon (1966): This song, with its mildly mournful tone, is something of a departure. It’s a song about a formerly wealthy guy who has had everything he owned taken by the taxman, including his house and his yacht, leaving him with nothing but a sunny afternoon. Let that be a lesson for any American thinking that raising taxes is a good idea.
Lola (1970): Then, in 1970, The Kinks hit what may be their best-known hit, Lola. It’s about (again) a guy who meets a girl – or so he thinks. He presumed her (his) gender, you see. The Kinks were ahead of their time in this case. Ray Davies wrote the lyrics after watching the band’s manager, on a drunk, start dancing with a girl who Davies knew to be a man in drag. He later said:
'Lola' was a love song, and the person they fall in love with is a transvestite. It's not their fault - they didn't know - but you know it's not going to last. It was based on a story about my manager.Destroyer (1981): This is a song about a guy going rapidly nuts, and it folds in elements of several different songs from the band to produce its rather jarring, discordant sound. The lyrics are based on Lola, while the main guitar riff is taken from All Day And All Of The Night. And, yes, it’s a little jarring, if you really listen to it.
Come Dancing (1982): This is my personal favorite. It’s a fun song about a more innocent time, folding in a big band swing style with the modern guitar and drum work. Ray Davies had six older sisters, and he notes that this song was in honor of all of them but was based in particular on his sister Rene, who had a weak heart, and who actually had a heart attack while dancing at London’s Lyceum Ballroom. She died of heart failure in the ballroom, and Ray later wrote this song for her.
And, yeah, back in my single days, I had many a date end with a “cuddle and a peck on the cheek.” I didn’t and still don’t see anything wrong with that.
The Kinks stayed together until 1997, handily beating the Beatles for longevity but being surpassed by the Rolling Stones. They have tried for a reunion tour or two, but that never seemed to work out. But they still maintain a website where you can buy their entire discography, and it’s worth a look. While the Davies brothers and Mike Avory are still kicking, Pete Quaife sadly died in 2010, making the odds of a reunion tour, well, one-quarter less likely.Any Kinks favorites of your own? Any particular memories to share? The comments, as always, are all yours.
