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Oct 3, 2023 · 16. “Tired of Waiting For You” (Kinda Kinks, 1965) For a song written in one afternoon, “Tired of Waiting For You” is as catchy as ever. The A-side lead single from The Kinks’ second ...
- Graeme Ross
- “Waterloo Sunset” (1967) “It puts people into a world,” Ray once said of his greatest song, and that world was so personal to him that initially he felt compelled to keep it to himself.
- “You Really Got Me” (1964) Seventeen-year-old Dave Davies applied a razor blade to his amp, creating the infinitely influential scuzz on the riff that drives this primal, almost unbearably exciting record.
- Lola” (1970) Based on several real incidents about a naive young man’s encounter with a transvestite, “Lola” long ago transcended its origins to become, like its composer, a National Treasure.
- “Dead End Street” (1966) “Sunny Afternoon” encapsulated all the confidence and optimism of Britain in 1966’s halcyon summer, however Ray was acutely aware that beneath the glossy veneer there was an entirely different backstory of poverty, depravation and despair.
- Michael Gallucci
- "You Really Got Me" From: 'Kinks' (1964) The Kinks' breakthrough single features one of the greatest opening guitar riffs ever recorded. "You Really Got Me" made the band stars and set the template for almost every hard rock band that formed over the next decade (and then some).
- "Waterloo Sunset" From: 'Something Else by the Kinks' (1967) Something Else by the Kinks, the band's fifth LP, is one of its greatest albums. And it's no accident that Ray Davies began sharpening his perceptions of British class division during this time.
- "Lola" From: 'Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One' (1970) After a four-year commercial dry spell that coincided with Ray Davies' increasingly sophisticated songwriting, the Kinks rocketed back into the Top 10 with one of their most popular songs.
- "Sunny Afternoon" From: 'Face to Face' (1966) Barely a year into their career, and Ray Davies was already getting bored with the three-chord guitar assaults the Kinks were discharging.
The Kinks are perhaps the most underrated band that gave birth to what we now call Punk, Metal, Rock and Alternative. Founded by two brothers, Ray Davies and...
- Come Dancing
- See My Friends
- Strangers
- Victoria
- Powerman
- Celluloid Heroes
- Lola
- Sunny Afternoon
- You Really Got Me
- Waterloo Sunset
The childhood memories of the Davies’ home provide the background and inspiration of “Come Dancing”(Arista, 1982). Ray and Dave’s older sisters were known to frequent the local dance halls, and it was a tribute to his sister, Rene. On Ray’s 13th birthday, Rene visited Canada and gifted him his first guitar. Later that night, Rene suffered a heart a...
Jetlagged and unable to sleep, Ray found himself on the early morning beach in Mumbai (then called Bombay) during a tour of Asia. He encountered two fishermen chanting their way to work. The chant and spiritual beliefs of the soul crossing rivers inspired Ray to write this earlier tribute to his sister, Rene. The backing tracks were slowed down in ...
The second track on Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One is one of the most potent Kinks songs ever written by Dave Davies. Though never released as a single, the song quickly became a fan favorite of the album. While Dave is mainly associated with heavily distorted fuzzy sound and other hard-hitting, electrified guitar lines, he opt...
“Victoria” was released as a single from the concept album Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) (Pye in the UK, Reprise in the US, 1969). The album itself was to be a soundtrack for a television program that never was completed. Melody Maker would call the album “…beautifully British to the core.” Ray’s lyrics and music are a blen...
No strangers to label strangulation, Ray set his eyes on the recording executives and management with “Powerman.” While Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One was well received by music journalists, the buying public largely ignored it. It was Reprise’s last album released in the United States (Pye Records would release Arthur in the U...
The second single to be released from Everybody’s in Show-Biz (RCA, 1972), the UK single, would include the entire album version, while the American version stuck to the more corporate (cough-cough-powerman-cough) radio-friendly four minutes. Ray wrote the song while living in a seedy apartment in Hollywood. Always recognizing the stark contrast ar...
“Lola” (Pye Records in the UK, Reprise in the US, 1971) has as much conflict and controversy as the Kink’s first American tour. Ray would claim it was based on an incident involving their manager, Robert Wace. Mick Avory said it was based on frequenting the trans bars in west London and a specific fan that would turn up at all the Kinks appearances...
Ill and at home, Ray wrote the opening riff on his upright piano. He told Rolling Stone he had spent the time before writing it listening to Frank Sinatra, Glenn Miller, and Bob Dylan. He said they provided the chromatic part in the back of the song. “Sunny Afternoon”spent two weeks at #1 on the UK Singles Chart and #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 in ...
Released as a single on August 4, 1964, after a hard won battle with Pye Records (later released on the album Kinks on Pye Records in the UK and the album You Really Got Meon Reprise Records for the US) the Kinks took to the charts in Britain and abroad. One of Ray’s first songs started as a light, jazzy tune. Ray envisioned opening piano riffs and...
Written after one of his breakdowns, Ray felt vulnerable and wouldn’t show the lyrics to the band. Instead, he tested them out on his sister Rosie and niece Jackie. Ray initially did not want to release the song as a single from the album Something Else from the Kinks (Pye Records in the UK, Reprise in the US, 1967). When the single was released, i...
10 Best The Kinks Songs Ever 10. Don’t Forget to Dance “Don’t Forget to Dance” is a song from The Kinks’ 1983 album, “State of Confusion.” It is a catchy, delicare tune that showcases the band’s signature sound, with jangling guitars and Ray Davies’ distinctive vocals. The song’s lyrics encourage the story’s protagonist to ...
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The Kinks PlayList - Greatest Hits and Best Songs. The Kinks are perhaps the most underrated band that gave birth to what we now call Punk, Metal, Rock and Alternative. Founded by two brothers, Ray Davies and Dave. The Kinks experimented with all styles of music and risque lyrics while the Beatles were a still a Boy Band churning out Teeny ...
