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ThE KiNKs The Kinks were one of the most influential groups to come out of English music's golden decade - the 1960s. With a name that said they were different, The Kinks evolved out of a group called The Ravens, which was Dave Davies's band, and included Pete Quaife on bass. Dave's art school student brother Ray joined The Ravens in 1963, and the group was renamed The Kinks, with drummer Mick Avory recruited to give The Kinks their first and most famous line-up. The group were signed by Pye Records in 1964, and their first single was, predictably, a cover of a rock 'n' roll classic, Little Richard's 'Long Tall Sally'. It struggled to make any impact, as did their second, 'You Do Something To Me'. 'You Really Got Me' made it third time lucky for The Kinks, and not only reached number one in the UK singles charts, and made the US top ten, but is looked back on as a landmark record, often cited as the first instance of a heavy rock record making an impact on the music mainstream. Their next hit, 'All Day And All Of The Night', was in a similar vein. But the quality and flexibility of Ray Davies's songwriting came to the fore with The Kinks second UK number one, 'Tired Of Waiting For You'. A ballad, this began to set a pattern for Davies's work. His songs began to get more softer, musically, while the lyrics became more incisive, notably 'Sunny Afternoon' and 'Dedicated Follower Of Fashion'. Some Kinks songs had no edge, however, and were just beautifully melodic creations such as 'Waterloo Sunset' and 'Days'. Though very consistently successful in the UK, The Kinks were hindered from capitalising on their early American success, due to problems with the American Federation of Musicians resulting in them not being able to tour the States. Towards the end of the '60s, The Kinks were really beginning to live up to their name, with the eccentric, but often lauded, 'The Village Green Preservation Society' album, and, in the early 1970s, with a favourite singalong song, 'Lola' - based on an unfortunate experience Ray had! * * * * * Lead singer and songwriter Ray Davies rivalled The Who's Pete Townshend as the premier solo British songwriter of the era, with thoughtful songs of greater depth than much of the disposable pop fodder which has always been prevalent in the charts. Ray's fights with brother Dave are legendary, and much probably came about through the primitive pulls of sibling rivalry. Dave, a gifted guitarist and creative talent in his own right, probably felt underappreciated, as did Ray, being the man delivering the hits. The brothers were once in America, refusing to speak to each other, and phoned England to vent their bulging spleens, though they could have sorted things out - being only a room apart! Other eccentric behaviour included Ray trying to 'marry off' Dave to gay socialite David Watts, which inspired a Kinks song, and a Jam cover of it. Pete Townshend described Ray as a person "reaching out to engage you", and Dave as "testosterone driven". But, it helps any creative force to have a little edge, and that edge helped Ray Davies write wonderful songs, songs which will live as long as songs are sung, namely descriptive ballads 'Days', 'Waterloo Sunset', 'Sunny Afternoon', and the quirky songs which emphasised The Kinks as an appropriate name - 'Lola' and 'Dedicated Follower Of Fashion'. Ray Davies once said of himself: "I'm quite vulnerable, but I'm also very strong-willed." He also denies being a one-off, when he probably is. His 1966 song 'I'm Not Like Everybody Else' would sum him up, really, though he claims that is a song about someone being in denial - that they are like everybody else, and that he is, too. The Kinks have been credited with inventing heavy metal, and Dave Davies for popularising power chords, with their powerful first big hit, 'You Really Got Me', from 1964, showing what a tight rhythm section the group had in Mick Avory (drums) and Pete Quaife (bass). The Kinks are also often cited as godfathers of Britpop, and were pioneers of the sitar sound in Western music, with 'See My Friends' in 1965 - though no real sitar was used. The album, 'The Village Green Preservation Society', celebrated Englishness, and, even by Kinks standards, was very offbeat. All great groups have some quality which makes them distinctive, and with The Kinks it was a hybrid of musical styles, with a touch of eccentricity. The Kinks thoroughly deserved being inducted into the 'UK Music Hall Of Fame' in 2005, and it was apt that Britain's power chord guv'nor, Pete Townshend, should present them with the award. - Paul Rance, Peace & Freedom Press. booksmusicfilmstv.com
1960s Music Index
|
The Kinks Discography UK Singles
(and complete list of UK and
US chart positions) |
Kinks Books,
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