The Kinks
I Kinks sono stati un gruppo musicale rock degli anni sessanta, formatosi a Londra. Sono considerati tra i gruppi più influenti della British invasion.
La formazione originale del gruppo era composta da Ray Davies (1944), cantante, e suo fratello Dave (1947), chitarrista. A completare la band Mick Avory (batteria e percussioni) e Pete Quaife (basso), quest'ultimo fu sostituito temporaneamente nel 1966 da John Dalton, e poi definitivamente nel 1969 dallo stesso Dalton.Ha all'attivo brani entrati nella leggenda come You Really Got Me (da molti ritenuto il primo pezzo hard-rock della storia, uscito nell'agosto 1964), All Day and All of the Night, A Well Respected Man, Sunny Afternoon, Lola, Death of a Clown e Waterloo Sunset.
Davies si specializzò nel ritrarre con pungente ironia quadretti di vita quotidiana del suo paese, stigmatizzandone vizi e comportamenti e affrontando spesso argomenti tabù per l'epoca (la Lola della celeberrima canzone, ad esempio, era un travestito incontrato dal protagonista in un sordido locale di Soho "dove ti danno champagne che sembra coca cola").
Nel 1968 (circa un anno prima del celebre Tommy dei The Who) compose le musiche di una delle primissime opere rock, The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society, e pochi mesi dopo con lo stesso spirito diede alle stampe il suo capolavoro maturo, Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire): tuttavia, l'opera non venne mai rappresentata e per una serie di disguidi il disco uscì in ritardo, compromettendo il suo primato. Il nuovo stile, molto diverso dal verace garage degli esordi, è adesso orientato verso il vaudeville, il music hall e il pop da camera, una mescolanza che influenzerà il glam rock del decennio successivo. Negli anni settanta orienteranno la propria attività musicale e concertistica in funzione soprattutto del mercato americano.
Ebbero un'incalcolabile influenza su molti gruppi successivi, a partire dai Clash arrivando fino a Blur, Oasis e gli altri gruppi brit pop, genere di cui si possono considerare i principali ispiratori.
Nel 1990 vennero inseriti nella Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Si sciolsero nel 1996.
Nonostante le continue voci nel corso degli anni novanta e duemila, i piani di riunione della band naufragarono. Purtroppo, Peter Quaife, sottoposto a dialisi renale da più di dieci anni, è morto il 23 giugno 2010. Ray Davies ha dedicato la sua performance del 27 giugno al festival di Glastonbury in suo onore, spiegando alla folla: «Io non sarei qui oggi se non fosse stato per lui».
Storia
Formazione (1962–1963)
I fratelli Ray e Dave Davies nacquero nei sobborghi a nord di Londra in Huntingdon Road, East Finchley, unici due bambini maschi degli otto figli della famiglia. I genitori, Frederick e Annie Davies, si trasferirono quasi subito al 6 di Denmark Terrace, Fortis Green, nella periferia di Muswell Hill. In casa i due ragazzi vivevano immersi nella musica, dal music hall della generazione dei genitori, al jazz e al primo rock and roll che piaceva alle sorelle maggiori. Sia Ray che suo fratello Dave, più piccolo di circa tre anni, impararono a suonare la chitarra, e si divertivano a suonare insieme brani skiffle e rock and roll.I due fratelli frequentarono la William Grimshaw Secondary Modern School (che successivamente sarebbe stata accorpata con la Tollington Grammar School diventando Fortismere School), dove formarono una band, il "Ray Davies Quartet", insieme all'amico e compagno di classe di Ray, Pete Quaife, e a John Start. Il loro debutto durante un ballo scolastico venne ben accolto, e la cosa incoraggiò il gruppo a continuare a suonare esibendosi in pub locali e bar della zona. La band cambiò svariate volte cantante solista; il più celebre dei quali a entrare provvisoriamente in formazione fu Rod Stewart, un altro studente della William Grimshaw, che si esibì con il gruppo per brevissimo tempo all'inizio del 1962. Presto Stewart formò un suo proprio gruppo musicale, Rod Stewart and the Moonrakers, che divenne un'alternativa locale al Ray Davies Quartet. Alla fine del 1962, Ray Davies se ne andò da casa per andare a studiare all'Hornsey College of Art. Lì acquisì interesse per il cinema, il disegno, il teatro e per generi musicali come il jazz e il blues. Fece esperienza come chitarrista militando nella Dave Hunt Band, un complesso professionale che suonava brani jazz e R&B. Quindi Davies lasciò la scuola e tornò a Muswell Hill, dove insieme al fratello riformò la vecchia band,cambiando diverse volte il nome della stessa, prima in Pete Quaife Band, in seguito The Bo-Weevils and The Ramrods, per poi decidere (temporaneamente) di chiamarla "The Ravens".
La band emergente assunse ben due manager, Grenville Collins e Robert Wace, e alla fine del 1963 anche l'ex cantante pop Larry Page firmò un contratto come loro terzo impresario. Il produttore discografico americano Shel Talmy iniziò a lavorare con il gruppo, e il promoter dei Beatles, Arthur Howes, venne reclutato per pianificare i concerti dei Ravens. Il gruppo fece parecchie audizioni senza successo per varie etichette discografiche fino al 1964, quando Talmy riuscì a procurare loro un contratto con la Pye Records. Durante questo periodo la band acquisì un nuovo membro, il batterista Mickey Willet; tuttavia, Willet lasciò il gruppo poco tempo dopo la firma del contratto con la Pye. Allora i Ravens invitarono Mick Avory a sostituirlo dopo aver letto un'inserzione da lui messa sul Melody Maker. Avory possedeva una formazione stilistica da batterista jazz, e aveva anche suonato una volta in concerto con i Rolling Stones.
Circa in questo periodo, i Ravens decisero di cambiare definitivamente nome in "The Kinks". Nel corso degli anni, sono state date numerose spiegazioni sulla genesi di questo nome. Secondo Jon Savage: "[Loro] avevano bisogno di una gimmick, qualcosa che attirasse l'attenzione su di loro. Quindi, "kinkiness" (devianza), da kinky, termine inglese molto usato all'inizio degli anni sessanta, che indicava un modo eccentrico di essere e di vestire, qualcosa di cattivo ma al limite dell'accettabilità. Nell'adottare "Kinks" come loro nome in quel momento, stavano partecipando al rituale pop dell'epoca di ottenere la celebrità attraverso l'oltraggio". Il Manager Robert Wace racconta invece la sua versione della storia: "Avevo un amico... Lui pensava che il gruppo fosse abbastanza divertente. Se mi ricordo bene, arrivò con quel nome buttando lì l'idea, come un buon modo per avere pubblicità gratis... Quando disse del nuovo nome ai membri della band, loro furono... assolutamente disgustati. Dissero: "Non vogliamo essere definiti dei pervertiti!" La memoria di Ray Davies è in contrasto con il racconto di Wace, ricordando come il nome della band fu coniato da Larry Page, in riferimento al loro eccentrico ("kinky") senso della moda.
Successo e divieto di tournée in America (1964–1965)
Il primo singolo dei Kinks fu una cover di una canzone di Little Richard, Long Tall Sally. Bobby Graham, un amico della band, venne reclutato per suonare la batteria nell'incisione. Egli avrebbe occasionalmente continuato a sostituire Avory in studio, suonando al posto suo nei primi singoli dei Kinks. Long Tall Sally venne pubblicata nel febbraio 1964, ma nonostante gli sforzi pubblicitari, il singolo venne praticamente ignorato da tutti. Quando anche il loro secondo 45 giri, You Still Want Me, si rivelò un flop, la Pye Records pensò seriamente di annullare il contratto stipulato con il gruppo.Le cose cambiarono con il terzo singolo, You Really Got Me, uscito nell'agosto 1964, che, supportato da una performance del gruppo allo show televisivo Ready Steady Go!, raggiunse velocemente il primo posto della classifica in Gran Bretagna. Importato dall'etichetta discografica statunitense Reprise Records, il singolo entrò anche nella Top 10 statunitense decretando il successo della band. Il poderoso, distorto, ma orecchiabile riff chitarristico della canzone rese ben presto il pezzo uno dei brani più gettonati nei campus studenteschi e si sarebbe rivelato di estrema influenza per la nascita di generi musicali come il garage rock, e successivamente hard rock e heavy metal. Subito dopo l'uscita del fortunato singolo, il gruppo registrò la maggior parte del materiale che sarebbe confluito nel loro album di debutto, intitolato semplicemente Kinks. Costituito in gran parte da cover e riletture di brani tradizionali, il disco venne pubblicato il 2 ottobre 1964, raggiungendo la quarta posizione nelle classifiche britanniche. Il quarto singolo del gruppo, All Day and All of the Night, altro brano originale dai connotati hard rock, fu immesso sul mercato tre settimane dopo, raggiungendo la seconda posizione nel Regno Unito, e la numero sette negli Stati Uniti. I prossimi due 45 giri, Set Me Free e Tired of Waiting for You, furono anch'essi dei successi commerciali, consolidando lo status della band.
Nel gennaio 1965 i Kinks partirono per il loro primo tour in Australia e Nuova Zelanda insieme a Manfred Mann e The Honeycombs. L'intensa attività concertistica portò poi la band ad esibirsi anche con artisti quali The Yardbirds e Mickey Finn. Tensioni interne alla band iniziarono ad emergere dopo una serie di incidenti e una rissa sul palco tra Avory e Dave Davies nel corso di un concerto svoltosi il 19 maggio al Capitol Theatre di Cardiff, in Galles. Alla fine della prima canzone in scaletta, You Really Got Me, Davies insultò Avory e diede un calcio alla sua batteria. Avory rispose colpendo Davies e mandandolo KO, prima di essere trascinato di peso giù dal palco. Davies fu portato al Cardiff Royal Infirmary, dove gli furono applicati alcuni punti in testa. Per tentare di placare la polizia, Avory affermò che la rissa era parte anch'essa dello spettacolo. Dopo un tour negli Stati Uniti, la American Federation of Musicians rifiutò di concedere al gruppo il permesso di esibirsi su suolo statunitense per i successivi quattro anni, mettendo i Kinks definitivamente fuori dal giro nel periodo dell'esplosione a livello mondiale della British invasion. Anche se non venne mai chiarito il motivo ufficiale di tale provvedimento punitivo, è stato ipotizzato che fosse da imputarsi al comportamento rude, selvaggio e maleducato dei membri del gruppo sul palco durante i concerti.
Un periodo di pausa trascorso a Bombay, in India, durante il tour asiatico dei Kinks permise a Davies di comporre la canzone See My Friends, pubblicata come nuovo singolo nel luglio 1965. La traccia è uno dei primi esempi di crossover musicale e una delle prime canzoni pop dell'epoca a recare evidenti tracce dell'influenza della musicale tradizionale indiana.
In studio, le sedute di registrazione del periodo si concentrarono sul prossimo LP della band, Kinda Kinks. Questa volta 10 delle 12 tracce sul disco erano originali e l'album venne completato in circa due settimane. Secondo Ray Davies, la band non rimase particolarmente soddisfatta del disco, ma la pressione da parte della casa discografica rese impossibile rifinire meglio il lavoro come avrebbero voluto.
Un significativo mutamento stilistico ebbe luogo alla fine del 1965, con l'apparizione sul mercato di singoli quali A Well Respected Man e Dedicated Follower of Fashion, come anche del terzo album del gruppo, The Kink Kontroversy, nel quale fece la sua prima comparsata in qualità di session man Nicky Hopkins alle tastiere. Queste registrazioni esemplificarono il progresso dello stile di scrittura di Davies, che passò da brani dall'impianto decisamente hard rock a composizioni più raffinate con testi che trattavano di tematiche sociali, osservazione e studio dei personaggi, il tutto con un caratteristico gusto britannico per il pop barocco.
Età d'oro (1966–1972)
Il singolo satirico Sunny Afternoon fu il più grande successo dell'estate 1966 in Gran Bretagna, spodestando dalla cima delle classifiche Paperback Writer dei Beatles, dando inizio a quella che comunemente viene definita "l'età d'oro" dei Kinks, il loro periodo di maggior ispirazione artistica che sarebbe durato fino al 1972. Prima della pubblicazione di The Kink Kontroversy, Ray Davies soffrì di un forte esaurimento nervoso, causato dalle pressioni degli incessanti tour, dalle responsabilità derivanti dall'essere il principale songwriter della band, e da vari problemi legali. Durante i mesi di convalescenza, egli scrisse molte nuove canzoni e stabilì il nuovo corso artistico dei Kinks. Quaife rimase coinvolto in un incidente d'auto, e dopo il suo ricovero in ospedale venne deciso di cessare ogni attività della band per tutto il resto del 1966. Il bassista John Dalton sostituì Quaife fino al suo ritorno nel gruppo alla fine dell'anno.Il successivo album del gruppo, Face to Face, era pieno di canzoni che descrivevano la vita della gente comune attraverso delicati quadretti narrativi nell'inconfondibile stile di Ray Davies. Hopkins ritornò in queste sessioni per suonare vari strumenti a tastiera, inclusi pianoforte e clavicembalo. Egli suonò anche nei successivi due album della band, prima di unirsi al Jeff Beck Group nel 1968. Face to Face venne pubblicato in Gran Bretagna nell'ottobre 1966, ricevendo una buona accoglienza e posizionandosi alla posizione numero 8 in classifica. Negli Stati Uniti l'album arrivò in dicembre ma, nonostante le aspettative, raggiunse solo la posizione numero 135, inequivocabile segno di un calo di popolarità dei Kinks in America.
Il 45 giri Waterloo Sunset venne pubblicato nel maggio 1967. Il testo del brano descrive due amanti che attraversano un ponte, con pensieri malinconici da parte del narratore che riflette sulla coppia, il Tamigi, e la Waterloo Station, osservando come i due innamorati riescano ad essere felici anche in mezzo allo squallore. Si è spesso detto che il brano fosse un velato riferimento alla storia d'amore tra due celebrità inglesi dell'epoca, gli attori Terence Stamp e Julie Christie. Ray Davies negò assolutamente questa ipotesi nella sua autobiografia e ribadendo nel corso di un'intervista del 2008: «Si trattò di una fantasia su mia sorella e il suo ragazzo che dovettero emigrare per cercare fortuna all'estero». Il singolo fu uno dei maggiori successi dei Kinks in Inghilterra (numero 2 nella classifica di Melody Maker), e nel corso degli anni la canzone si sarebbe rivelata una delle loro composizioni più celebrate ed amate da pubblico e critica.
I brani presenti sull'album del 1967 Something Else by the Kinks, sviluppano ulteriormente i progressi musicali contenuti in Face to Face, aggiungendo influenze di music hall e una diffusa atmosfera "dandy". Dave Davies ottenne un successo da classifica con il brano Death of a Clown da lui composto insieme al fratello Ray. Tuttavia, il riscontro di vendite del disco fu deludente rispetto alle attese.
A partire dall'inizio del 1968, il gruppo smise quasi del tutto di fare concerti, per concentrarsi sul lavoro in sala di registrazione. Il successivo singolo pubblicato dai Kinks, Wonderboy, uscì nella primavera del 1968, stazionando alla posizione numero 36 e diventando il primo singolo della band a non entrare nella UK Top 20 sin dai tempi delle prime cover. Nonostante questo, la canzone divenne una delle preferite da John Lennon dei Beatles. Secondo Ray Davies: «Qualcuno mi disse di aver visto John Lennon in un locale mentre chiedeva continuamente al disc jockey di mettere su Wonderboy, ancora ed ancora». Comunque, l'opinione della band circa il brano non era delle migliori, Pete Quaife affermò in seguito di odiare la canzone e di ritenerla "orribile". A dispetto del calo di popolarità dei Kinks, Davies continuò a portare avanti il suo particolare stile di scrittura caratterizzato da tocchi di sarcasmo e humour tipicamente britannici, e la band continuò anch'essa a seguire il suo leader dedicandosi al prossimo progetto ideato da quest'ultimo, Village Green. Alla fine di giugno, i Kinks pubblicarono il singolo Days, che fornì una boccata d'ossigeno al gruppo rivelandosi un successo minore in patria raggiungendo il dodicesimo posto nella classifica inglese dei singoli.
Village Green si trasformò infine nel successivo album in studio del gruppo, The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society, pubblicato alla fine del 1968 in Gran Bretagna. Esso era una collezione di vignette a tema prettamente inglese, che tra il serio e il faceto, in pieno "contestatario" 1968 si permetteva di esaltare valori di una volta come la verginità e la vita semplice nelle piccole realtà di campagna. Dal punto di vista musicale il suono acquisisce un carattere "leggero" ed estremamente curato, quasi totalmente privo della durezza elettrica degli esordi, caratterizzato dall'utilizzo di armonie vocali e da notevoli elaborazioni melodiche. Anche se venne accolto da recensioni unanimemente positive sia in Europa che negli Stati Uniti, il lavoro non raccolse il favore del pubblico giovane e fallì del tutto dal punto di vista commerciale. Uno dei fattori principali che contribuirono al flop dell'album, fu la mancanza di un singolo di successo estratto dal disco. Nonostante l'insuccesso, Village Green viene oggi ricordato come una delle opere più sofisticate e riuscite dei Kinks.
All'inizio del 1969, Quaife disse ai compagni di gruppo che aveva deciso di uscire dalla band. Davies e compagni non presero la cosa seriamente, fino a quando un articolo del New Musical Express rivelò il nome del nuovo gruppo formato da Quaife per conto suo, i Maple Oak. Il sostituto di Quaife fu John Dalton, una scelta dettata dalla logica in quanto egli aveva già sporadicamente rimpiazzato il bassista in occasioni precedenti. Dalton rimase nei Kinks fino al 1977.
Nell'aprile 1969, Ray Davies andò a Los Angeles, in California, per negoziare la fine del bando di divieto alle esibizioni dei Kinks in America posto dalla American Federation of Musicians nel '65. Il management del gruppo si attivò subito per programmare una tournée negli Stati Uniti, in modo da aiutare a restaurare la popolarità dei Kinks in America. Prima di tornare negli Stati Uniti, i Kinks registrarono un altro album, l'opera rock Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire). Come i precedenti ultimi due album, Arthur era impregnato da capo a fondo da uno stile di scrittura tipicamente inglese. Modesto successo commerciale, venne accolto più favorevolmente dalla stampa musicale statunitense che in patria, dove non entrò nemmeno in classifica. Concepito come una sorta di musical per la televisione britannica, gran parte dell'album ha caratteri autobiografici e tratta di un personaggio centrale dell'infanzia dei fratelli Davies; la sorella Rosie, che era emigrata in Australia nei primi anni sessanta insieme al marito, Arthur Anning, al quale l'"Arthur" protagonista del disco si ispira in maniera evidente. Per l'ennesima volta, nonostante lo scarso riscontro di pubblico dell'epoca, l'album viene oggi visto in retrospettiva come il massimo capolavoro dei Kinks e una delle migliori opere rock mai scritte, per alcuni superiore anche all'acclamato Tommy degli Who. I Kinks partirono per il loro tour in America nell'ottobre 1969. La tournée ebbe complessivamente riscontri deludenti, anche se il gruppo si esibì in contesti importanti quali il Fillmore East e il Whisky a Go Go.
La band aggiunse alla formazione il tastierista John Gosling all'inizio del 1970. Nel maggio settanta Gosling debuttò su disco con i Kinks in occasione del 45 giri Lola, un confuso resoconto delle avventure sentimentali di un travestito, che divenne un successo da classifica sia in Europa sia negli Stati Uniti, riportando i Kinks sotto le luci dei riflettori. Originariamente il testo della canzone conteneva il termine "Coca-Cola", ma a causa della censura del brano da parte della BBC, venne poi sostituito con "Cheery Cola" attraverso un lavoro di sovraincisione effettuato in studio dal gruppo stesso. L'album seguente, Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One, venne pubblicato nel novembre 1970. Inaspettatamente si rivelò un successo sia di critica che di pubblico, entrando nella Top 40 in America, primo grande successo dei Kinks dalla metà degli anni sessanta. Il disco nell'insieme presenta contenuti molto polemici; Davies se la prende con i manager precedenti della band, con il sindacato americano dei musicisti (responsabile di aver bandito il gruppo dagli States), e con il business musicale in generale. Stilisticamente si nota un netto ritorno alle origini con pezzi rock semplici e incisivi. Dopo il successo di Lola, la band pubblicò Percy nel 1971, album colonna sonora del film comico inglese Il complesso del trapianto. L'album, che consisteva principalmente di brani strumentali, non ricevette critiche positive. La casa discografica statunitense dei Kinks, la Reprise, si rifiutò di pubblicare il disco in America, causando una disputa legale che portò alla fuoriuscita del gruppo dall'etichetta.
Prima della fine del 1971, i Kinks firmarono un nuovo contratto discografico con la RCA Records ricevendo un cospicuo anticipo, che servì alla costruzione dello studio di registrazione personale della band, il "Konk". L'album di debutto su etichetta RCA, Muswell Hillbillies, replicava la formula dei precedenti lavori con influenze provenienti dal music hall introducendo però anche stili musicali prettamente americani come il country e il bluegrass. Spesso definito l'ultimo grande album della band, non riscosse però il successo del precedente. Nel 1972 fu seguito da un doppio album, Everybody's in Show-Biz, costituito da tracce sia in studio che dal vivo registrate durante due serate alla Carnegie Hall. L'album contiene la ballata Celluloid Heroes e la caraibica Supersonic Rocket Ship, ultimi singoli da UK Top 20 dei Kinks per più di un decennio. Celluloid Heroes è un'agrodolce riflessione sulle stelle di Hollywood decedute nella quale il narratore dichiara di aspirare ad una vita da film, "perché gli eroi di celluloide non muoiono mai veramente". L'album riscosse un moderato successo negli Stati Uniti, raggiungendo la posizione numero 47 di Record World e la numero 70 di Billboard.
Incarnazione teatrale (1973–1976)
Nel 1973, Ray Davies si orientò verso uno stile molto teatrale, scrivendo opere rock come Preservation, che riprende le gesta di Mr. Flash, il protagonista di Village Green. In contemporanea al progetto Preservation, la formazione dei Kinks si allargò per includere una sezione fiati ed un coro femminile, riconfigurando la band come una sorta di troupe teatrale.I problemi coniugali di Ray del periodo iniziarono ad influenzare anche l'attività della band, particolarmente quando la moglie, Rasa, prese i figli e se ne andò di casa nel giugno 1973. Davies cadde in un profondo stato di depressione che lo portò anche a meditare di lasciare la band. La situazione sfuggì di controllo durante un concerto al White City Stadium in luglio. Secondo quanto riportato da un giornalista del Melody Maker presente quella sera, "Davies giurò sul palco. Disse davanti a tutto il pubblico del White City che era tremendamente stufo del mondo del business musicale... che tale ambiente lo faceva vomitare... e gli spettatori batterono le mani in segno di approvazione". Al termine dello show, Davies dichiarò di voler lasciare la band. In seguito Ray collassò a causa di un'overdose di droga e venne portato d'urgenza in ospedale.
Con Ray Davies in simili condizioni critiche, si discusse circa l'idea di continuare con Dave in qualità di nuovo frontman, nella peggiore delle ipotesi. Ray riuscì a superare questo difficile momento tornando a tempo pieno a lavorare nel gruppo, ma il successo dei Kinks continuò la sua progressiva fase calante. John Dalton commentò in seguito che quando Davies "decise di tornare a lavorare, egli non pensava stesse davvero meglio, e che divenne una persona diversa da lì in avanti".
Preservation: Act 1 uscì a fine 1973 ricevendo recensioni generalmente pessime, e il suo seguito, Preservation: Act 2, venne pubblicato nel maggio 1974 con altrettanti riscontri negativi. Questo fu il primo album ad essere inciso al Konk Studio; da qui in poi ogni disco dei Kinks sarebbe stato prodotto e registrato lì. I Kinks effettuarono un ambizioso tour negli Stati Uniti alla fine del 1974, adattando la storia di Preservation per i concerti dal vivo.
Successivamente Davies iniziò a lavorare ad un altro progetto per la Granada Television, un musical intitolato Starmaker. Il progetto mutò in breve tempo nel concept album The Kinks Present a Soap Opera, pubblicato nel maggio 1975, nel quale Ray Davies fantastica su cosa succederebbe se una rock star si scambiasse il posto con una persona "normale" che svolge un grigio lavoro d'ufficio. Nell'agosto 1975, i Kinks registrarono il loro ultimo lavoro teatrale, Schoolboys in Disgrace: un'operetta sul tema della scuola. L'opera riscosse un successo moderato, raggiungendo la posizione numero 45 nella classifica statunitense di Billboard. Dopo il termine del contratto con la RCA, i Kinks firmarono per la Arista Records nel 1976. Con l'incoraggiamento della dirigenza dell'Arista, il gruppo tornò ad una più consona formazione a cinque reinventandosi come band arena rock. Durante questo periodo, il gruppo heavy metal Van Halen ottenne un notevole successo con una cover di You Really Got Me, propiziando la rinascita commerciale dei Kinks.
Ritorno al successo commerciale (1977–1985)
John Dalton lasciò la band prima della fine delle sessioni di registrazione per l'album Sleepwalker, venendo sostituito da Andy Pyle per terminare il lavoro e suonare in tour. Il disco segnò un ritorno al successo per la band posizionandosi al numero 21 della classifica di Billboard. Subito dopo la pubblicazione del successivo Misfits, Andy Pyle e John Gosling uscirono dal gruppo per lavorare insieme a progetti separati. Dalton tornò in formazione per portare a termine il tour e l'ex–Pretty Things Gordon John Edwards si unì alla band. Nel maggio 1978, Misfits, secondo album dei Kinks per l'Arista, riscosse un altro buon successo grazie alla canzone inclusa A Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy che si rivelò una hit da Top 40 negli Stati Uniti. Dalton lasciò nuovamente il gruppo alla fine del tour inglese, e Gordon John Edwards presto lo seguì. L'ex bassista degli Argent Jim Rodford entrò a far parte dei Kinks prima dell'inizio della lavorazione dell'album Low Budget, nel quale Ray Davies si occupò di suonare le parti di tastiera. Per il seguente tour venne reclutato il tastierista Ian Gibbons, che presto divenne un membro permanente del gruppo a tutti gli effetti. Nonostante i continui cambi di formazione, la popolarità dei dischi e dei concerti dei Kinks dell'epoca continuò ad aumentare.Verso la fine degli anni settanta, gruppi come The Jam (David Watts), Pretenders (Stop Your Sobbing, I Go to Sleep) e The Knack (The Hard Way) incisero cover di canzoni dei Kinks, aiutando a mantenere alta l'attenzione verso le nuove uscite della band. Le sonorità hard rock di Low Budget, pubblicato nel 1979, fece ottenere ai Kinks il loro secondo disco d'oro in America arrivando fino all'undicesima posizione in classifica. Nel 1980, il terzo album live del gruppo, One for the Road, procurò loro un altro grande successo (14º posto nella classifica statunitense di Billboard).
L'album seguente, Give the People What They Want, uscì a fine 1981 e raggiunse la posizione numero 15 negli Stati Uniti. Il disco si certificò disco d'oro e contiene due brani di successo quali Better Things e Destroyer. Nella primavera del 1983, la canzone Come Dancing divenne il maggior successo della band in America fin dai tempi di Tired of Waiting for You, piazzandosi al sesto posto in classifica. L'album, State of Confusion, fu un altro successo di vendite (12° in USA), ma, come tutti gli altri dischi dei Kinks dopo il 1967, fallì l'entrata in classifica nel Regno Unito. Dopo il picco di popolarità di State of Confusion, il riscontro di pubblico iniziò lentamente a calare.
In questo periodo, Ray Davies si apprestò a lavorare ad un ambizioso progetto cinematografico intitolato Ritorno a Waterloo, la storia di un pendolare londinese che sogna di essere un serial killer. Il film diede l'opportunità all'attore Tim Roth di interpretare uno dei suoi primi ruoli di rilievo. L'occupazione di Ray nello scrivere e dirigere la pellicola causò tensioni nei rapporti con il fratello Dave. Altro problema era la burrascosa fine della relazione tra Ray Davies e Chrissie Hynde. Inoltre, i vecchi attriti tra Dave Davies e il batterista Mick Avory tornarono in superficie. Davies si rifiutò di lavorare ancora con Avory, e pretese che venisse rimpiazzato da Bob Henrit, ex batterista degli Argent (dei quali era stato membro anche Jim Rodford). Avory lasciò la band, e Henrit prese il suo posto. Ray Davies, ancora in buoni rapporti con Avory, gli chiese di dirigere i Konk Studios. Avory accettò, e continuò a collaborare con i Kinks in qualità di produttore.
Tra il completamento di Return to Waterloo e la fuoriucita di Avory, la band aveva iniziato la lavorazione di Word of Mouth, ultimo album sotto etichetta Arista Records, pubblicato nel novembre 1984. Come risultato Avory era ancora presente in tre brani del disco, con Henrit e una drum machine sulle restanti tracce. La canzone Do it Again, venne pubblicata come singolo nell'aprile 1985, raggiungendo la posizione numero 41 in classifica negli Stati Uniti, ultima occasione nella quale un brano dei Kinks sarebbe entrato nella Billboard Hot 100.
Declino e scioglimento (1986–1996)
All'inizio del 1986, il gruppo firmò un contratto con la MCA Records negli Stati Uniti e con la London Records per il mercato europeo. Il primo album per le nuove etichette, Think Visual, riscosse un successo moderato (81º posto in USA). Nel 1989 fu la volta dell'album UK Jive, un flop commerciale (122° in USA). La MCA Records scaricò il gruppo, lasciando i Kinks senza una casa discografica per la prima volta in carriera. Ian Gibbons lasciò la band e fu rimpiazzato da Mark Haley.Nel 1990, i Kinks furono introdotti nella Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Mick Avory e Pete Quaife presenziarono anch'essi alla cerimonia, che tuttavia non servì a resuscitare la carriera della band. I Kinks firmarono per la Columbia Records e nel 1991 pubblicarono un EP con cinque canzoni intitolato Did Ya, che passò quasi del tutto inosservato.
Phobia, ultimo disco in studio dei Kinks, passò una sola settimana di permanenza nella classifica di Billboard alla posizione numero 166; sparendo presto dalla circolazione. Infine, nel 1994 anche la Columbia scaricò la band rescindendo il contratto. Nello stesso anno, il gruppo pubblicò nel Regno Unito l'album dal vivo To the Bone con la propria etichetta privata Konk. Due anni dopo la band ne pubblicò anche una versione riveduta e corretta per il mercato statunitense con l'aggiunta di due brani inediti. Dato l'ennesimo mancato riscontro, i Kinks decisero di sciogliersi.
Lascito artistico
I Kinks sono considerati uno dei gruppi rock più importanti ed influenti degli anni sessanta. Nonostante la loro fama, almeno in Italia, non sia mai stata pari a quella di loro connazionali contemporanei come Beatles, Rolling Stones, The Who, ecc. è impossibile sminuire la loro importanza nella storia della musica leggera del Novecento. Stephen Thomas Erlewine definì i Kinks "una delle band più influenti della British invasion". Artisti influenzati dai Kinks includono gruppi punk rock come Ramones, The Clash, e The Jam, band heavy metal quali Van Halen, artisti poliedrici come David Bowie, gruppi glam rock e, soprattutto, gruppi britpop come Oasis, Blur e Pulp. In particolare Pete Townshend, chitarrista degli Who, ammise di aver molto subito l'influsso della sonorità del gruppo dei fratelli Davies: "I Kinks erano... totalmente inglesi. Ho sempre pensato che Ray Davies avrebbe dovuto ricevere una laurea in lettere per la sua poesia. Lui inventò un nuovo tipo di poesia e una nuova forma di linguaggio per la scrittura pop che mi influenzò moltissimo fin dall'inizio." Il critico Jon Savage scrisse che inoltre non era possibile negare l'influenza dei Kinks di fine anni sessanta su gruppi psichedelici americani come "Doors, Love e Jefferson Airplane". Il critico rock Piero Scaruffi così descrive la band dei fratelli Davies: "Lungi dall'essere un semplice complesso di Mersey-beat, i Kinks furono una piccola istituzione della società britannica, della quale hanno in fondo continuato la secolare tradizione di auto-critica. Ray Davies, instancabile confezionatore di minuziose trascrizioni e di vignette umoristiche, fu un Balzac e un Dickens del rock, satirico e sentimentale, comico e malinconico, nostalgico ed affettuoso".Infine, il musicologo Joe Harrington ha descritto l'influenza dei Kinks sullo sviluppo di generi musicali quali hard rock e heavy metal: "You Really Got Me, All Day and All of the Night e I Need You erano tutti brani predecessori dell'intero "movimento dei tre accordi"... I Kinks contribuirono molto alla trasformazione dal "rock 'n' roll" delle origini (Jerry Lee Lewis) al "rock" (Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, The Stooges)".
Stile musicale
Inizialmente i Kinks rientravano nell'area dei gruppi beat della british invasion che suonavano brani R&B e blues, ma ben presto iniziarono a sperimentare con una tipologia di rock più pesante e sonorità hard rock diventando dei pionieri in quel campo, tanto da essere definiti in retrospettiva "i punk originali". Dave Davies si stancò presto del tradizionale stile chitarristico "pulito" dell'epoca; e si mise in cerca di un suono più potente e aggressivo, che accidentalmente trovò forando il suo amplificatore marca Elpico (soprannominato "piccolo ampli verde"): «Iniziai a sentirmi veramente frustrato dal suono del mio amplificatore, e dissi, so cosa fare! Ti buco! Presi una lametta Gillette e tagliai... [dal centro verso l'alto] l'amplificatore... quindi era tutto tagliato ma ancora funzionante, ancora intatto. Provai a suonare e il suono mi sembrò fantastico». Il particolare sound dell'amplificatore forato venne replicato in studio di registrazione: l'Elpico venne collegato ad un grosso Vox AC30, e il risultato fu un effetto potente e distorto che divenne il marchio di fabbrica dei primi Kinks, come nelle celeberrime You Really Got Me e All Day and All of the Night.Tuttavia, il gruppo abbandonò presto anche queste sonorità R&B e hard rock. Dal 1966 in poi, i Kinks si fecero conoscere per la loro aderenza e rispetto della tradizione musicale e culturale inglese, durante un periodo nel quale molti altri gruppi britannici guardavano agli Stati Uniti abbracciando stili musicali come il blues, il R&B, e il pop. Ray Davies ricorda che in un preciso momento del 1965 decise di escludersi dal mercato americano, per scrivere canzoni maggiormente introspettive ed intelligenti: «Decisi di voler utilizzare di più le parole, per dire delle cose. Scrissi A Well Respected Man. Che è la mia prima canzone nella quale il testo avesse una reale importanza... [inoltre] abbandonai del tutto ogni tentativo di americanizzare il mio accento». In seguito i Kinks espansero le proprie influenze musicali inglobando nel loro sound anche elementi di music hall, vaudeville, e folk, dando forma ad una delle più importanti ed influenti tipologie di musica del periodo.
A partire da Everybody's in Show-Biz (1972), Ray Davies iniziò ad esplorare uno stile di scrittura più teatrale; focalizzandosi sulla composizione di opere rock come gli album Preservation Act 1 & 2 (1973-74) e Schoolboys In Disgrace (1976). I Kinks riscossero pochi consensi con questi lavori concettuali, e tornarono ad una forma rock più tradizionale per la restante parte degli anni settanta. Sleepwalker (1977), che decretò il ritorno al successo commerciale per la band, è connotato da sonorità mainstream, con produzioni relativamente semplici che sarebbero diventate la norma negli anni successivi. La band tornò all'hard rock con l'album Low Budget (1979), continuando in quel genere per tutta la restante parte di carriera.
Reinterpretazioni da parte di altri artisti
- Una cover di All Day and All of the Night versione metal è stata inserita nell' album di esordio Time Tells No Lies del gruppo Praying Mantis (1981)
- Apeman è stata inserita da Fish nell'album Songs from the Mirror (1993).
- Till the End of the Day è stata incisa in italiano (col titolo Nessuno potrà ridere di lei) dai Pooh, nel loro primo album Per quelli come noi.
- Days e Death of a Clown sono state interpretate dai Nomadi nell'album I Nomadi (1968), col titolo di Un figlio dei fiori non pensa al domani e Insieme io e lei.
- A Well Respected Man è stata utilizzata nella colonna sonora del film Juno.
- You Really Got Me è stata utilizzata come colonna sonora della serie tv Romanzo Criminale 2. Il gruppo californiano dei Van Halen la incluse in versione Hard rock nel loro primo album omonimo (1978).
- Di Where Have All the Good Times Gone David Bowie realizzò una cover per l'album Pin Ups; successivamente è stata anch'essa reinterpretata dai Van Halen che l'hanno inserita in Diver Down (1982). Lo stesso Bowie registrò anche una cover del brano Waterloo Sunset durante le sessioni per l'album Reality del 2003. La sua versione fu inserita come bonus track nella versione estesa dell'album.
- Tired of Waiting for You è stata interpretata dal gruppo statunitense The Flock con una pregevole introduzione al violino di Jerry Goodman (successivamente membro della Mahavishnu Orchestra) nel loro omonimo album d'esordio ed è stata incisa dall'Equipe 84 col titolo Sei felice nel 1965. Successivamente la traccia è stata ripresa dai Green Day che la pubblicarono sull'album Shenanigans del 2002.
- A Well Respected Man è stata rifatta in italiano dapprima negli anni sessanta dai Pops col titolo di Un uomo rispettabile, successivamente da Gli Avvoltoi negli anni ottanta.
- Sunny Afternoon è stata reinterpretata da Kelly Jones degli Stereophonics.
- All Day and All of the Night e Sunny Afternoon sono presenti nella colonna sonora del film I love Radio Rock
- Everybody's Gonna Be Happy è stata oggetto di cover da parte dei Queens of the Stone Age nell'album Songs for the Deaf.
- Sunny Afternoon è stata incisa in italiano dai Nuovi Angeli nel 1966 con il titolo L'Orizzonte è azzurro anche per te.
- David Watts, è stata incisa dai Jam, il gruppo capitanato da Paul Weller, ed inclusa nel loro terzo album All Mod Cons (1978).
Early works included albums such as Face to Face (1966), Something Else (1967), The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society (1968), Arthur (1969), Lola Versus Powerman (1970), Muswell Hillbillies (1971), along with their accompanying singles. After a fallow period in the mid 1970s, the band experienced a revival during the late 1970s and early 1980s with their albums Sleepwalker (1977), Misfits (1978), Low Budget (1979), Give the People What They Want (1981) and State of Confusion (1983). In addition, groups such as Van Halen, the Jam, the Knack, the Pretenders and the Fall covered their songs, helping to boost the Kinks' record sales. In the 1990s, Britpop acts such as Blur and Oasis cited the band as a major influence.
Ray Davies (lead vocals, rhythm guitar) and Dave Davies (lead guitar, vocals) remained members throughout the band's 32-year run. Longest-serving member Mick Avory (drums and percussion) was replaced by Bob Henrit, formerly of Argent, in 1984. Original bass guitarist Pete Quaife was replaced by John Dalton in 1969, and Dalton was in turn replaced by Jim Rodford in 1978. Session keyboardist Nicky Hopkins accompanied the band in the studio for many of their recordings in the mid-to-late 1960s. In 1969 the band became an official five-piece when keyboardist John Gosling joined them, being replaced by Ian Gibbons in 1979, who remained in the band until they broke up in 1996; a result of the commercial failures of their last few albums and creative tension between the Davies brothers.
The Kinks have had five Top 10 singles on the US Billboard chart. Nine of their albums charted in the Top 40. In the UK, The Kinks have had seventeen Top 20 singles and five Top 10 albums. Four of their albums have been certified gold by the RIAA and have sold over 50 million records worldwide. Among numerous honours, they received the Ivor Novello Award for "Outstanding Service to British Music". In 1990, the original four members of The Kinks were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as well as the UK Music Hall of Fame in November 2005.
History
Formation (1962–1964)
The Davies brothers were born in suburban North London on Huntingdon Road, East Finchley, the youngest, and only boys, among their family's eight children. Their parents, Frederick and Annie Davies, moved the family to 6 Denmark Terrace, Fortis Green, in the neighbouring suburb of Muswell Hill. At home they were immersed in a world of varied musical styles, from the music hall of their parents' generation to the jazz and early rock and roll that their older sisters enjoyed. Both Ray and his brother Dave, younger by almost three years, learned to play guitar, and they played skiffle and rock and roll together.The brothers attended William Grimshaw Secondary Modern School (later merged with Tollington Grammar School to become Fortismere School), where they formed a band, the Ray Davies Quartet, with Ray's friend and classmate Pete Quaife and Quaife's friend John Start. Their debut at a school dance was well received, which encouraged the group to play at local pubs and bars. The band went through a series of lead vocalists, including Rod Stewart, another student at William Grimshaw, who performed with the group at least once in early 1962. He then formed his own group, Rod Stewart and the Moonrakers, which became a local rival to the Ray Davies Quartet.
In late 1962, Ray Davies left home to study at Hornsey College of Art. He pursued interests in subjects such as film, sketching, theatre and music, including jazz and blues. When Blues Incorporated played at the college in December, he asked advice from Alexis Korner, who recommended Giorgio Gomelsky, the former Yardbirds manager, who put Davies in touch with the Soho-based Dave Hunt Band, a professional group of musicians who played jazz and R&B. A few days after the Ray Davies Quartet supported Cyril Stapleton at the Lyceum Ballroom on New Years Eve, Davies, while still remaining in the Quartet, joined the Dave Hunt Band which briefly included Charlie Watts on drums. In February 1963, Davies left Dave Hunt to join the Hamilton King Band (also known as the Blues Messengers), which had Peter Bardens as pianist. At the end of the spring term he left Hornsey College with a view to study film at the Central School of Art and Design, around this time the Quartet changed their name to the Ramrods. In June, the Hamilton King Band broke up, though the Ramrods kept going, performing under several other names, including the Pete Quaife Band, and the Bo-Weevils, before (temporarily) settling on the Ravens. The fledgling group hired two managers, Grenville Collins and Robert Wace, and in late 1963 former pop singer Larry Page became their third manager. American record producer Shel Talmy began working with the band, and the Beatles' promoter, Arthur Howes, was retained to schedule the Ravens' live shows. The group unsuccessfully auditioned for various record labels until early 1964, when Talmy secured them a contract with Pye Records. During this period they had acquired a new drummer, Mickey Willet; however, Willet left the band shortly before they signed to Pye. The Ravens invited Mick Avory to replace him after seeing an advertisement Avory had placed in Melody Maker. Avory had a background in jazz drumming and had played one gig with the fledgling Rolling Stones.
Around this period, the Ravens decided on a new, permanent name: the Kinks. Numerous explanations of the name's genesis have been offered. In Jon Savage's analysis, they "needed a gimmick, some edge to get them attention. Here it was: 'Kinkiness'—something newsy, naughty but just on the borderline of acceptability. In adopting the 'Kinks' as their name at that time, they were participating in a time-honoured pop ritual—fame through outrage." Manager Robert Wace related his side of the story: "I had a friend... He thought the group was rather fun. If my memory is correct, he came up with the name just as an idea, as a good way of getting publicity... When we went to [the band members] with the name, they were... absolutely horrified. They said, 'We're not going to be called kinky!'" Ray Davies' account conflicts with Wace's—he recalled that the name was coined by Larry Page, and referenced their "kinky" fashion sense. Davies quoted him as saying, "The way you look, and the clothes you wear, you ought to be called the Kinks." "I've never really liked the name", Ray stated.
"You Really Got Me" and American touring ban (1964–1965)
The band's first single was a cover of the Little Richard song "Long Tall Sally". Bobby Graham, a friend of the band, was recruited to play drums on the recording. He would continue to occasionally substitute for Avory in the studio and play on several of the Kinks' early singles, including the early hits "You Really Got Me", "All Day and All of the Night" and "Tired of Waiting for You". "Long Tall Sally" was released in February 1964, but despite the publicity efforts of the band's managers, the single was almost completely ignored. When their second single, "You Still Want Me", failed to chart, Pye Records threatened to annul the group's contract unless their third single was successful."You Really Got Me", a Ray Davies song, influenced by American blues and the Kingsmen's version of "Louie Louie", was recorded on 15 June 1964 at Pye studios with a slower and more produced feel than the final single. Ray Davies wanted to rerecord the song with a lean, raw sound, but Pye refused to fund another session; Davies took an adamant stand, so the producer, Shel Talmy, broke the stalemate by underwriting the session himself. The band used an independent studio, IBC, and went in on 15 July, getting it done in two takes. The single was released on August 1964, and, supported by a performance on the television show Ready Steady Go! and extensive pirate radio coverage, it entered the UK charts on 15 August, reaching number one on 19 September. Hastily imported by the American label Reprise Records, it also made the Top 10 in the United States. The loud, distorted guitar riff and solo on "You Really Got Me" was played by Dave Davies and achieved by a slice Dave Davies made in the speaker cone of his Elpico amplifier (referred to by the band as the "little green amp")— helped with the song's signature, gritty guitar sound. "You Really Got Me" has been described as "a blueprint song in the hard rock and heavy metal arsenal", and as an influence on the approach of some American garage rock bands. After its release, the group recorded most of the tracks for their debut LP, simply titled Kinks. Consisting largely of covers and revamped traditional songs, it was released on 2 October 1964, reaching number four on the UK chart. The group's fourth single, "All Day and All of the Night", another Ray Davies hard rock tune, was released three weeks later, reaching number two in the United Kingdom, and number seven in the United States. The next singles, "Set Me Free" and "Tired of Waiting for You", were also commercially successful, the latter topping the UK singles chart.
The group opened 1965 with their first tour of Australia and New Zealand, with Manfred Mann and the Honeycombs. An intensive performing schedule saw them headline other package tours throughout the year with acts such as the Yardbirds and Mickey Finn. Tensions began to emerge within the band, expressed in incidents such as the on-stage fight between Avory and Dave Davies at The Capitol Theatre, Cardiff, Wales, on 19 May. After finishing the first song, "You Really Got Me", Davies insulted Avory and kicked over his drum set. Avory responded by hitting Davies with his hi-hat stand, rendering him unconscious, before fleeing from the scene, fearing that he had killed his bandmate. Davies was taken to Cardiff Royal Infirmary, where he received 16 stitches to his head. To placate the police, Avory later claimed that it was part of a new act in which the band members would hurl their instruments at each other.
Following a mid-year tour of the United States, the American Federation of Musicians refused permits for the group to appear in concerts there for the next four years, effectively cutting off the Kinks from the main market for rock music at the height of the British Invasion. Although neither the Kinks nor the union gave a specific reason for the ban, at the time it was widely attributed to their rowdy on-stage behaviour. It has been reported that an incident when the band were taping Dick Clark's TV show Where The Action Is in 1965 led to the ban. Ray Davies recalls in his autobiography, "Some guy who said he worked for the TV company walked up and accused us of being late. Then he started making anti-British comments. Things like 'Just because the Beatles did it, every mop-topped, spotty-faced limey juvenile thinks he can come over here and make a career for himself,'" following which a punch was thrown and the AFM banned them.
A stopover in Bombay, India, during the band's Australian and Asian tour had led Davies to write the song "See My Friends", released as a single in July 1965. This was an early example of crossover music, and one of the first pop songs of the period to display the direct influence of traditional music from the Indian Subcontinent. Davies had written "See My Friends" with a raga feel after hearing the early morning chants of local fishermen. Music historian Jonathan Bellman argues that the song was "extremely influential" on Davies' musical peers: "And while much has been made of the Beatles' 'Norwegian Wood' because it was the first pop record to use a sitar, it was recorded well after the Kinks' clearly Indian 'See My Friends' was released." Pete Townshend of the Who was particularly affected by the song: "'See My Friends' was the next time I pricked up my ears and thought, 'God, he's done it again. He's invented something new.' It was a European sound rather than an Eastern sound but with a strong, legitimate Eastern influence which had its roots in European folk music." In a widely quoted statement by Barry Fantoni, 1960s celebrity and friend of the Kinks, the Beatles and the Who, he recalled that it was also an influence on The Beatles: "I remember it vividly and still think it's a remarkable pop song. I was with the Beatles the evening that they actually sat around listening to it on a gramophone, saying 'You know this guitar thing sounds like a sitar. We must get one of those.'" The song's radical departure from popular music conventions proved unpopular with the band's American following—it hit number 11 in the UK, but stalled at number 111 in the US.
"There were only a few bands that had this sorta really
rough-sounding, what we used to call 'R&B' style in the Sixties.
There were the Yardbirds, there was us, there was the Pretty Things, as well."
The Golden Age (1965–1972)
A significant stylistic shift in the Kinks' music became evident in late 1965, with the appearance of singles like "A Well Respected Man" and "Dedicated Follower of Fashion", as well as the band's third album, The Kink Kontroversy, on which session musician Nicky Hopkins made his first appearance with the group on keyboards. These recordings exemplified the development of Davies' songwriting style, from hard-driving rock numbers toward songs rich in social commentary, observation and idiosyncratic character study, all with a uniquely English flavour.The satirical single "Sunny Afternoon" was the biggest UK hit of summer 1966, topping the charts and displacing the Beatles' "Paperback Writer". Before the release of The Kink Kontroversy, Ray Davies suffered a nervous and physical breakdown, caused by the pressures of touring, writing and ongoing legal squabbles. During his months of recuperation, he wrote several new songs and pondered the band's direction. Quaife was involved in an automobile accident, and after his recovery decided to step back from the band for much of 1966. Bassist John Dalton filled in until Quaife returned to the group at the end of the year.
"Sunny Afternoon" was a dry run for the band's next album Face to Face, which displayed Davies' growing ability to craft gentle yet cutting narrative songs about everyday life and people. Hopkins returned for the sessions to play various keyboard instruments, including piano and harpsichord. He played on the band's next two studio albums as well, and was involved on a number of their live BBC recordings before joining the Jeff Beck Group in 1968. Face to Face was released in October 1966 in the UK, where it was well received and peaked at number eight. It was released in the US in December and was tipped as a potential "chart winner" by Billboard magazine. Despite this, it managed only a meagre chart peak of 135—a sign of the band's flagging popularity in the American market.
The Kinks' next single was a social commentary piece entitled "Dead End Street". It was released in November 1966 and became another UK Top 10 hit, although it reached only number 73 in the United States. Melody Maker reviewer Bob Dawbarn praised Ray Davies' ability to create a song with "some fabulous lyrics and a marvellous melody ... combined with a great production", and music scholar Johnny Rogan described it as "a kitchen sink drama without the drama—a static vision of working class stoicism". One of the group's first promotional music videos was produced for the song. It was filmed on Little Green Street, a small 18th-century lane in north London, located off Highgate Road in Kentish Town.
The Kinks' next single, "Waterloo Sunset", was released in May 1967. The lyrics describe two lovers passing over a bridge, with a melancholic observer reflecting on the couple, the Thames and Waterloo station. The song was rumoured to have been inspired by the romance between two British celebrities of the time, actors Terence Stamp and Julie Christie. Ray Davies denied this in his autobiography, and claimed in a 2008 interview, "It was a fantasy about my sister going off with her boyfriend to a new world and they were going to emigrate and go to another country." Despite its complex arrangement, the sessions for "Waterloo Sunset" lasted a mere ten hours; Dave Davies later commented on the recording: "We spent a lot of time trying to get a different guitar sound, to get a more unique feel for the record. In the end we used a tape-delay echo, but it sounded new because nobody had done it since the 1950s. I remember Steve Marriott of the Small Faces came up and asked me how we'd got that sound. We were almost trendy for a while." The single was one of the Kinks' biggest UK successes (hitting number two on Melody Maker's chart), and went on to become one of their most popular and best-known songs. Pop music journalist Robert Christgau called it "the most beautiful song in the English language", and AllMusic senior editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine cited it as "possibly the most beautiful song of the rock and roll era".
The songs on the 1967 album, Something Else By The Kinks, developed the musical progressions of Face to Face, adding English music hall influences to the band's sound. Dave Davies scored a major UK chart success with the album's "Death of a Clown". While it was co-written by Ray Davies and recorded by the Kinks, it was also released as a Dave Davies solo single. Overall, however, the album's commercial performance was disappointing, prompting the Kinks to rush out a new single, "Autumn Almanac", in early October. Backed with "Mister Pleasant", the single became another Top 5 success for the group. Andy Miller points out that, despite its success, the single marks a turning point in the band's career—it would be their last entry into the UK Top Ten for three years: "In retrospect, 'Autumn Almanac' marked the first hint of trouble for the Kinks. This glorious single, one of the greatest achievements of British 60s pop, was widely criticised at the time for being too similar to previous Davies efforts." Nick Jones of Melody Maker asked, "Is it time that Ray stopped writing about grey suburbanites going about their fairly unemotional daily business? ... Ray works to a formula, not a feeling, and it's becoming rather boring." Disc jockey Mike Ahern called the song "a load of old rubbish". Dave's second solo single, "Susannah's Still Alive", was released in the UK on 24 November. It sold a modest 59,000 copies, but failed to reach the Top 10. Miller states that "by the end of the year, the Kinks were rapidly sliding out of fashion".
"Everyone was panicking because 'Wonderboy' wasn't sounding like a
hit record. Among the management and the agent, Danny Detesh, there was
definitely a sense that the band wouldn't go on for much longer. ...
Danny came backstage when the record flopped and said, 'Well, you've had
a good run. You've enjoyed it.' As if it was all over for us."
Village Green eventually morphed into their next album, The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society, released in late 1968 in the UK. A collection of thematic vignettes of English town and hamlet life, it was assembled from songs written and recorded over the previous two years. It was greeted with almost unanimously positive reviews from both UK and US rock critics, yet failed to sell strongly. One factor in the album's initial commercial failure was the lack of a popular single. It did not include the moderately successful "Days"; "Starstruck" was released in North America and continental Europe, but was unsuccessful. Though a commercial disappointment, Village Green (the project's original name was adopted as shorthand for the long album title) was embraced by the new underground rock press when it came out in January 1969 in the United States, where the Kinks began to acquire a reputation as a cult band. In The Village Voice, a newly hired Robert Christgau called it "the best album of the year so far". The underground Boston paper Fusion published a review stating, "the Kinks continue, despite the odds, the bad press and their demonstrated lot, to come across. ... Their persistence is dignified, their virtues are stoic. The Kinks are forever, only for now in modern dress." The record did not escape criticism, however. In the student paper California Tech, one writer commented that it was "schmaltz rock ... without imagination, poorly arranged and a poor copy of The Beatles". Although it sold only an estimated 100,000 copies worldwide on its initial release, it has since become the Kinks' best-selling original record. The album remains popular; in 2004, it was re-released in a 3-CD "Deluxe" edition and one of its tracks, "Picture Book", was featured in a popular Hewlett-Packard television commercial, helping to boost the album's popularity considerably.
In early 1969, Quaife told the band he was leaving. The other members did not take his statement seriously, until an article appeared in New Musical Express on 4 April featuring Quaife's new band, Maple Oak, which he had formed without telling the rest of the Kinks. Ray Davies pleaded with him to return for the sessions for their upcoming album, but Quaife refused. Davies immediately called up John Dalton, who had filled in for Quaife in the past, as a replacement. Dalton remained with the group until 1977, when the album Sleepwalker was released.
Ray Davies travelled to Los Angeles in April 1969 to help negotiate an end to the American Federation of Musicians' ban on the group, opening up an opportunity for them to return to touring in the US. The group's management quickly made plans for a North American tour, to help restore their standing in the US pop music scene. Before their return to the US, the Kinks recorded another album, Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire). As with the previous two albums, Arthur was grounded in characteristically English lyrical and musical hooks. A modest commercial success, it was well received by American music critics. Conceived as the score for a proposed but unrealised television drama, much of the album revolved around themes from the Davies brothers' childhood; their sister Rosie, who had migrated to Australia in the early 1960s with her husband, Arthur Anning, the album's namesake; and life growing up during the Second World War. The Kinks embarked on their tour of the US in October 1969. The tour was generally unsuccessful, as the group struggled to find cooperative promoters and interested audiences; many of the scheduled concert dates were cancelled. The band did, however, manage to play a few major venues such as the Fillmore East and Whisky a Go Go.
The band added keyboardist John Gosling to their line-up in early 1970; before this Nicky Hopkins, along with Ray, had done most of the session work on keyboards. In May 1970 Gosling debuted with the Kinks on "Lola", an account of a confused romantic encounter with a transvestite, that became both a UK and US Top 10 hit, helping return the Kinks to the public eye. The lyrics originally contained the word "Coca-Cola", and as a result the BBC refused to broadcast the song, considering it to be in violation of their policy against product placement. Part of the song was hastily rerecorded by Ray Davies, with the offending line changed to the generic "cherry cola", although in concert the Kinks still used "Coca-Cola". Recordings of both versions of "Lola" exist. The accompanying album Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One was released in November 1970. It was a critical and commercial success, charting in the Top 40 in the US, making it their most successful album since the mid 1960s. After the success of "Lola", the band went on to release Percy in 1971, a soundtrack album to a film of the same name about a penis transplant. The album, which consisted largely of instrumentals, did not receive positive reviews. The band's US label, Reprise, declined to release it in the US, precipitating a major dispute that contributed to the band's departure from the label. Directly after the release of the album, the band's contracts with Pye and Reprise expired.
Before the end of 1971, the Kinks signed a five-album deal with RCA Records and received a million-dollar advance, which helped fund the construction of their own recording studio, Konk. Their debut for RCA, Muswell Hillbillies, was replete with the influence of music hall and traditional American musical styles, including country and bluegrass. It is often hailed as their last great record, though it was not as successful as its predecessors. It was named after Muswell Hill, where the Davies brothers were brought up, and contained songs focusing on working-class life and, again, the Davies' childhood. Muswell Hillbillies, despite positive reviews and high expectations, peaked at number 48 on the Record World chart and number 100 on the Billboard chart. It was followed in 1972 by a double album, Everybody's in Show-Biz, which consisted of both studio tracks and live numbers recorded during a two-night stand at Carnegie Hall. The record featured the ballad "Celluloid Heroes" and the Caribbean-themed "Supersonic Rocket Ship", their last UK Top 20 hit for more than a decade. "Celluloid Heroes" is a bittersweet rumination on dead and fading Hollywood stars (Mickey Rooney was still alive), in which the narrator declares that he wishes his life were like a movie "because celluloid heroes never feel any pain... and celluloid heroes never really die." The album was moderately successful in the United States, peaking at number 47 in Record World and number 70 in Billboard. It marks the transition between the band's early 1970s rock material and the theatrical incarnation in which they immersed themselves for the next four years.
Theatrical incarnation (1973–1976)
In 1973, Ray Davies dived headlong into the theatrical style, beginning with the rock opera Preservation, a sprawling chronicle of social revolution, and a more ambitious outgrowth of the earlier Village Green Preservation Society ethos. In conjunction with the Preservation project, the Kinks' line-up was expanded to include a horn section and female backup singers, essentially reconfiguring the group as a theatrical troupe.Ray Davies' marital problems during this period began to affect the band adversely, particularly after his wife, Rasa, took their children and left him in June 1973. Davies became depressed; during a July gig at White City Stadium he told the audience he was "fucking sick of the whole thing", and was retiring. He subsequently collapsed after a drug overdose and was taken to hospital. With Ray Davies in a seemingly critical condition, plans were discussed for Dave to continue as frontman in a worst-case scenario. Ray recovered from his illness as well as his depression, but throughout the remainder of the Kinks' theatrical incarnation the band's output remained uneven, and their already fading popularity declined even more. John Dalton later commented that when Davies "decided to work again ... I don't think he was totally better, and he's been a different person ever since."
Preservation Act 1 (1973) and Preservation Act 2 (1974) received generally poor reviews. The story on the albums involved an anti-hero called Mr Flash, and his rival and enemy Mr Black (played by Dave Davies during live shows), an ultra-purist and corporatist. Preservation Act 2 was the first album recorded at Konk Studio; from this point forward, virtually every Kinks studio recording was produced by Ray Davies at Konk. The band embarked on an ambitious US tour throughout late 1974, adapting the Preservation story for stage. Musicologist Eric Weisbard: "[Ray] Davies expanded the Kinks into a road troupe of perhaps a dozen costumed actors, singers and horn players. ... Smoother and tighter than on record, Preservation live proved funnier as well."
Davies began another project for Granada Television, a musical called Starmaker. After a broadcast with Ray Davies in the starring role and the Kinks as both back-up band and ancillary characters, the project eventually morphed into the concept album The Kinks Present a Soap Opera, released in May 1975, in which Ray Davies fantasised about what would happen if a rock star traded places with a "normal Norman" and took a 9–5 job. In August 1975, the Kinks recorded their final theatrical work, Schoolboys in Disgrace, a backstory biography of Preservation's Mr Flash. The record was a modest success, peaking at number 45 on the Billboard charts. Following the termination of their contract with RCA, the Kinks signed with Arista Records in 1976. The song "Father Christmas" has remained a popular track. Driven by session drummer Henry Spinetti's drumming and Dave Davies' heavy guitar the song "Father Christmas" has become a classic seasonal favorite on mainstream radio. With the encouragement of Arista's management they stripped back down to a five-man core group and were reborn as an arena rock band.
Return to commercial success (1976–1986)
John Dalton left the band before finishing the sessions for the debut Arista album. Andy Pyle was brought in to complete the sessions and to play on the subsequent tour. Sleepwalker, released in 1977, marked a return to success for the group as it peaked at number 21 on the Billboard chart. After its release and the recording of the follow-up, Misfits, Andy Pyle and keyboardist John Gosling left the group to work together on a separate project. Dalton returned to complete the tour and ex–Pretty Things keyboardist Gordon John Edwards joined the band. In May 1978, Misfits, the Kinks' second Arista album, was released. It included the US Top 40 hit "A Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy", which helped make the record another success for the band. Dalton left the band permanently at the end of their UK tour, and Gordon John Edwards followed. Ex-Argent bassist Jim Rodford joined the band before the recording of Low Budget, on which Ray Davies played the keyboard sections. Keyboardist Ian Gibbons was recruited for the subsequent tour, and became a permanent member of the group. Despite the personnel changes, the popularity of the band's records and live shows continued to grow.Beginning in the late 1970s, bands such as the Jam ("David Watts"), the Pretenders ("Stop Your Sobbing", "I Go to Sleep") and the Knack ("The Hard Way") recorded covers of Kinks songs, which helped bring attention to the group's new releases. In 1978, Van Halen covered "You Really Got Me" for their debut single, a Top 40 US hit, helping boost the band's commercial resurgence (the band later covered "Where Have All the Good Times Gone", another early Kinks song). The hard rock sound of Low Budget, released in 1979, helped make it the Kinks' second gold album and highest charting original album in the US, where it peaked at number 11. In 1980, the group's third live album, One for the Road, was produced, along with a video of the same title, bringing the group's concert-drawing power to a peak that would last into 1983. Dave Davies also took advantage of the group's improved commercial standing to fulfill his decade-long ambitions to release albums of his solo work. The first was the eponymous Dave Davies in 1980. It was also known by its catalogue number "AFL1-3603" because of its cover art, which depicted Dave Davies as a leather-jacketed piece of price-scanning barcode. He produced another, less successful, solo album in 1981, Glamour.
The next Kinks album, Give the People What They Want, was released in late 1981 and reached number 15 in the US. The record attained gold status and featured the UK hit single "Better Things" as well as "Destroyer", a major Mainstream Rock hit for the group. To promote the album, the Kinks spent the end of 1981 and most of 1982 touring relentlessly, and played multiple sell-out concerts throughout Australia, Japan, England and the US. The tour culminated with a performance at the US Festival in San Bernardino, California, for a crowd of 205,000. In spring 1983, the song "Come Dancing" became their biggest American hit since "Tired of Waiting for You", peaking at number six. It also became the group's first Top 20 hit in the UK since 1972, peaking at number 12 in the charts. The accompanying album, State of Confusion, was another commercial success, reaching number 12 in the US, but, like all of the group's albums since 1967, it failed to chart in the UK. Another single released from the record, "Don't Forget to Dance", became a US top 30 hit and minor UK chart entry.
The Kinks' second wave of popularity remained at a peak with State of Confusion, but that success began to fade, a trend that also affected their British rock contemporaries the Rolling Stones and the Who. During the second half of 1983, Ray Davies started work on an ambitious solo film project, Return to Waterloo, about a London commuter who daydreams that he is a serial murderer. The film gave actor Tim Roth a significant early role. Davies' commitment to writing, directing and scoring the new work caused tension in his relationship with his brother. Another problem was the stormy end of the relationship between Ray Davies and Chrissie Hynde. The old feud between Dave Davies and drummer Mick Avory also re-ignited. Davies eventually refused to work with Avory, and called for him to be replaced by Bob Henrit, former drummer of Argent (of which Jim Rodford had also been a member). Avory left the band, and Henrit was brought in to take his place. Ray Davies, who was still on amiable terms with Avory, invited him to manage Konk Studios. Avory accepted, and continued to serve as a producer and occasional contributor on later Kinks albums.
Between the completion of Return to Waterloo and Avory's departure, the band had begun work on Word of Mouth, their final Arista album, released in November 1984. As a result it includes Avory on three tracks, with Henrit and a drum machine on the rest. Many of the songs also appeared as solo recordings on Ray Davies' Return to Waterloo soundtrack album. Word of Mouth's lead track, "Do It Again", was released as a single in April 1985. It reached number 41 in the US, the band's last entry into the Billboard Hot 100. Coinciding with the album's release, the first three books on the Kinks were published: The Kinks: The Official Biography, by Jon Savage; The Kinks Kronikles, by rock critic John Mendelsohn, who had overseen the 1972 The Kink Kronikles compilation album; and The Kinks—The Sound And The Fury (The Kinks—A Mental Institution in the US), by Johnny Rogan.
Decline in popularity and split (1986–1996)
In early 1986, the group signed with MCA Records in the United States and London Records in the UK. Their first album for the new labels, Think Visual, released later that year, was a moderate success, peaking at number 81 on the Billboard albums chart. Songs like the ballad "Lost and Found" and "Working at the Factory" concerned blue-collar life on an assembly line, while the title track was an attack on the very MTV video culture from which the band had profited earlier in the decade. The Kinks followed Think Visual in 1987 with another live album, The Road, which was a mediocre commercial and critical performer. In 1989, the Kinks released UK Jive, a commercial failure, making only a momentary entry into the album charts at number 122. MCA Records ultimately dropped them, leaving the Kinks without a label deal for the first time in over a quarter of a century. Longtime keyboardist Ian Gibbons left the group and was replaced by Mark Haley.In 1990, their first year of eligibility, the Kinks were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Mick Avory and Pete Quaife were present for the award. The induction, however, did not revive the Kinks' stalled career. A compilation from the MCA Records period, Lost & Found (1986-1989), was released in 1991 to fulfil contractual obligations, and marked the official end of the group's relationship with MCA. The band then signed with Columbia Records and released the five-song EP Did Ya in 1991 which, despite being coupled with a new studio re-recording of the band's 1968 British hit "Days", failed to chart.
The Kinks reverted to a four-piece band for the recording of their first Columbia album, Phobia, in 1993. Following Mark Haley's departure after the band's sellout performance at the Royal Albert Hall, London, Gibbons rejoined the Kinks for a US tour. Phobia managed only one week in the US Billboard chart at number 166; as had by then become usual for the band, it made no impression in the UK. One single, "Only a Dream", narrowly failed to reach the British chart. "Scattered", the album's final candidate for release as a single, was announced, followed by TV and radio promotion, but the record was unavailable in stores—several months later a small number appeared on the collector market. The group was dropped by Columbia in 1994. In the same year, the band released the first version of the album To the Bone on their own Konk label in the UK. This live acoustic album was partly recorded on the highly successful UK tours of 1993 and 1994 and partly in the Konk studio, before a small, invited audience. Two years later the band released a new, improved, live double CD set in the USA, which retained the same name and contained two new studio tracks, "Animal" and "To The Bone". The CD set also featured new treatments of many old Kinks hits. The record drew respectable press but failed to chart in either the US or the UK.
The band's profile rose considerably in the mid-1990s, primarily as a result of the "Britpop" boom. Several of the most prominent bands of the decade cited the Kinks as a major influence. Blur frontman Damon Albarn and Oasis chief songwriter Noel Gallagher both described the Kinks as having a major impact on their songwriting as well as their overall development as musical artists. Gallagher declared the Kinks the fifth best band of all time. Despite such accolades, the group's commercial viability continued to decline. They gradually became less active, leading Ray and Dave Davies to pursue their own interests. Each released an autobiography; Ray's X-Ray was published in early 1995, and Dave responded with his memoir Kink, published a year later. The Kinks gave their last public performance in mid-1996, and the group assembled for what would turn out to be their last time together at a party for Dave's 50th birthday. Kinks chronicler and historian Doug Hinman stated, "The symbolism of the event was impossible to overlook. The party was held at the site of the brothers' very first musical endeavour, the Clissold Arms pub, across the street from their childhood home on Fortis Green in North London."
Solo work and reunion (1996–present)
The band members subsequently focused on solo projects, and Ray and Dave released their own studio albums. Talk of a Kinks reunion circulated (including an aborted studio reunion of the original band members in 1999), but neither Ray nor Dave Davies showed much interest in playing together again. Meanwhile, former members John Gosling, John Dalton and Mick Avory had regrouped in 1994 and started performing on the oldies circuit along with guitar-player/singer Dave Clarke as the Kast Off Kinks. Gosling and Dalton retired in 2008 and were replaced in the band by former Kinks members Jim Rodford and Ian Gibbons. Ray Davies, Pete Quaife and Bob Henrit have occasionally made guest appearances with the group at Kinks fan club conventions.Ray Davies released the solo album Storyteller, a companion piece to X-Ray, in 1998. Originally written two years earlier as a cabaret-style show, it celebrated his old band and his estranged brother. Seeing the programming possibilities in his music/dialogue/reminiscence format, the American music television network VH1 launched a series of similar projects featuring established rock artists titled VH1 Storytellers. Dave Davies spoke favourably of a Kinks reunion in early 2003, and as the 40th anniversary of the group's breakthrough neared, both of the Davies brothers expressed interest in working together again. However, hopes for a reunion were dashed when in June 2004 Dave suffered a stroke while exiting an elevator, temporarily impairing his ability to speak and play guitar. Following Dave's recovery, the Kinks were inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame in November 2005, with all four of the original band members in attendance. The award was presented by The Who's guitarist and songwriter Pete Townshend, a longtime Kinks fan and friend of Ray Davies. The induction helped fuel sales for the group; in August 2007, a re-entry of The Ultimate Collection, a compilation of material spanning the band's career, reached number 32 on the UK Top 100 album chart and number one on the UK Indie album chart.
In December 2007, Record Collector published an interview with Ray Davies in which he said, "I spoke to Quaife about a month ago and he dearly wants to make another record with me. I think Dave's getting better and Mick's still playing. It would be great to get back together just to see what musical ideas we had, and what would happen." The Daily Mail subsequently interpreted his comments as a declaration that a reunion of the band's original line-up was imminent. Dave Davies swiftly rejected the idea of a reunion. He told a reporter that "it would be like a bad remake of Night of the Living Dead" and added, "Ray has been doing Karaoke Kinks shows since 1996."
In a September 2008 interview with BBC Radio 4, Ray Davies said of a possible reunion, "There is a desire to do it", but that he wouldn't participate if it were a nostalgia act: "The thing that would make me decide 'yes' or 'no' would be whether or not we could do new songs". He added that the main barrier to the band getting back together was his brother's condition following his stroke. Two months later, he told the BBC that the band was beginning to write new material for a possible reunion, but failed to detail which members were involved. In an interview aired that December on the Biography Channel, Quaife rejected any possibility that he would take part in a reunion. That same month, Ray Davies spoke again about the possibility of performing with his brother: "I suggested he do some low-key shows to see how well he can play. If we're going to play together again, we can't hit the road straight away with a big-time announcement. ... But, if Dave feels good about it and there's good new material that we can write, it'll happen."
In June 2009, Ray Davies told The Independent that while a full-fledged reunion was unlikely, "I will continue to play with ex-band members like Mick Avory from time to time. With Dave, a lot of it is psychological. I'll guide him in, and coerce and nurture him, and when the time is right I suppose I'll even shout at him again." When asked about a possible reunion in an interview that year, Avory stated, "A reunion would not be possible with the originals, for a start due to ill health. But it would be possible with the Kast Off Kinks plus Ray. In any event Ray would record new material. We have some old tracks from the 80s as well." In March 2010, Avory reported that the band were planning on releasing an album of unreleased and new material. He stated that they had "eight tracks" ready for the album, but that the Davies brothers had to settle their differences before the project could progress. It remains unclear who has been involved in the recordings besides Avory and Ray Davies.
Quaife, who had been receiving kidney dialysis for more than ten years, died on 23 June 2010, aged 66. Two days after the bassist's death, Dave Davies posted a statement on his message board expressing deep sorrow over the passing of his former band mate and stating that Quaife "was never really given the credit he deserved for his contribution and involvement [sic] [with The Kinks]". Ray Davies dedicated his performance of 27 June at the Glastonbury Festival to Quaife and performed several Quaife-era Kinks songs in tribute to him. Davies told the crowd, "I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for him."
In separate interviews early in 2011 both Davies brothers spoke positively about a potential reunion. Dave Davies explained, "There's nothing in the pipeline yet, but ... we'll see. It's possible." Each has said that any reunion would be dependent on the other. According to Ray Davies, the brothers were to meet in April to discuss future plans. In October that year, Dave Davies quashed rumours of a reunion, stating in an interview that although he loves his brother, "I just can't stand to be with him. About an hour with Ray's my limit, so it would be a very short reunion." In November of that year Ray Davies reported that he had recently recorded with Avory "just to sort of try to do what we call demos ... we might do it in fits and starts and bring Dave in at a later date. I'll never say never with my brother, because he's totally unpredictable." In a 2013 Skype interview Dave Davies expressed interest in doing reunions shows. On 18 December 2015, Ray Davies joined Dave Davies onstage at the Islington Assembly Hall in London to perform "You Really Got Me". On 5 November 2016, Dave Davies posted on Twitter: "Me and Ray have not spoken about Kinks shows at all – although were [sic] trying to work together on other stuff and have worked on music together".
Live performances
The first live performance of the Ray Davies Quartet, the band that would become the Kinks, was at a dance for their school, William Grimshaw, in 1962. The band performed under several names between 1962 and 1963—the Pete Quaife Band, the Bo-Weevils, the Ramrods, and the Ravens—before settling on the Kinks in early 1964.The Kinks made their first tour of Australia and New Zealand in January 1965 as part of a "package" bill that included Manfred Mann and the Honeycombs. They performed and toured relentlessly, headlining package tours throughout 1965 with performers such as the Yardbirds and Mickey Finn. Tensions began to emerge within the band, expressed in incidents such as the on-stage fight between drummer Mick Avory and Dave Davies at The Capitol Theatre, Cardiff, Wales on 19 May. After finishing the first song, "You Really Got Me", Davies insulted Avory and kicked over his drum set. Avory responded by hitting Davies with his hi-hat stand, rendering him unconscious, before fleeing from the scene, fearing that he had killed his bandmate. Davies was taken to Cardiff Royal Infirmary, where he received 16 stitches to his head. To placate police, Avory later claimed that it was part of a new act in which the band members would hurl their instruments at each other. Following their summer 1965 American tour, the American Federation of Musicians refused permits for the group to appear in concerts in the United States for the next four years, possibly due to their rowdy on-stage behaviour.
In April 1969 Davies helped negotiate an end to the American Federation of Musician ban on the group, which allowed plans for a North American tour. Davies went into a state of depression, culminating in his onstage announcement that he was "sick of it all" at a gig in White City Stadium. A review of the concert published in Melody Maker stated: "Davies swore on stage. He stood at The White City and swore that he was 'F...... [sic] sick of the whole thing' ... He was 'Sick up to here with it' ... and those that heard shook their heads. Mick just ventured a disbelieving smile, and drummer [sic] on through 'Waterloo Sunset.'" Davies proceeded to try to announce that the Kinks were breaking up, but this attempt was foiled by the group's publicity management, who pulled the plug on the microphone system.
Musical style
The Kinks started out playing the then popular R&B and blues styles; then, under the influence of The Kingsmen's "Louie Louie" recording, developed louder rock and hard rock sounds — due to their pioneering contribution to the field, they have often been labelled as "the original punks". Dave Davies was "really bored with this guitar sound – or lack of an interesting sound" so he purchased "a little green amplifier ... an Elpico" from a radio spares shop in Muswell Hill, and "twiddled around with it", including "taking the wires going to the speaker and putting a jack plug on there and plugging it straight into my AC30" (a larger amplifier), but didn't get the sound he wanted until he got frustrated and "got a single-sided Gillette razorblade and cut round the cone [from the centre to the edge] ... so it was all shredded but still on there, still intact. I played and I thought it was amazing." The jagged sound of the amplifier was replicated in the studio; the Elpico was plugged into the Vox AC30, and the resulting effect became a mainstay in The Kinks' early recordings—most notably on "You Really Got Me" and "All Day and All of the Night".From 1966 onwards, The Kinks came to be known for their adherence to traditions of English music and culture, during a period when many other British bands dismissed their heritage in favour of American blues, R&B and pop styles. Ray Davies recalled that at a distinct moment in 1965 he decided to break away from the American scene, and write more introspective and intelligent songs. "I decided I was going to use words more, and say things. I wrote 'Well Respected Man'. That was the first real word-oriented song I wrote. ... [I also] abandoned any attempt to Americanise my accent." The Kinks' allegiance to English styles was strengthened by the ban placed on them by the American Federation of Musicians. The ban cut them off from the American record buying public, the world's largest musical market, forcing them to focus on Britain and mainland Europe. The Kinks expanded on their English sound throughout the remainder of the 1960s, incorporating elements of music hall, folk, and baroque music through use of harpsichord, acoustic guitar, mellotron, and horns, and creating some of the most influential and important music of the period.
Beginning with Everybody's In Show-biz (1972), Ray Davies began exploring theatrical concepts on the group's albums; these themes became manifest on the 1973 album Preservation Act 1 and continued through Schoolboys In Disgrace (1976). The Kinks found little success with these conceptual works, and reverted to a traditional rock format throughout the remainder of the 1970s. Sleepwalker (1977), which heralded their return to commercial success, featured a mainstream, relatively slick production style that would become their norm. The band returned to hard rock for Low Budget (1979), and continued to record within the genre throughout the remainder of their career.
Legacy
The Kinks are regarded as one of the most important and influential rock acts of the 1960s and early 1970s. Stephen Thomas Erlewine called The Kinks "one of the most influential bands of the British Invasion". They were ranked 65th on Rolling Stone Magazine's "100 Greatest Artists of All Time" list.Artists influenced by The Kinks include punk rock groups such as the Ramones, The Clash, and The Jam, heavy metal acts including Van Halen and Britpop groups such as Oasis, Blur and Pulp. Craig Nicholls, singer and guitarist of The Vines, described the Kinks as "great songwriters, so underrated". Pete Townshend, guitarist with the Kinks' contemporaries the Who, credited Ray Davies with inventing "a new kind of poetry and a new kind of language for pop writing that influenced me from the very, very, very beginning." Jon Savage wrote that The Kinks were an influence on late 1960s American psychedelic rock groups "like The Doors, Love and Jefferson Airplane". Music writers and other musicians have acknowledged the influence of the Kinks on the development of hard rock and heavy metal. Musicologist Joe Harrington stated: "'You Really Got Me', 'All Day and All of the Night' and 'I Need You' were predecessors of the whole three-chord genre... [T]he Kinks did a lot to help turn rock 'n' roll (Jerry Lee Lewis) into rock (Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, The Stooges)." Queen guitarist Brian May credited the band with planting "the seed which grew into riff-based music."A musical, Sunny Afternoon, based on the early life of Ray Davies and the formation of the Kinks, opened at the Hampstead Theatre in April 2014. The musical's name came from the band's 1966 hit single "Sunny Afternoon" and features songs from the band's back catalogue.
In 2015, it was reported that Julien Temple would direct a biopic of The Kinks titled You Really Got Me, with singer-songwriter Johnny Flynn and actor George MacKay cast to play Ray and Dave Davies, respectively.
Members
- Ray Davies – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards (1964–1996)
- Dave Davies – lead guitar, backing & lead vocals (1964–1996)
- Pete Quaife – bass guitar, backing vocals (1964–1969; died 2010)
- Mick Avory – drums (1964–1984)
- Bob Henrit – drums (1984–1996)
- John Dalton – bass guitar, backing vocals (1969–1976, 1978)
- Andy Pyle – bass guitar, backing vocals (1976–1978)
- Jim Rodford – bass guitar, backing vocals (1978–1996; died 2018)
- John Gosling – keyboards (1970–1978)
- Gordon John Edwards – keyboards (1978; died 2002)
- Ian Gibbons – keyboards (1979–1989, 1993–1996)
- Mark Haley – keyboards (1989–1993)
Discography
The Kinks were active for 32 years from 1964 to 1996, releasing 28 regular albums in the UK (24 studio, four live), and 30 in the USA (24 studio, four live, two compilation). The early 1960s US albums were slightly different from the British albums partly due to the method that publishing royalties were calculated in the two countries, partly due to difference in popularity of the extended play format (popular in the UK but not in the US, so US albums had the EP releases bundled onto them), and partly due to the US albums including the hit singles, and the UK albums not; after The Kink Kontroversy in 1965 the albums were the same. There have been somewhere between 100 and 200 compilation albums released worldwide. Their hit singles include three UK number-one singles, starting in 1964 with "You Really Got Me"; plus 18 Top 40 singles in the 1960s alone and further Top 40 hits in the 1970s and 1980s.- Studio albums
- Kinks (1964)
- Kinda Kinks (1965)
- The Kink Kontroversy (1965)
- Face to Face (1966)
- Something Else by The Kinks (1967)
- The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society (1968)
- Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) (1969)
- Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One (1970)
- Percy (soundtrack) (1971)
- Muswell Hillbillies (1971)
- Everybody's in Show-Biz (studio & live) (1972)
- Preservation Act 1 (1973)
- Preservation Act 2 (1974)
- Soap Opera (1975)
- Schoolboys in Disgrace (1975)
- Sleepwalker (1977)
- Misfits (1978)
- Low Budget (1979)
- Give the People What They Want (1981)
- State of Confusion (1983)
- Word of Mouth (1984)
- Think Visual (1986)
- UK Jive (1989)
- Phobia (1993)
- Live albums
- Live at Kelvin Hall (1967)
- One for the Road (1980)
- Live: The Road (1988)
- To the Bone (1994)
- UK/US Top ten singles
- "You Really Got Me" (1964) UK & US
- "All Day and All of the Night" (1964) UK & US
- "Tired of Waiting for You" (1965) UK & US
- "Set Me Free" (1965) UK
- "See My Friends" (1965) UK
- "Till the End of the Day" (1965) UK
- "Dedicated Follower of Fashion" (1966) UK
- "Sunny Afternoon" (1966) UK
- "Dead End Street" (1966) UK
- "Waterloo Sunset" (1967) UK
- "Autumn Almanac" (1967) UK
- "Lola" (1970) UK & US
- "Apeman" (1970) UK
- "Come Dancing" (1982) US
Charts, sales certifications and recognition
The Kinks had five Top 10 singles on the US Billboard chart. Nine of their albums charted in the Top 40. In the UK, the group had seventeen Top 20 singles along with five Top 10 albums. The RIAA has certified four of the Kinks' albums as gold records. Greatest Hits!, released in 1965, was certified gold for sales of $1,000,000 on 28 November 1968—six days after the release of The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society, which failed to chart worldwide. The group would not receive another gold record award until 1979's Low Budget. The 1980 live album One For The Road was certified gold on 8 December 1980. Give The People What They Want, released in 1981, received its certification on 25 January 1982, for sales of 500,000 copies. ASCAP, the performing-rights group, presented the Kinks with an award for "One of the Most Played Songs Of 1983" for the hit single "Come Dancing".The group received the Ivor Novello Award for "Outstanding Service to British Music", and in 1990 the original four members of the Kinks were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The Kinks were inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame in November 2005.
The Kinks - You Really Got Me (Official Audio) - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTTsY-oz6Go
Lyrics
Girl, you really got me goin'
You got me so I don't know what I'm doin' now
Yeah, you really got me now
You got me so I can't sleep at night
You got me so I don't know what I'm doin' now
Yeah, you really got me now
You got me so I can't sleep at night
Yeah, you really got me now
You got me so I don't know what I'm doin' now
Oh yeah, you really got me now
You got me so I can't sleep at night
You got me so I don't know what I'm doin' now
Oh yeah, you really got me now
You got me so I can't sleep at night
You really got me
You really got me
You really got me
You really got me
You really got me
See, don't ever set me free
I always want to be by your side
Girl, you really got me now
You got me so I can't sleep at night
I always want to be by your side
Girl, you really got me now
You got me so I can't sleep at night
Yeah, you really got me now
You got me so I don't know what I'm doin' now
Oh yeah, you really got me now
You got me so I can't sleep at night
You got me so I don't know what I'm doin' now
Oh yeah, you really got me now
You got me so I can't sleep at night
You really got me
You really got me
You really got me
Oh no
You really got me
You really got me
Oh no
See, don't ever set me free
I always want to be by your side
Girl, you really got me now
You got me so I can't sleep at night
I always want to be by your side
Girl, you really got me now
You got me so I can't sleep at night
Yeah, you really got me now
You got me so I don't know what I'm doin' now
Oh yeah, you really got me now
You got me so I can't sleep at night
You got me so I don't know what I'm doin' now
Oh yeah, you really got me now
You got me so I can't sleep at night
You really got me
You really got me
You really got me
You really got me
You really got me
Songwriters: Ray Davies
You Really Got Me lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc
Lyrics
I'm not content to be with you in the daytime
Girl I want to be with you all of the time
The only time I feel alright is by your side
Girl I want to be with you all of the time
All day and all of the night
All day and all of the night
All day and all of the night
Girl I want to be with you all of the time
The only time I feel alright is by your side
Girl I want to be with you all of the time
All day and all of the night
All day and all of the night
All day and all of the night
I believe that you and me last forever
Oh yeah, all day and nighttime yours, leave me never
The only time I feel alright is by your side
Girl I want to be with you all of the time
All day and all of the night
All day and all of the night
Oh, come on
Oh yeah, all day and nighttime yours, leave me never
The only time I feel alright is by your side
Girl I want to be with you all of the time
All day and all of the night
All day and all of the night
Oh, come on
I believe that you and me last forever
Oh yeah, all day and nighttime yours, leave me never
The only time I feel alright is by your side
Girl I want to be with you all of the time
All day and all of the night
All day and all of the night-time
All day and all of the night
Oh yeah, all day and nighttime yours, leave me never
The only time I feel alright is by your side
Girl I want to be with you all of the time
All day and all of the night
All day and all of the night-time
All day and all of the night
Songwriters: Raymond Douglas Davies
All Day and All of the Night lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
The Kinks - A Well Respected Man | HQ - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyPSjcx2KZM
Jun 25, 2012 - Uploaded by bArda26
Cause he gets up in the morning, And he goes to work at nine, And he comes back home at five-thirty, Gets ...
THE KINKS - SUNNY AFTERNOON (Live Version 1967) - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pR_WXBJieIU
Oct 20, 2013 - Uploaded by MARIO HECTOR PELAEZ
The Kinks - Sunny Afternoon - Autor: Ray Davies - Album :"Live At Kelvin Hall" Grabado el 1 de abril de ...
Lyrics
The tax man's taken all my dough
And left me in my stately home
Lazing on a sunny afternoon
And I can't sail my yacht
He's taken everything I got
All I've got's this sunny afternoon
And left me in my stately home
Lazing on a sunny afternoon
And I can't sail my yacht
He's taken everything I got
All I've got's this sunny afternoon
Save me, save me, save me from this squeeze
I gotta big fat mama trying to break me
And I love to live so pleasantly
Live this life of luxury
Lazing on a sunny afternoon
In the summertime
In the summertime
In the summertime
I gotta big fat mama trying to break me
And I love to live so pleasantly
Live this life of luxury
Lazing on a sunny afternoon
In the summertime
In the summertime
In the summertime
My girlfriend's run off with my car
And gone back to her ma and pa
Telling tails of drunkenness and cruelty
Now I'm sitting here
Sipping at my ice cold beer
Lazing on a sunny afternoon
And gone back to her ma and pa
Telling tails of drunkenness and cruelty
Now I'm sitting here
Sipping at my ice cold beer
Lazing on a sunny afternoon
Help me, help me, help me sail away
Well give me two good reasons why I oughta stay
'Cause I love to live so pleasantly
Live this life of luxury
Lazing on a sunny afternoon
In the summertime
In the summertime
In the summertime
Well give me two good reasons why I oughta stay
'Cause I love to live so pleasantly
Live this life of luxury
Lazing on a sunny afternoon
In the summertime
In the summertime
In the summertime
Ah, save me, save me, save me from this squeeze
I gotta big fat mama trying to break me
And I love to live so pleasantly
Live this life of luxury
Lazing on a sunny afternoon
In the summertime
In the summertime
In the summertime
In the summertime
In the summertime
I gotta big fat mama trying to break me
And I love to live so pleasantly
Live this life of luxury
Lazing on a sunny afternoon
In the summertime
In the summertime
In the summertime
In the summertime
In the summertime
Songwriters: Ray Davies
Sunny Afternoon lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc
The Kinks - Lola (Official Audio) - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LemG0cvc4oU
Jul 25, 2014 - Uploaded by The Kinks
Official audio for Lola by The Kinks, released on Sanctuary Records. Subscribe to the official The Kinks ...THE KINKS LOLA LIVE 1970 - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7HTqoxks_4
Sep 10, 2012 - Uploaded by Antonio Carlos Zafra
The Kinks foi uma banda de rock britânica formada em Muswell Hill, Londres, pelos irmãos Ray e Dave ...
Lyrics
I met her in a club down in North Soho
Where you drink champagne and it tastes just like cherry cola
C-O-L-A cola
Where you drink champagne and it tastes just like cherry cola
C-O-L-A cola
She walked up to me and she asked me to dance
I asked her name and in a dark brown voice she said, "Lola"
L-O-L-A Lola, lo lo lo lo Lola
I asked her name and in a dark brown voice she said, "Lola"
L-O-L-A Lola, lo lo lo lo Lola
Well, I'm not the world's most physical guy
But when she squeezed me tight she nearly broke my spine
Oh my Lola, lo lo lo lo Lola
But when she squeezed me tight she nearly broke my spine
Oh my Lola, lo lo lo lo Lola
Well, I'm not dumb but I can't understand
Why she walk like a woman and talk like a man
Oh my Lola, lo lo lo lo Lola, lo lo lo lo Lola
Why she walk like a woman and talk like a man
Oh my Lola, lo lo lo lo Lola, lo lo lo lo Lola
Well, we drank champagne and danced all night
Under electric candlelight
She picked me up and sat me on her knee
And said, "Little boy won't you come home with me?"
Under electric candlelight
She picked me up and sat me on her knee
And said, "Little boy won't you come home with me?"
Well, I'm not the world's most passionate guy
But when I looked in her eyes
Well, I almost fell for my Lola
Lo lo lo lo Lola, lo lo lo lo Lola
But when I looked in her eyes
Well, I almost fell for my Lola
Lo lo lo lo Lola, lo lo lo lo Lola
Lola lo lo lo lo Lola lo lo lo lo Lola
I pushed her away, I walked to the door
I fell to the floor, I got down on my knees
I looked at her, and she at me
I fell to the floor, I got down on my knees
I looked at her, and she at me
Well that's the way that I want it to stay
And I always want it to be that way for my Lola
Lo lo lo lo Lola
And I always want it to be that way for my Lola
Lo lo lo lo Lola
Girls will be boys, and boys will be girls
It's a mixed-up, muddled-up, shook-up world
Except for Lola, lo lo lo lo Lola
It's a mixed-up, muddled-up, shook-up world
Except for Lola, lo lo lo lo Lola
Well I left home just a week before
And I've never ever kissed a woman before
But Lola smiled and took me by the hand
And said, "Little boy, gonna make you a man"
And I've never ever kissed a woman before
But Lola smiled and took me by the hand
And said, "Little boy, gonna make you a man"
Well I'm not the world's most masculine man
But I know what I am and I'm glad I'm a man
And so is Lola
Lo lo lo lo Lola, lo lo lo lo Lola
But I know what I am and I'm glad I'm a man
And so is Lola
Lo lo lo lo Lola, lo lo lo lo Lola
Lola, lo lo lo lo Lola, lo lo lo lo Lola
Lola, lo lo lo lo Lola, lo lo lo lo Lola
Lola, lo lo lo lo Lola, lo lo lo lo Lola
Lola, lo lo lo lo Lola, lo lo lo lo Lola
Lola, lo lo lo lo Lola, lo lo lo lo Lola
Lola, lo lo lo lo Lola, lo lo lo lo Lola...
Lola, lo lo lo lo Lola, lo lo lo lo Lola
Lola, lo lo lo lo Lola, lo lo lo lo Lola
Lola, lo lo lo lo Lola, lo lo lo lo Lola
Lola, lo lo lo lo Lola, lo lo lo lo Lola
Lola, lo lo lo lo Lola, lo lo lo lo Lola...
Songwriters: Ray Davies
Lola lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc
the kinks - death of a clown - stereo edit - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qMEW3PcPo4
Jul 4, 2013 - Uploaded by ruudtes0
Dave Davies' solo single of 1967 (at the start the video's missing part is filled with text) beautiful song ...
Lyrics
My makeup is dry and it cracks round my chin
I'm drowning my sorrows in whiskey and gin
The lion-tamer's whip doesn't crack anymore
The lions they won't fight and the tigers won't roar
I'm drowning my sorrows in whiskey and gin
The lion-tamer's whip doesn't crack anymore
The lions they won't fight and the tigers won't roar
La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la
So let's all drink to the death of a clown
Won't someone help me to break up this crown?
Let's all drink to the death of a clown
La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la
Let's all drink to the death of a clown
So let's all drink to the death of a clown
Won't someone help me to break up this crown?
Let's all drink to the death of a clown
La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la
Let's all drink to the death of a clown
The old fortune teller lies dead on the floor
Nobody needs fortunes told anymore
The trainer of insects is crouched on his knees
And frantically looking for runaway fleas
Nobody needs fortunes told anymore
The trainer of insects is crouched on his knees
And frantically looking for runaway fleas
La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la
Let's all drink to the death of a clown
So won't someone help me to break up this crown?
Let's all drink to the death of a clown
La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la
Let's all drink to the death of a clown
La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la...
Let's all drink to the death of a clown
So won't someone help me to break up this crown?
Let's all drink to the death of a clown
La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la
Let's all drink to the death of a clown
La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la...
Songwriters: Dave Davies / Raymond Douglas Davies
Death of a Clown lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc
The Kinks - Waterloo Sunset (Official Audio) - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_MqfF0WBsU
Waterloo Sunset ~ The Kinks ~ Live 1973 - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cyh__QQD2js
Oct 3, 2009 - Uploaded by WoogieTheCat
Waterloo Sunset ~ The Kinks ~ Live 1973. WoogieTheCat. Loading... Unsubscribe from WoogieTheCat ...
Lyrics
Dirty old river, must you keep rolling, rolling into the night
People so busy, make me feel dizzy, taxi light shines so bright
But I don't, need no friends
As long as I gaze on Waterloo Sunset, I am in paradise
Every day I look at the world from my window
Chilly chilly is the evening time, Waterloo sunset's fine
People so busy, make me feel dizzy, taxi light shines so bright
But I don't, need no friends
As long as I gaze on Waterloo Sunset, I am in paradise
Every day I look at the world from my window
Chilly chilly is the evening time, Waterloo sunset's fine
Terry meets Julie, Waterloo Station, every Friday night
But I am so lazy, don't want to wander, I stay at home at night
But I don't, feel afraid
As long as I gaze on Waterloo Sunset, I am in paradise
Every day I look at the world from my window
Chilly chilly is the evening time, Waterloo sunset's fine
But I am so lazy, don't want to wander, I stay at home at night
But I don't, feel afraid
As long as I gaze on Waterloo Sunset, I am in paradise
Every day I look at the world from my window
Chilly chilly is the evening time, Waterloo sunset's fine
Millions of people swarming like flies 'round Waterloo underground
Terry and Julie cross over the river where they feel safe and sound
And they don't, need no friends
As long as they gaze on Waterloo Sunset, they are in paradise
Terry and Julie cross over the river where they feel safe and sound
And they don't, need no friends
As long as they gaze on Waterloo Sunset, they are in paradise
Songwriters: Raymond Douglas Davies
Waterloo Sunset lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc
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