FORMED:
1963, London, England
Although
they weren't as boldly innovative as the Beatles or as popular as the
Rolling Stones or the Who, the Kinks were one of the most influential
bands of the British Invasion. Like most bands of their era, the Kinks
began as an R&B/blues outfit. Within four years, the band had become the
most staunchly English of all their contemporaries, drawing heavily from
British music hall and traditional pop, as well as incorporating
elements of country, folk, and blues.
Throughout their long, varied career, the core of the Kinks
remained Ray (b. June 21, 1944) and Dave Davies (b. February 3, 1947),
who were born and raised in Muswell Hill, London. In their teens, the
brothers began playing skiffle and rock & roll. Soon, the brothers
recruited a schoolmate of Ray's, Peter Quaife, to play with them; like
the Davies brothers, Quaife played guitar, but he switched to bass. By
the summer of 1963, the group had decided to call itself the Ravens and
had recruited a new drummer, Mickey Willet. Eventually, their demo tape
reached Shel Talmy, an American record producer who was under contract
to Pye Records. Talmy helped the band land a contract with Pye in 1964.
Before signing to the label, the Ravens replaced drummer Willet with
Mick Avory.
The Ravens recorded their debut single, a cover of Little
Richard's "Long Tall Sally," in January 1964. Before the single was
released, the group changed their name to the Kinks. "Long Tall Sally"
was released in February of 1964 and it failed to chart, as did their
second single, "You Still Want Me." The band's third single, "You Really
Got Me," was much noisier and dynamic, featuring a savage, fuzz-toned
two-chord riff and a frenzied solo from Dave Davies. Not only was the
final version the blueprint for the Kinks' early sound, but scores of
groups used the heavy, power chords as a foundation. "You Really Got Me"
reached number one within a month of its release; released on Reprise in
the U.S., the single climbed into the Top Ten. "All Day and All of the
Night," the group's fourth single, was released late in 1964 and it rose
all the way to number two; in America, it hit number seven. During this
time, the band also produced two full-length albums and several EPs.
Not only was the group recording at a breakneck pace, they were
touring relentlessly, as well, which caused much tension within the
band. At the conclusion of their summer 1965 American tour, the Kinks
were banned from re-entering the United States by the American
government for unspecified reasons. For four years, the Kinks were
prohibited from returning to the U.S., which not only meant that the
group was deprived of the world's largest music market, but that they
were effectively cut off from the musical and social upheavals of the
late '60s. Consequently, Ray Davies' songwriting grew more introspective
and nostalgic, relying more on overtly English musical influences such
as music hall, country and English folk, than the rest of his British
contemporaries. The Kinks' next album, The Kinks
Kontroversy, demonstrated the progression in Davies'
songwriting. "Sunny Afternoon" was one of Davies' wry social satires and
the song was the biggest hit of the summer of 1966 in the U.K., reaching
number one. "Sunny Afternoon" was a teaser for the band's great leap
forward, Face to Face, a record that
featured a vast array of musical styles. In May of 1967, they returned
with "Waterloo Sunset," a ballad that reached number two in the U.K. in
the spring of 1967. Released in the fall of 1967,
Something Else continued the progressions of
Face to Face. Despite the Kinks' musical growth, their
chart performance was beginning to stagnate. Following the lackluster
performance of Something Else, the Kinks
rushed out a new single, "Autumn Almanac," which became another big U.K.
hit for the band. Released in the spring of 1968, the Kinks' "Wonderboy"
was the band's first single not to crack the Top Ten since "You Really
Got Me." They recovered somewhat with "Days," but the band's commercial
decline was evident by the lack of success of The Village
Green Preservation Society.
Released in the fall of 1968, Village Green
Preservation Society was the culmination of Ray Davies'
increasingly nostalgic tendencies. While the album was unsuccessful, it
was well-received by critics, particularly in the U.S.
Peter Quaife soon grew tired of the band's lack of success, and
he left the band by the end of the year, being replaced by John Dalton.
In early 1969, the American ban upon the Kinks was lifted, leaving the
band free to tour the U.S. for the first time in four years. Before they
began the tour, the Kinks released Arthur (or the Decline
and Fall of the British Empire). Like its two
predecessors, Arthur contained distinctly
British lyrical and musical themes, but it was a modest success. As they
were recording the follow-up to Arthur, the
Kinks expanded their lineup to include keyboardist John Gosling. The
first appearance of Gosling on a Kinks record was "Lola." Featuring a
harder rock foundation than their last few singles, "Lola" was a Top Ten
hit in both the U.K. and the U.S. Released in the fall of 1970,
Lola Versus Powerman and the Money-go-round, Part One
was their most successful record since the mid-'60s in both the U.S. and
U.K., helping the band become concert favorites in the U.S.

The band's contract with Pye/Reprise expired in early 1971,
leaving the Kinks free to pursue a new record contract. By the end of
1971, the Kinks had secured a five-album deal with RCA Records, which
brought them a million dollar advance. Released in late 1971,
Muswell Hillbillies, the group's first album for
RCA, marked a return to the nostalgia of the Kinks' late-'60s albums,
only with more pronounced country and music hall influences. The album
failed to be the commercial blockbuster RCA had hoped for. A few months
after the release of Muswell Hillbillies,
Reprise released a double-album compilation callled The
Kink Kronikles, which outsold their RCA debut.
Everybody's in Showbiz (1973), a double record set
consisting of one album of studio tracks and another of live material,
was a disappointment in the U.K., although the album was more successful
in the U.S.
In 1973, Ray Davies composed a full-blown rock opera called
Preservation. When the first installment of the
opera finally appeared in late 1973, it was harshly criticized and given
a cold reception from the public. Act 2
appeared in the summer of 1974; the sequel received worse treatment than
its predecessor. Davies began another musical, Starmaker,
for the BBC; the project eventually metamorphosed into
Soap Opera, which was released in the spring of 1975.
Despite poor reviews, Soap Opera was a more
commercially successful record than its predecessor. In 1976, the Kinks
recorded Davies' third straight rock opera, Schoolboys in
Disgrace, which rocked harder than any album they released
on RCA.
During 1976, the Kinks left RCA and signed with Arista Records.
On Arista, the band refashioned themselves as a hard rock band. Bassist
John Dalton left the group near the completion of their debut Arista
album; he was replaced by Andy Pyle. Sleepwalker,
the Kinks' first album for Arista, became a major hit in the U.S. As the
band was completing the follow-up to Sleepwalker,
Pyle left the group and was replaced by the returning Dalton.
Misfits, the band's second Arista album, was also a
U.S. success. After a British tour, Dalton left the band again, along
with keyboardist John Gosling; bassist Jim Rodford and keyboardist
Gordon Edwards filled the vacancies. Soon, the band was playing arenas
in the United States. Even though punk rockers like the Jam and the
Pretenders were covering Kinks songs in the late '70s, the group was
becoming more blatantly commercial with each release, culminating in the
heavy rock of Low Budget (1979), which
became the group's biggest American success, peaking at number 11. The
Kinks' next album, Give the People What They Want,
appeared in late 1981; the record peaked at number 15 and went gold. For
most of 1982, the band was on tour. In spring of 1983, "Come Dancing"
became the group's biggest American hit since "Tired of Waiting for
You," thanks to the video's repeated exposure on MTV; in the U.S., the
song peaked at number six, in the U.K. it climbed to number 12.
State of Confusion followed the release of "Come
Dancing," and it was another success, peaking at number 12 in the U.S.
For the remainder of 1983, Ray Davies worked on a film project,
Return to Waterloo, which caused considerable
tension between himself and his brother. Instead of breaking up, the
Kinks merely reshuffled their lineup, but there was a major casualty --
Mick Avory, the band's drummer for 20 years, was fired and replaced by
Bob Henrit. As Ray finished post-production duties on
Return to Waterloo, he wrote the next Kinks album,
Word of Mouth. Released in late 1984, the album
was similar in tone to the last few Kinks records, but it was a
commercial disappointment and began a period of decline for the band --
they never released another record that cracked the Top 40.
Word of Mouth was the last album they would
record for Arista Records. In early 1986, the band signed with MCA
Records in the U.S., London in the U.K. Think Visual,
their first album for their new label, was released in late 1986. It was
a mild success but there were no hit singles from the record. The
following year, the Kinks released another live album, appropriately
titled The Road, which spent a brief time on
the charts. Two years later, the Kinks released their last studio record
for MCA, UK Jive. During 1989, keyboardist
Ian Gibbons left the band. The Kinks were inducted into the Rock & Roll
Hall of Fame in 1990, but the induction did not help revive their
career. In 1991, a compilation of their MCA records, Lost
& Found (1986-1989), appeared, signalling that their
contract with the label had expired. Later in the year, the band signed
with Columbia Records and released an EP called Did Ya,
which didn't chart. The Kinks' first album for Columbia,
Phobia, arrived in 1993 to fair reviews but poor sales. By
this time, only Ray and Dave Davies remained from the original lineup.
In 1994, the band was dropped from Columbia Records, leaving the group
to release the live To the Bone on an
independent label in the U.K.; the band was left without a record label
in the U.S.
Despite a lack of commercial success, the band's public profile
began to rise in 1995, as the group was hailed as an influence on
several of the most popular British bands of the decade, including Blur
and Oasis. Ray Davies was soon on popular television shows again, acting
as these band's godfather and promoting his autobiography,
X-Ray, which was published in early 1995 in the U.K.
Dave Davies' autobiography, Kink, was
published in the spring of 1996. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music
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