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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 mostinfluential bands of the British Invasion. Like most bands of their era, the Kinks began as an R&B/blues outfit. Within
four years, the bandhad become the most staunchly English of all their contemporaries, drawing heavily from British music hall
and traditional pop, as well asincorporating elements of country, folk, and blues.Throughout their long, varied career, the core of
the Kinks remained Ray (born June 21, 1944) and Dave Davies (born February 3, ...read more
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 mostinfluential bands of the British Invasion. Like most bands of their era, the Kinks began as an R&B/blues outfit. Within
four years, the bandhad become the most staunchly English of all their contemporaries, drawing heavily from British music hall
and traditional pop, as well asincorporating elements of country, folk, and blues.Throughout their long, varied career, the core of
the Kinks remained Ray (born June 21, 1944) and Dave Davies (born 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 brothersrecruited a schoolmate of Ray's,
Peter Quaife, to play with them; like the Davies brothers, Quaife played guitar, but he switched to bass. Bythe summer of 1963,
the group had decided to call itself the Ravens and had recruited a new drummer, Mickey Willet. Eventually, their demotape
reached Shel Talmy, an American record producer who was under contract to Pye Records. Talmy helped the band land a contract
withPye 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, thegroup 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-
chordriff and a frenzied solo from Dave Davies. Not only was the final version the blueprint for the Kinks' early sound, but scores
of groups usedthe heavy, power chords as a foundation. "You Really Got Me" reached number one within a month of its release;
released on Reprise in theU.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 allthe 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 Americangovernment for unspecified reasons. For four years, the
Kinks were prohibited from returning to the U.S., which not only meant that the groupwas 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 influencessuch 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 biggesthit 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 numbertwo 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 theKinks' musical growth, their chart performance was beginning to stagnate. Following the lackluster
performance of Something Else, the Kinksrushed 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 theband'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. Inearly 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 theybegan the tour, the Kinks released Arthur (or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire). Like its two
predecessors, Arthur containeddistinctly British lyrical and musical themes, but it was a modest success. As they were recording
the follow-up to Arthur, the Kinksexpanded their lineup to include keyboardist John Gosling. The first appearance of Gosling on a
Kinks record was "Lola." Featuring a harderrock 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 VersusPowerman 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 theband 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, theKinks had secured a five-album deal with RCA Records, which brought them a million dollar advance. Released in late
1971, MuswellHillbillies, the group's first album for RCA, marked a return to the nostalgia of the Kinks' late-'60s albums, only
with more pronouncedcountry and music hall influences. The album failed to be the commercial blockbuster RCA had hoped for.
A few months after the release ofMuswell Hillbillies, Reprise released a double-album compilation called The Kink Kronikles,
which outsold their RCA debut. Everybody's inShowbiz (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 late1973, it was harshly criticized and given a cold reception from the public. Act 2 appeared in the summer of
1974; the sequel received worsetreatment than its predecessor. Davies began another musical, Starmaker, for the BBC; the
project eventually metamorphosed into SoapOpera, which was released in the spring of 1975. Despite poor reviews, Soap Opera
was a more commercially successful record than itspredecessor. In 1976, the Kinks recorded Davies' third straight rock opera,
Schoolboys in Disgrace, which rocked harder than any albumthey 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. BassistJohn Dalton left the group near the completion of their debut Arista album; he was replaced by Andy Pyle.
Sleepwalker, the Kinks' first albumfor 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 bythe returning Dalton. Misfits, the band's second Arista album, was also a
U.S. success. After a British tour, Dalton left the band again, alongwith keyboardist John Gosling; bassist Jim Rodford and
keyboardist Gordon Edwards filled the vacancies. Soon, the band was playing arenasin the United States. Even though punk
rockers like the Jam and the Pretenders were covering Kinks songs in the late '70s, the group wasbecoming more blatantly
commercial with each release, culminating in the heavy rock of Low Budget (1979), which became the group'sbiggest American
success, peaking at number 11. the Kinks' next album, Give the People What They Want, appeared in late 1981; therecord
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'sbiggest American hit since "Tired of Waiting for You," thanks to the video's repeated exposure on MTV; in the U.S., the
song peaked atnumber 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 causedconsiderable tension between himself and his brother. Instead of breaking up, the Kinks merely
reshuffled their lineup, but there was a majorcasualty: Mick Avory, the band's drummer for 20 years, was fired and replaced by
Bob Henrit. As Ray finished post-production duties onReturn 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 Kinksrecords, but it was a commercial disappointment and
began a period of decline for the band; they never released another record that crackedthe 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 hitsingles from the record. The following year, the Kinks released another live album, appropriately titled The
Road, which spent a brief time onthe charts. Two years later, the Kinks released their last studio record for MCA, UK Jive. During
1989, keyboardist Ian Gibbons left theband. the Kinks were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1990, but the induction
did not help revive their career. In 1991, acompilation of their MCA records, Lost & Found (1986-1989), appeared, signalling that
their contract with the label had expired. Later inthe 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.; theband 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 ofthe most popular British bands of the decade, including Blur and Oasis. Ray Davies was soon on popular television
shows again, acting asthese 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. « hide |
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