“I… believe… that you and me last forever
Oh yea, 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” – The Kinks

The British Invasion gave us many of our most beloved pop culture icons.  From the Beatles to the Who, the Rolling Stones and The Moody Blues, many of our vinyl, CD and MP3 collections are filled with the music that would define a generation.  One band, however, languished in relative obscurity: The Kinks.  Sure, we love and remember such hits as “Lola” and “You Really Got Me,” but for the most part, they never found the success at the time that so many others found.  Today, we love them for their longevity, their quirk, and their fine songwriting capabilities.  They were often far ahead of their time, and as some have said, they did the right things at the wrong time, and did the wrong things at the right.  Luckily, for history’s sake, they would become one of the most covered and revered bands of the era.

The Kinks came together in 1963 under the name ‘The Ravens.’  One of history’s greatest songsmiths, Ray Davies, joined his brother Dave, along with two others, and started playing the English club and ballroom circuit.  After recording a demo, the group landed an American recording contract with Pye Records.  Just before they released their first single, their name changed to The Kinks.  Their first single, a remake of the Little Richard tune, “Long Tall Sally” lost luster as the Beatles had just released their version of the same song to great success, causing the music world to overlook their work.  With a little help from an appearance on the UK television hit, Ready Steady Go!, their third single went big-time; “You Really Got Me” broke onto the charts at #1 in the UK, and #10 in the States.   It came with a hard rock edge, and would prove to be a tremendous influence on later rock and metal acts, as would the Kinks’ fourth single, “All Day and All of the Night.”  Though it would only rise to #2 in their homeland, “All Day and All of the Night” went to #7 in the US, giving them the attention they needed to truly break through. 

Later songs, like “Tired of Waiting for You,” would show a more complex side to the hard rockin’ band.  Their musical ability to bring in new elements, like folk and English music-hall styles, as well as their keen English wit brought in fans that would stay with them through the end.  It was also a signal for the shift away from the beat-pop sound that had dominated the airwaves for so long.  As all this new attention came to the band, their relentless touring began to take its toll.  Fights began breaking out on-stage, with one notorious incident between their drummer Mick Avory and Dave Davies being perhaps the most significant.  Blowing it all off as though it was a part of the act wasn’t enough for the American Federation of Musicians, who would place a four-year concert ban on the Kinks, cutting them off from the biggest part of the Invasion. 

They would continue touring around the world, recording and releasing albums, though more ‘underground’ than many of their British colleagues.  In May of 1967, their song “Waterloo Sunset” as well as its LP, Something Else By The Kinks, struck an emotional chord with audiences, demonstrating the changes taking place within the Kinks’ sound.   With this move toward the conceptual, the Kinks soon started putting out albums that would later be considered classics, most notably 1968’s The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society, which at the time was considered unfashionable.

Following Village Green, the Kinks put out minor hits, though nothing would compare to 1970’s “Lola” off the album Lola and Powerman Versus the Moneygoround.  This gender-bending tune would go on to become one of their greatest and most memorable hits, performed regularly in karaoke bars around the world.  After that hit, as the Kinks often did, they turned back to the drawing board and brought out the theatrics for their subsequent albums.  Muswell Hillbillies was a musical exploration of everyday English working-class life, while Everybody’s In Showbiz was an exploration of a rock star’s life.  Everybody’s In Showbiz went on to become a fan favorite, particularly the single “Celluloid Heroes” a touching tribute to the stars of the past. 

Their follow-up albums skewered various aspects of the entertainment industry and life in general.  In support of these albums, their tours became increasingly theatrical, right down to having props and wearing costumes.  As the lavish 70s wound down to the end, so did their on-stage antics.  The Kinks returned to a more straight-forward rock-n-roll face with their hit single “Rock and Roll Fantasy.”  The resurgence of the Kinks wasn’t just their own doing. As new acts like The Jam, The Pretenders, Van Halen and others started releasing Kinks covers, their star continued to rise, giving a new generation a chance to find out for themselves what the band was all about. 

1980 got off to a great start for the band with One For the Road, a double-live album that fit right in with the increasingly popular arena rock audience.  Their studio-recorded follow-up, Give the People What They Want also found its way into the Top 15 in album sales.  Their paranoia-tinged single, “Destroyer,” became an easy radio hit, setting up the success of State of Confusion, which included the single “Come Dancing,” written about his sister and her love of dance halls.  For Ray Davies, the early part of the 80s was highlighted by his romance with Pretenders’ lead, Chrissie Hynde, resulting in a daughter for both.  Ray must’ve been at a creative peak, making a directorial debut with 1984’s Return to Waterloo. 

Not only were the Kinks’ finding themselves covered by other bands, they influenced a great number of other acts, including U2 and The Smiths, as well as more recent acts like Blur and Oasis.  For their contributions to the world of music, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990, along with such greats as The Who, Simon and Garfunkel, The Four Seasons, The Four Tops and others.  With their timeless blend of personality, strong melodies and rock-n-roll energy, it’s no wonder they have become a cult phenomenon.  After all, the Kinks were pretty phenomenal.