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Dave Davies

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Dave Davies is an English guitarist, singer and songwriter, born in 1947 in Muswell Hill in north London. He was the youngest of eight children. The house was full of every kind of music, from his parents' music hall to the jazz and rock 'n' roll of his older sisters. Parties were held in the front room at which the parents sang and played piano. Dave played skiffle at first and then bought an electric guitar. With his older brother Ray and his friend Pete Quaife he jammed in that front room.

Music and breakthrough

In 1963 he started The Kinks with Quaife, and Ray soon joined, becoming the main writer and singer. Three days after Dave turned seventeen, the first single came out. The breakthrough followed in 1964 with You Really Got Me. To make the sound rougher, Dave cut into the speaker of his small Elpico amplifier with a razor blade. This produced one of the first distorted guitar sounds in pop music, with heavy power chords. All Day and All of the Night sounded like that too.

Influence

Dave remained in his brother's shadow for the rest of the band's career, and the two had a fierce rivalry. Sometimes he wrote or sang himself, as in Death of a Clown from 1967, which became a hit as a solo single. Later he made solo albums. His distorted riffs had a great influence on hard rock, heavy metal and punk. In 1990 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with The Kinks.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to You Really Got Me by The Kinks. Notice the rough, crackling sound of the guitar in the two-chord riff: that comes from Dave Davies's slashed speaker.

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

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Categories: Artists