The Kinks

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

The Kinks formed in London in 1962 around the brothers Ray and Dave Davies from Muswell Hill. At home they heard the music hall of their parents and the jazz and early rock 'n' roll of their older sisters. With bassist Pete Quaife and drummer Mick Avory they formed the classic line-up: Ray sang and played rhythm guitar, Dave played lead guitar.

Music and breakthrough

The breakthrough came in 1964 with You Really Got Me, the third single, which reached number 1 in England and was also a hit in America. All Day and All of the Night and Tired of Waiting for You followed. After problems during their American tour of 1965 they were banned from performing there for years. Ray Davies then turned his attention to England itself. Songs such as Dedicated Follower of Fashion, Sunny Afternoon (both 1966) and Waterloo Sunset (1967) and albums such as Face to Face (1966) and The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society (1968) describe English everyday life with a sharp, often mocking eye. In 1970 the band had another big hit with Lola.

Influence

Musically The Kinks began with American rhythm and blues and rock 'n' roll, and later music hall, folk and country were added. The raw, distorted guitar sound of their early hits was seen as a forerunner of hard rock. The band lasted until 1997 and then split up because of tensions between the brothers. Van Halen, The Jam and The Pretenders covered their songs, and in the 1990s Britpop bands such as Blur and Oasis named them as an important influence.

Listening

Discography

Studio albums

• 1964Kinks
• 1965Kinda Kinks
• 1965Kinkdom
• 1965Kinks
• 1965The Kink Kontroversy
• 1966Face to Face
• 1967Something Else by The Kinks
• 1968The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society
• 1969Arthur (or The Decline and Fall of the British Empire)
• 1970Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One
• 1971“Percy” (soundtrack)
• 1971Muswell Hillbillies
• 1972Everybody’s in Show‐Biz
• 1973Preservation Act 1
• 1974Preservation Act 2
• 1975Schoolboys in Disgrace
• 1975Soap Opera
• 1977Sleepwalker
• 1978Misfits
• 1979Low Budget
• 1981Give the People What They Want
• 1983State of Confusion
• 1984Word of Mouth
• 1986Think Visual
• 1989UK Jive
• 1993Phobia

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

• Mixtape 2: Youth Cultures 1950-1980^NL Reader
• Mixtape 3: The Beatles^NL Reader
• Mixtape 9: The Instrument^NL Reader
• Mixtape 13: From Cassette to Cloud^NL Reader

Mentioned in other articles

• British beat and the British Invasion GenreFrom 1964 they, The Rolling Stones, The Animals and The Kinks conquered the American charts: the British Invasion.
• Britpop GenreAround 1993 British bands deliberately chose a different direction from American grunge: back to the Beatles, The Kinks, The Who and the mods.

See also

• Kinda Kinks
• The Kink Kontroversy
• Something Else by The Kinks
• Arthur (or The Decline and Fall of the British Empire)
• Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One
• “Percy”
• Soap Opera
• British beat and the British Invasion