Featured Article Summary #291

The Kinks were an English rock band formed in London in 1962, with brothers Ray Davies and Dave Davies, along with Pete Quaife and Mick Avory. They became famous during the British rhythm and blues boom, breaking through with “You Really Got Me” in 1964, followed by other major hits in the mid-1960s. Their sound later drew on a wider mix of American and British styles, and they gained a reputation for writing about everyday English life and culture. After a difficult period that included problems on their 1965 US tour, they were eventually able to return, and they later revived with successful albums in the late 1970s and early 1980s, including “Come Dancing.” The band’s lineup changed several times but the Davies brothers stayed throughout, and creative tensions eventually led to their breakup in 1997. The Kinks are widely seen as one of the most influential 1960s rock bands, earning major chart success, award recognition, and a lasting impact on later artists. Ray and Dave Davies grew up in North London and learned guitar together, playing skiffle and rock and roll before forming their first school band, the Ray Davies Quartet. The group changed lead singers and line-ups as Ray pursued art and music, playing in several local bands, before settling as the Ramrods and then the Ravens, eventually gaining managers and working with producer Shel Talmy. Their final name, the Kinks, was chosen in late 1963 or early 1964 for attention and “kinkiness,” though Ray Davies later admitted he never really liked it. The Kinks began in the early 1960s with mostly low-key releases, including a little success from their cover “Long Tall Sally” before “You Really Got Me” became their first major hit in 1964. After that breakthrough, they toured heavily but faced growing internal conflict, including a serious on-stage fight that led to injuries, and in 1965 the American Federation of Musicians barred them from playing in the US for several years. During a tour stop in Bombay, Ray Davies wrote “See My Friends,” which brought strong Indian musical influence into pop and later affected other major bands. By late 1965 and early 1966, the group’s style shifted toward more character-based songwriting and social commentary, shown in songs like “Dedicated Follower of Fashion,” and supported by new session musicians such as Nicky Hopkins. In 1966, “Sunny Afternoon” made the Kinks the top UK act of the summer, even as Ray Davies suffered a serious breakdown and band member Pete Quaife left and later returned. Face to Face and several singles followed strong UK success, especially “Waterloo Sunset,” which became one of their best-known songs, while “Dead End Street,” “Waterloo Sunset,” and later releases often did far less well in the US. After a run of hits like “Autumn Almanac,” their popularity declined as touring, management decisions, and changing musical direction took a toll, leading to more mixed commercial results but growing cult status with albums like The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society. By the early 1970s, line-up and label changes brought new material and a shift toward more theatrical, character-driven work, culminating in records such as Muswell Hillbillies and Everybody’s in Show-Biz. In 1973 Ray Davies turned the Kinks toward theatre, starting with the rock opera Preservation and reshaping the band into a kind of stage troupe by adding horns and female backing singers. But Davies’s personal crisis in 1973—after his wife left—contributed to depression and serious illness, and even though he recovered, the band’s output stayed uneven and their popularity faded further, with Preservation Acts 1 and 2 receiving poor reviews. They later brought Preservation to the stage on an ambitious 1974 US tour, and the theatrical ideas continued through TV work that became the 1975 concept album The Kinks Present a Soap Opera. Their last theatrical project, Schoolboys in Disgrace (recorded in 1975), was modestly successful, reaching number 45 on the Billboard charts.