The Kinks was a legendary British classic rock band which played an important role in the development and rise of the British Invasion during the 1960s, a musical movement which took the world by surprise and gained tremendous popularity overseas during the aforementioned decade. The band was established in London in 1963. They were initially known as The Ray Davies Quartet between 1962 and 1963, then as The Ramrods in 1963, The Pete Quaife Band during the same year, The Ravens between 1963 and 1964, or The Bo-Weevils in 1964. The Kinks rose to prominence during the heyday of the British rhythm and blues and the Merseybeat, two musical movements which defined British music between the late 1950s and the early to mid-1960s. The group’s original line-up consisted of Ray Davies on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Dave Davies on lead guitar and vocals, Pete Quaife on bass guitar as well as Mick Avory on drums and percussion.
A 1964 promotional photograph depicting the Kinks, with the London Tower Bridge in the background. Image source: Wikimedia Commons
They achieved recognition and commercial success with their breakthrough single ‘You Really Got Me’, a song composed by lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Ray Davies. The respective single went on to be very successful in both the United Kingdom and the United States. The Kinks also experienced tremendous success in the United States as part of the British Invasion. However, because of a series of problems which took place during their 1965 American tour, the band was banned to perform in the US for several years.
They were musically active between 1963 and 1997. They were also known for other early hits such as ‘All Day and All of the Night’ (1964), ‘Tired of Waiting for You’, ‘Set Me Free’, ‘See My Friends’, or ‘Till the End of the Day’. Two other notable songs by them are ‘Waterloo Sunset’ and ‘Lola’. They are widely considered one of the most important and influential bands of the 1960s. They sold an approximate number of 50 million copies of their records worldwide. The band’s original line-up was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. They were also inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005. Among the later major rock bands which covered their songs or stated that they were an influence on them are Van Halen, the Jam, the Knack, the Pretenders, Green Day, Queens of the Stone Age, the Romantics, Blur, or Oasis.
Throughout the passage of time, the Kinks released an impressive number of 25 studio albums, 1 EP (i.e. extended play), 1 soundtrack album, 1 live album, 35 compilation albums, 79 singles, 9 video albums, 28 music videos, 12 box sets. Their studio albums are as follows (listed in the chronological order of their release):
- Kinks (1964)
- Kinda Kinks (1965)
- The Kink Kontroversy (1965)
- Face to Face (1966)
- Something Else by the Kinks (1967)
- The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society (1968)
- Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) (1969)
- Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One (1970)
- Percy (1971)
- Muswell Hillbillies (1971)
- Everybody’s in Show-Biz (1972)
- Preservation Act 1 (1973)
- Preservation Act 2 (1974)
- Soap Opera (1975)
- Schoolboys in Disgrace (1975)
- Sleepwalker (1977)
- Misfits (1978)
- Low Budget (1979)
- Give the People What They Want (1981)
- State of Confusion (1983)
- Word of Mouth (1984)
- Think Visual (1986)
- UK Jive (1989)
- Phobia (1993)
Below you can listen to my all-time three favourite songs from their discography. Thank you very much for your time, attention, and readership! You are very appreciated! All the best and rock on! 🙂 🤘
- The band’s page on www.wikipedia.org (in English)
- The band’s page on www.ebsco.com
- The discography of the band on www.wikipedia.org (in English)
- List of band members on www.wikipedia.org (in English)
- The band’s official website on www.thekinks.info