"You Really Got Me" is a song written by Ray Davies for English rock band the Kinks. The song, originally performed in a more blues-oriented style, was inspired by artists such as Lead Belly and Big Bill Broonzy. Two song versions were recorded, with the second performance used for the final single. Although it was rumoured that future Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page had performed the song's guitar solo, the myth has since been proven false.
"Waterloo Sunset" is a song by English rock band the Kinks. It was released as a single in 1967, and featured on their album Something Else by the Kinks. Composed and produced by Kinks frontman Ray Davies, "Waterloo Sunset" is one of the band's best known and most acclaimed songs, and is ranked number 14 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. It was also their first single that was available in true stereo.
"A Well Respected Man" is a song by the British band the Kinks, written by the group's lead singer and rhythm guitarist Ray Davies, and originally released in the United Kingdom on the EP Kwyet Kinks in September 1965. The song was released on the album Kinkdom in the United States. It was also released as a single in the US and Continental Europe.
"Lola" is a song written by Ray Davies and performed by English rock band the Kinks on their 1970 album Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One. The song details a romantic encounter between a young man and a possible trans woman or cross-dresser, whom he meets in a club in Soho, London. In the song, the narrator describes his confusion towards Lola, who "walked like a woman but talked like a man".
"Long Tall Sally", also known as "Long Tall Sally (The Thing)", is a rock and roll song written by Robert "Bumps" Blackwell, Enotris Johnson, and Little Richard. Richard recorded it for Specialty Records, which released it as a single in March 1956, backed with "Slippin' and Slidin'".
"Apeman" is a 1970 song by the English rock band the Kinks. It was written by Ray Davies and appears on the album Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One.
"See My Friends" is a song by the English rock band the Kinks, written by the group's singer and guitarist, Ray Davies. Released in July 1965, it reached number 10 on the Record Retailer chart. The song incorporates a drone-effect played on guitar, evoking a sound reminiscent of the Indian tambura.
"Sunny Afternoon" is a song by the Kinks, written by chief songwriter Ray Davies. The track later featured on the Face to Face album as well as being the title track for their 1967 compilation album. Like its contemporary "Taxman" by the Beatles, the song references the high levels of progressive tax taken by the British Labour government of Harold Wilson. Its strong music hall flavour and lyrical focus was part of a stylistic departure for the band, which had risen to fame in 1964–65 with a series of hard-driving, power-chord rock hits.
"Wonderboy" is a song by the English rock band the Kinks, released as a single in 1968. It stalled at number 36 in the UK charts, becoming the band's first single not to make the UK Top Twenty since their early covers. Despite this, it became a favourite of John Lennon of the Beatles, and, according to Ray Davies in his autobiography, X-Ray, "someone had seen John Lennon in a club and he kept on asking the disc jockey to play 'Wonder Boy' [sic] over and over again." Kinks guitarist Dave Davies praised the song, saying, "'Wonderboy' was a big one for us although it wasn't a hit. That was one song we really felt something for." However, bassist Peter Quaife's opinion towards the track was low, later stating that "[I] hated it ... it was horrible."
"Tired of Waiting for You" is a song by the English rock band the Kinks. It was released as a single on 15 January 1965 in the UK and on 17 February 1965 in the USA. The single reached number one in the UK and number six in the US. It then appeared on their second studio album, Kinda Kinks. It was the group's highest-charting single in the US - tied with "Come Dancing", which achieved the same chart position eighteen years later in 1983.
"Dedicated Follower of Fashion" is a 1966 song by British band the Kinks. It lampoons the contemporary British fashion scene and mod culture in general. Originally released as a single, it has been included on many of the band's later albums.
"Victoria" is a song written by Ray Davies of the Kinks. It is the opening track on the band's 1969 concept album Arthur .
"Set Me Free" is a song by Ray Davies, released first by the Kinks in 1965. Along with "Tired of Waiting for You", it is one of band's first attempts at a softer, more introspective sound. The song's B-side, "I Need You", makes prominent use of powerchords in the style of the Kinks' early, "raunchy" sound. "Set Me Free" was heard in the Ken Loach-directed Up the Junction, a BBC Wednesday Play which aired in November 1965; this marked the first appearance of a Kinks song on a film or TV soundtrack.
"Till the End of the Day" is a song by the Kinks, written by Ray Davies and released as a single in 1965 and later on their album The Kink Kontroversy. It centres on a power chord, like many of the group's early hits, and was similarly successful, reaching number eight in the United Kingdom and number 50 in the United States, spending eight weeks or more in each chart.
"Dead End Street" is a song by the British band the Kinks from 1966, written by main songwriter Ray Davies. Like many other songs written by Davies, it is to some degree influenced by British Music Hall. The bass playing was partly inspired by the "twangy" sound of Duane Eddy's guitar. It was originally released as a non-album single, but has since been included as one of several bonus tracks from the Face to Face CD. The song, like many others by the group, deals with the poverty and misery found in the lower classes of English society.
"Days" is a song by the Kinks, written by lead singer Ray Davies, released as a single in 1968. It also appeared on an early version of the album The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society. It now appears as a bonus track of the remastered CD. On the original Pye 7N 17573 label, the name of the song is "Day's" due to a grammatical error.
"Ev'rybody's Gonna Be Happy" is a song by Ray Davies, released as a UK single by the Kinks in 1965. As the follow-up to the number-one hit "Tired of Waiting for You", and having their previous three singles all chart among the top two, it was less successful, reaching number 17. It broke a run of what would have been thirteen consecutive top-ten singles in the UK.
Kinks-Size is a studio album by the English rock band the Kinks, released as their second album in the United States. It was issued by Reprise Records in March 1965 in both mono and simulated stereo formats. It peaked at number 13 on the Billboard album chart in the third week of June 1965, the same week the Kinks began their first US tour. It is the Kinks' fourth-highest charting album on the Billboard album chart and the second-highest of their 1960s albums. The album ranked number 78 on Billboard's year-end album chart for 1965.
Kinkdom is a studio album by the English rock band the Kinks, released as their fourth album in the United States. It was issued by Reprise Records on 24 November 1965 in both mono and simulated stereo formats. It peaked at number 47 on the Billboard album chart.
"So Mystifying" is a song written by English musician Ray Davies, first recorded by his band the Kinks for their 1964 debut album Kinks. It appears as the second track on side one, following "Beautiful Delilah", and is the first track on the album on which Ray Davies performs the lead vocals. The best known version of the song was recorded by Swedish rock group Hep Stars, whose version of the song reached the top-five on both Kvällstoppen and Tio I Topp in 1965.
