The Kinks
Although the group has never managed to achieve such popularity as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones or The Who, to which it is most often compared, it is considered a group that made a huge impact in music. The band was formed in 1963 and in its longevity, it is second only to The Rolling Stones. The founder, leader and creator of the group’s music and lyrics was Ray Davies, who, together with his brother Dave, has been shaping the artistic image of the band throughout the years. The Kinks released their last studio album in 1993, although there was no official dissolution, the band suspended their activities in 1996, and the brothers began solo careers. The band was reactivated in 2018.
The first years of the band’s activity coincided with the British invasion of the United States market. The Kinks’ music did not differ from the rock and roll standard of those times. They were rather simple and naive songs, limited to a 3.5-minute standard. The biggest hits of those years include “You Really Got Me”, “All Day and All of the Night”, “Tired of Waiting for You”, “Sunny Afternoon”. In the mid-1960s, the group’s output began to include more mature compositions by Ray Davies, talking about everyday life, such as social satire – “Dedicated Follower of Fashion” or “Dead End Street”. Over time, the music of the group followed this path, gaining maturity, refinement and a sense of humor. The group recorded a whole series of concept albums, incl. The Village Green Preservation Society. In 1970, the band, after a temporary collapse in popularity, regained the British and American markets after the humorous song “Lola”.
In the 1980s, The Kinks managed to maintain their popularity, reverting to the romantic and joyful sources of their work, which turned out to be very much in line with the then fashionable genre of the new wave. Also, many punk rock bands then admitted to being inspired by their music and its social overtones. In the 90s, the group was still popular, it could compete with bands such as Blur and Oasis.