The Kinks were a rock band that was founded in Muswell Hill, North London. The band was founded in 1964 by the Davies brothers, Dave and Ray. They are often thought of as one of the most influential and important rock acts. They used rhythm and blues, music hall, country music as well as folk in their music. The original band consisted of Dave and Ray Davies, Mick Avory, and Pete Quaife.

The Kinks

"Ray is very secretive about his ideas - why not, the times that the Kinks have been ripped off, especially in the early years, it makes you a little bit cautious about telling anybody what you're doing. And that's understandable."

The Kinks were a rock band that was founded in Muswell Hill, North London. The band was founded in 1964 by the Davies brothers, Dave and Ray. They are often thought of as one of the most influential and important rock acts. They used rhythm and blues, music hall, country music as well as folk in their music. The original band consisted of Dave and Ray Davies, Mick Avory, and Pete Quaife.

The Davies brothers were the only constant members of the band. In 1984, Avory left. Bob Henrit replaced him. For part of 1966, John Dalton found himself playing bass when Quaife was in a car accident. He came in full time after Quaife left permanently in 1969. Dalton stuck around with the group for nearly a decade before Jim Redford replaced him.

The Beginning of a Career

The Davies brothers were born in East Finchley, North London. In a family of eight kids, they were the only boys as well as the youngest. They were influenced by different music styles from music hall, jazz to rock and roll. They would be part of the nightlong parties that took place in their home's front room. They both learned to play the guitar, skiffle as well as rock and roll together. During school they made a band. The band was entitled the Ray Davies Quartet. The band consisted of Pete Quaife, and John Start. The debut of the band was during a local school dance. It was successful and encouraged them to play at local bars and pubs across their hometown.

The band had its share of various lead vocalists. Ray went to study art in late 1962. He returned to form the old group back together. Between 1962 and 1963, they were known by several different band names. Some of these included the Pete Quaife Band, The Ramrods, and the Ravens, they finally settled on The Kinks. They tried to secure record labels with a number of different labels, but they were not successful until 1964 when they met Shel Talmy who got them a contract with Pye Records.

Moving on to Stardom

The Kinks made their first single, Long Tall Sally was a cover of a Little Richard song. The first and second singles didn't even chart. It was then that Pye Records threatened to cancel the contract unless the band made a successful third single. Their next single, You Really Got Me was the successful single, and they regarded as the first hard rock hit. Their first debut album was released in October 1964 titled Kinks. They then went on to make their fourth single, All Day and All of the Night reaching high on the charts. Their next two singles successfully made it on the charts. They went on their first tour in January 1965.

After a fight from the band mates after a concert one time, where Avory had to receive 16 stitches; it was at that time that for the next four years in the United States they were forbidden to appear in concerts. This gave them a block in their music career. One example of their crossover music was shown in the song See My Friends. In 1967, they released their next single Waterloo Sunset. This became one of the band's biggest UK successes, reaching number two on the Melody Maker's chart. By 1967, they were sliding downward because of their failed attempts at making hit singles. Early in 1968, the band took a break from touring, and focused on recording work in the studio. They came out with their next single Wonderboy, which was released in 1968. It went to #36 on the charts. Their next album, The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Societycame out in 1968. It received good reviews, but failed to sell.

The End of a Good Run

In 1986, the group signed with MCA Records in the US . Their first album Think Visual was released, and gained a small amount of success and recognition. MCA ended up dropping them from the record deal due to their failure at creating a hit that would stick with the audiences. They signed on for Columbia and produced their first album Phobia in 1993. Their time at Columbia was short lived and they were eventually dropped by them in 1994. Their fame rose much more than it did in the 1990's. They gave their last public performance in 1996; they were reunited together for the last time at Dave's 50^th birthday party. There has since been no word of a reunion between The Kinks. The brothers rarely talk, and Ray is the only one of the group who is talking about a reunion, the other band members feel differently about it.

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