Ray Davies
Ray Davies in Brussels, 1985
Background information
Birth name	Raymond Douglas Davies
Born	21 June 1944 (1944-06-21) (age 63)
Origin	Fortis Green, London England
Genre(s)	Rock
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter
Years active	1963 - present
Associated acts	The Kinks

Ray Davies, CBE (born Raymond Douglas Davies, 21 June 1944, Fortis Green, London) is an English rock musician, best known as lead singer-songwriter for The Kinks - one of the most prolific and long-lived British Invasion bands - which he led with his younger brother, Dave. Events 524 - Godomar, King of the Burgundians defeats the Franks at the Battle of Vézeronce. Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Fortis Green is a ward of the London Borough of Haringey, North London. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other Rock music is a genre of Popular music often though not necessarily employing Electric guitar, Bass guitar, and Drums. The Kinks were an English pop and rock group formed in 1963 and categorised in the US as a British Invasion band The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British Order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. Events 524 - Godomar, King of the Burgundians defeats the Franks at the Battle of Vézeronce. Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Fortis Green is a ward of the London Borough of Haringey, North London. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Rock music is a genre of Popular music often though not necessarily employing Electric guitar, Bass guitar, and Drums. A musician is a person who plays or writes Music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music An instrumentalist plays a Singer-songwriter is a term that refers to Performers who write, compose and sing their own material including Lyrics The Kinks were an English pop and rock group formed in 1963 and categorised in the US as a British Invasion band The British Invasion was the term applied by the news media — and subsequently by consumers — to the influx of Rock and roll, beat and pop performers This is about the English musician for others see Dave Davies (disambiguation. He has also acted, directed and produced shows for theatre and television. Theatre (or theater, see spelling differences) is the branch of the Performing arts defined by Bernard Beckerman as what "occurs when one Television ( TV) is a widely used Telecommunication medium for sending ( Broadcasting) and receiving moving Images, either monochromatic

Since the demise of the Kinks in the mid-90s Ray Davies has embarked on a solo career. His February 2006 release Other People's Lives was his first top 40 hit in UK since the 1960s, when he worked with the Kinks. Other People's Lives is an album by Kinks ' leader and chief songwriter Ray Davies. His second solo album, Working Man's Café was released in October 2007. Working Man's Café is the second solo album (released 22nd October 2007 by Ray Davies, formerly lead singer and songwriter of The Kinks.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Relationship with Chrissie Hynde 3 Work 4 Awards 5 Solo discography 6 Notes 7 References 8 External links

Biography

Ray Davies (pronounced DAY-viss ^[1]) was born and raised in the North London area of Muswell Hill. Muswell Hill is a suburb of north London, mostly in the London Borough of Haringey. He is the seventh of eight children, including six older sisters and his younger brother, Dave. This is about the English musician for others see Dave Davies (disambiguation. He has been married three times, and has four daughters - Louisa, Victoria, Natalie Rae and Eva.

The musically-inclined Davies was an art student at Hornsey College of Art in London in 1962–1963, when the Kinks developed into a professional performing band. Hornsey College of Art is a former college centred in Crouch End, London, now part of Middlesex University. After the Kinks obtained a recording contract in early 1964, Davies emerged as the chief songwriter and de facto leader of the band, especially after the band's breakthrough success with his composition "You Really Got Me. " You Really Got Me " is a rock Song written by Ray Davies and performed by his band The Kinks. " Davies led the Kinks through a period of musical experimentation between 1966 and 1976, with notable artistic achievements and commercial success. Between 1977 and their breakup in 1996, Davies and the group reverted to their earlier mainstream rock format and enjoyed a second peak of success.

In 1990, Davies was inducted, with the Kinks, into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and, in 2005, into the UK Music Hall of Fame. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a Museum located on the shores of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland Ohio, United States The UK Music Hall of Fame honours musicians for their lifetime fame in music Davies has performed solo since the mid 1990s.

Davies has had a tempestuous, 'love-hate' relationship with younger brother and Kinks guitarist Dave Davies that dominated the Kinks' career as a band. This is about the English musician for others see Dave Davies (disambiguation. His compositions and talent as a performer are universally hailed within the music industry, but he has maintained a career-long reputation for being fiercely independent and iconoclastic, resulting in a decades-long pattern of conflict and alienation within the industry. In 1973, a fed-up Ray attempted to announce the breakup of the band onstage (the microphone had been turned off though) and then attempted suicide by gobbling down handfuls of prescription drugs and washing them down with liquor.

He was quoted in 1967: "If I had to do my life over, I would change every single thing I have done. "

On 4 January 2004, Davies was wounded when he was shot in the leg while chasing thieves, who had snatched the purse of his companion as they walked in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. Events 46 BC - Titus Labienus defeats Julius Caesar in the Battle of Ruspina. "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " The French Quarter, also known as Vieux Carré, is the oldest and most famous neighborhood in the city of New Orleans Louisiana. New Orleans (nʲuːˈɔrliənz nʲuːˈɔrlənz French: La Nouvelle-Orléans) is a major United States port city and the largest city in Louisiana ^[2] The shooting came less than a week after Davies was named a Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II. The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British Order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. For the ship see RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Context States headed by Elizabeth II

Relationship with Chrissie Hynde

Davies' relationship with Pretenders singer Chrissie Hynde came at the expense of his marriage to his second wife, Yvonne, who named Hynde as the other woman in the divorce papers. Chrissie Hynde (born Christine Ellen Hynde, 7 September 1951 Akron Ohio) is an American rock musician best known as the leader of the band The Pretenders Davies and Hynde were involved in a number of bust ups, the most infamous being when they were due to get married but the registrar refused to marry them. In January 1983, Hynde gave birth to Natalie Rae Hynde, her first child and Davies' third. Within a year, Chrissie had taken the baby with her on a world tour. The relationship ended in 1984.

Work

Main article: The Kinks

Davies' compositions over his lengthy career have been an astonishing study in contrasts, from the influential proto-punk, powerchord rock and roll of the early Kinks hits in 1964–1966 (most prominently "You Really Got Me" and "All Day and All of the Night"); followed a few years later by more sensitive, introspective songs ("Too Much on My Mind", "Waterloo Sunset"); and still later by anthems championing individualistic lifestyles and personalities ("Lola", "Celluloid Heroes"); celebrations of traditional English culture and living ("Autumn Almanac", "Victoria"); true Music Hall-style vaudeville (songs like "Mister Pleasant", "All of My Friends Were There" and "She's Bought a Hat Like Princess Marina's" and the Preservation albums); and commercial rock which combined elements of all of these ("Come Dancing", "Do It Again"). The Kinks were an English pop and rock group formed in 1963 and categorised in the US as a British Invasion band Rock and roll (also known as rock 'n' roll) is a form of Music that evolved in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s with roots in mostly African " You Really Got Me " is a rock Song written by Ray Davies and performed by his band The Kinks. " All Day and All of the Night " is a song by the British band The Kinks from 1964 " Waterloo Sunset " is a Song released as a single by The Kinks in 1967, and featured on their Album Something Else by The term anthem means either a specific form of Anglican church music (in Music theory and religious contexts or more generally a song (or composition of " Lola " is a song written by Ray Davies and performed by The Kinks which details a romantic encounter between a young man (presumably in his late teen " Celluloid Heroes " is a song performed by The Kinks and featured on their 1972 album Everybody's in Show-Biz. The culture of England is sometimes difficult to separate clearly from the cultures of its neighbouring countries and to understand how these cultures intermingled and influenced Autumn Almanac is a pop song, written by Ray Davies and recorded by the musical group The Kinks in 1967. " Victoria " is a song written by Ray Davies of The Kinks, which appeared as the opening track of the 1969 Concept album, Arthur (Or the Music hall is a form of British theatrical Entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960 Musical theatre is a form of Theatre combining Music, Songs spoken Dialogue and Dance. Preservation Act 1 and Preservation Act 2 are 1973 concept albums (Originally a single rock opera but the idea was scratched released as separate Come Dancing was a BBC TV Ballroom dancing competition show that ran on and off from 1949 to 1998, becoming one of television's longest-running

Davies' songwriting has often been called more mature, sophisticated, and subtle than that of many of his peers among American and British rock musicians. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Rock music is a genre of Popular music often though not necessarily employing Electric guitar, Bass guitar, and Drums. A musician is a person who plays or writes Music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music An instrumentalist plays a His lyrics often contained elements of satire and social commentary about the aspirations and frustrations of British middle-class life — examples including songs like "A Well Respected Man" and "Shangri-La", which observed the class-bred insecurity and desperation underlying the materialistic values and conservative protocols of middle-class respectability; "Dedicated Follower of Fashion", which mocked the superficiality and self-indulgence of the mod subculture; and "David Watts", which poignantly expressed the wounded feelings of a plain schoolboy who envies the grace and social privileges enjoyed by a charismatic upperclass student. Lyrics (in singular form Lyric) are a set of words that accompany music either by speaking or singing Satire is often strictly defined as a literary genre or form; although in practice it is also found in the graphic and Performing arts In satire human Social commentary is the act of rebelling against a government by means of rhetorical propaganda " A Well Respected Man " is a song by the British band The Kinks from 1966 (see 1966 in music) " Shangri-La " is a song written by Ray Davies of The Kinks. " Dedicated Follower of Fashion " is a 1966 single by British band The Kinks. Mod (originally modernist, sometimes capitalised is a Subculture that originated in London in the late 1950s and peaked in the early to mid 1960s For the term in biology see Subculture (biology. For the song by New Order see Sub-culture (song. David Leonard Watts (born 26 August 1951 St Helens Merseyside) is a politician in the United Kingdom.

His songs also showed signs of social conscience — examples being "God's Children" and songs on the albums, The Kinks are the Village Green Preservation Society and Muswell Hillbillies, which denounced industrialization and commercialism in favour of simple pastoral living. The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society is a pop-rock album released by the British music group The Kinks on 22 November Muswell Hillbillies is an album by the English rock group The Kinks, released in November 1971 is a process of social and economic change whereby a human group is transformed from a Pre-industrial society into an industrial one Commercialism, in its original meaning is the practices methods aims and spirit of Commerce or Business. Mid-period songs like "Dead End Street" and "Big Black Smoke" offered grim, neo-Dickensian portraits of the desperate poverty that existed amidst the thriving metropolitan British economy of the 1960s. Dead End Street is a 1982 Film directed by Yaky Yosha. Inspired by a true story it is about a young prostitute who participated in a documentary Big Black Smoke is the B-side to The Kinks ' single " Dead End Street " written by Ray Davies.

In particular, Davies' songs on the 1968 Kinks album The Village Green Preservation Society embraced "Merry England" nostalgia and preservation as themes long before they became fashionable in pop music. " Merry England " sometimes archaised as " Merrie England " refers to a Utopian conception of English society and culture based on an Idyllic Many of his best songs focus on the small-scale, poignant dramas of everyday people (e. g. , "Waterloo Sunset", "Two Sisters", "Did You See His Name?"), commonly told as wistful mini-stories. " Waterloo Sunset " is a Song released as a single by The Kinks in 1967, and featured on their Album Something Else by

Aside from the lengthy Kinks discography, Davies has released four solo albums, the 1985 release Return to Waterloo (which accompanied a television film he wrote and directed), the 1998 release The Storyteller, Other People's Lives in early 2006, and Working Man's Café in October 2007. Return to Waterloo is an album and hour-long film by Kinks ' leader and chief songwriter Ray Davies. Television ( TV) is a widely used Telecommunication medium for sending ( Broadcasting) and receiving moving Images, either monochromatic Other People's Lives is an album by Kinks ' leader and chief songwriter Ray Davies. Working Man's Café is the second solo album (released 22nd October 2007 by Ray Davies, formerly lead singer and songwriter of The Kinks. The release of Working Man's Café was followed on 28 October with a performance at the BBC's Electric Proms series, at The Roundhouse, Camden. The Roundhouse is an arts venue in London, England. The Roundhouse has hosted notable performers Morrissey, The Stranglers, Sonic Youth Camden Town is the district of London, England around Camden High Street, in the London Borough of Camden. The concert was broadcast the same evening on BBC Two. An edited version of Working Man's Café, excluding two bonus tracks and liner notes, was given away with 1. For a bibliographic format for citing liner notes see WikipediaCiting sources/example style Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes 5million copies of the Sunday Times on 21 October. The Sunday Times is a Sunday Broadsheet Newspaper distributed in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland.

Since the Kinks ceased performing in 1996, Davies has toured independently (such as the mainly acoustic Storyteller tours with guitarist Pete Mathison), and more recently with a live band consisting of Toby Baron - drums, Dick Nolan - bass, Gunnar Frick - keyboards and Michael "Milton" McDonald - guitar (who replaced Mark Johns in 2007). Mike "Milton" McDonald is a session guitarist He has played with Patricia Kaas, Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe, The Spice Girls, S In 2005, Davies released a four-song EP in the UK called The Tourist, and a five-song EP in the U.S. entitled Thanksgiving Day. An extended play ( EP) is a Vinyl record, CD, or Music download which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The United States of America —commonly referred to as the In the liner notes for Other People's Lives, Davies confesses he still does not know who he is and where his roots are. In the sing-along "Next Door Neighbour", he seems to be suggesting he is all three characters. The printed lyrics sheet contains some fascinating insights into the songwriting process.

Davies published his 'unauthorized autobiography', X-Ray, in 1994, a romp through the Swinging Sixties, which settles burning issues ranging from which band produced the first concept album (not The Who), to whether or not he had an affair with Marianne Faithfull. An autobiography, from the Greek αὐτός autos "self" βίος bios "life" and γράφειν graphein "to write" X-Ray (1994 was Ray Davies ' first major attempt to write prose outside of his musical career as founding member of the British rock band Swinging London is a catchall term applied to a variety of dynamic cultural trends in the United Kingdom (centred in London) in the second half of the 1960s The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964. The primary lineup consisted of guitarist Pete Townshend Marianne Faithfull (born December 29 1946) is an English Singer, Songwriter, actress and Diarist whose In 1997, he published a book of short stories entitled Waterloo Sunset, described as 'a concept album set on paper'. The short story is a literary genre of Fictional Prose Narrative that tends to be more concise and to the point than longer works of fiction such " Waterloo Sunset " is a Song released as a single by The Kinks in 1967, and featured on their Album Something Else by In Popular music, a concept album is an Album which is "unified by a theme which can be instrumental compositional narrative or lyrical" He has made two films, Return to Waterloo in 1985 and Weird Nightmare in 1991, a documentary about Charles Mingus. Charles Mingus ( 22 April 1922 &ndash 5 January 1979) was an American Jazz Bassist, Composer,

Awards

• On 17 March 2004, Davies received the CBE from Queen Elizabeth II for "Services to Music. Events 45 BC - In his last victory Julius Caesar defeats the Pompeian forces of Titus Labienus and Pompey the Younger "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British Order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. For the ship see RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Context States headed by Elizabeth II "

• On 22 June 2004, Davies won the Mojo Songwriter Award, which recognises "An artist whose career has been defined by their ability to pen classic material on a consistent basis. Events 217 BC - Battle of Raphia: Ptolemy IV of Egypt defeats Antiochus III the Great of the Seleucid kingdom. "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " Mojo is a popular Music Magazine published by Bauer, monthly in the United Kingdom. "

• Davies and the Kinks were the third British band (along with The Who) to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990, at which Davies was called "almost indisputably rock's most literate, witty and insightful songwriter. The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964. The primary lineup consisted of guitarist Pete Townshend The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a Museum located on the shores of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland Ohio, United States " They were inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005. The UK Music Hall of Fame honours musicians for their lifetime fame in music

• On 3 October 2006, Davies was awarded the BMI Icon Award

Solo discography

For Kinks discography see The Kinks discography

1. Return to Waterloo (1985)
2. The Storyteller (1998)
3. Other People's Lives (2006)
4. Working Man's Café (2007)

Notes

References

• Polito, Robert, "Bits of Me Scattered Everywhere: Ray Davies and the Kinks", p. 119–144 in Eric Weisbard, ed. , This is Pop, Harvard University Press, 2004. ISBN 0-674-01321-2 (cloth), ISBN 0-674-01344-1 (paper).
• Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
• Kitts, Thomas, Ray Davies, Not Like Everybody Else, 302 p. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a Museum located on the shores of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland Ohio, United States , Routledge Pub. , 2008. ISBN 0-415-97769-X (paper).

External links

• Dave Emlen's Unofficial Kinks Web Site
• Working Mans Café - Ray Davies Message Board and Chat Room
• Reviews and articles regarding Other People's Lives
• Fresh Air interview at National Public Radio website
• Ray Davies at BBC 6 Music
• Ray Davies Live at the Royal Albert Hall, photography by dz studios

Other People's Lives is an album by Kinks ' leader and chief songwriter Ray Davies.

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