- Born
- Birth nameRaymond Douglas Davies
- Nickname
- The Godfather of Britpop
- Height5′ 11¾″ (1.82 m)
- Ray Davies was born on June 21, 1944 in Fortis Green, which is located in Muswell Hill, north of London, England. He was the seventh of eighth children, and with his younger brother Dave, he was one of the only two boys in his family. In 1963, he joined Dave's band The Ravens on rhythm guitar and vocals. He later rose to the position of chief songwriter and singer. Between 1964 and 1965, The Kinks released other hits such as "All Day and All of the Night", "Til the End of the Day", "Tired of Waiting for You", and others. Unfortunately, like most brothers, Ray and Dave Davies often were prone to sibling rivalry, and could act violent towards each other and the rest of the band. This behavior may have contributed to the American Musicians Union issuing a four-year touring ban against them. Since this would prevent them from enjoying, the prosperity of the British Invasion that their contemporaries enjoyed, Ray decided to seek a new direction in songwriting.
His songs would reflect on his childhood and the days of the British Empire, when the class system was going strong, and poverty was great. This style was evident on The Kinks' next four albums, "Face to Face" (1966), "Something Else by The Kinks" (1967), "The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society" (1968), and "Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire)" (1969). In 1970, they released perhaps their most famous LP, "Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One". This record spawned their trademark "Lola", along with other great songs such as "Apeman", "Get Back in Line", "Powerman", and others. "Muswell Hillbillies" followed the next year, which was perhaps their last commercially successful album. From the 1970s in the early 1990s, the Kinks' career proved to be a roller coaster of commercial success, and failure. Perhaps part of the reason for this was the bitter rivalry between Dave and Ray Davies which could never be fully resolved.
The band went through a revolving door of backing musicians, and in the mid-1990s, the Kinks separated. Today, Ray Davies performs solo. He has four solo albums to date and is also involved in theater and television. In early 2004, he gallantly chased after a thief who stole his girlfriend's purse, and was shot in the leg. A week before that, he was awarded Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for his services to music. He has since recovered and continues to perform. His influence has been significant. He has gained a considerable following in his own native Britain, and Pete Townshend from The Who has credited him as his favorite songwriter. In 2017, he was awarded Knight Bachelor of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II for his services to the Arts.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Eli Rosen
- SpousesPatricia Crosbie(1985 - 1998) (divorced, 1 child)Yvonne Gunner(November 1, 1974 - 1981) (divorced)Rasa Dicpetris(November 12, 1964 - 1973) (divorced, 2 children)
- His introspective songwriting method.
- Songs often deal with the changing values of his native England and the decline of the British Empire.
- Often wrote songs about the music business.
- Sizeable gap in between his front teeth.
- Distinctive English accent
- His British rock contemporary Pete Townshend has said that Ray Davies is probably his favorite songwriter of all time.
- In an early stage of The Kinks, before Davies was willing to be the lead singer, they recruited Rod Stewart (who grew up in the same area as the Davies brothers, Muswell Hill) as a singer. After a couple of weeks of trying to be a band, Stewart and the future Kinks found that they did not get along that well, with their musical tastes being too different, and parted ways.
- When The Kinks opened a show on the same bill as The Beatles, The Beatles (in particularly John Lennon) behaved rudely and dismissively towards them. However, when The Kinks released their more introspective album "Face to Face", Lennon was said to have listened to it obsessively.
- "Very Gothic, creepy and silent. Uptight and fearful of everyone." - Marianne Faithfull's description of Davies and The Kinks.
- Despite its heavy guitar sound, he actually wrote "You Really Got Me" on his parent's piano.
- If I had to my life to do over, I would change every single thing I have done.
- We had a singing family. If we had been in Appalachia, we would have been a Country and Western family. We had all that inbreeding, too - the Second World War was quite a time.
- When in doubt, trust your paranoia.
- The Kaiser Chiefs are funny, "Employment" was good, though I'm not quite sure whether they're supposed to be The Pretty Things or The Rolling Stones.
- Keep you nose clean and your chin up, even if it requires surgery.
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