Ray Davies is probably one of the most outstanding performers of British rock. As the leader of The Kinks and a brilliant singer-songwriter, he created some of the brightest tunes which captured common life situations in detail. His peculiar mixture of satire and nostalgic tunes combined with melodic elements and great characterization made him special among his peers. Unlike most rock bands and artists who mostly concentrated on topics of protest and love stories, Ray Davies described common people from various perspectives and backgrounds. Thus, he contributed greatly to the history of popular music, creating numerous songs for The Kinks' music catalogue.

Early life in London

On June 21, 1944, Ray Davies was born in Muswell Hill, London. His childhood in the north part of London defined his attitude to native places, which were used in the majority of Davies' compositions. Another feature, typical for Davies—his elder brother Dave—was that he became the key member of The Kinks.

As Ray Davies was definitely not an ordinary singer with a polished voice, he contributed to the creation of a new English rock style and brought something new to it. Indeed, his conversational and even somewhat rusty-sounding and comic approach to writing lyrics helped him to find his own peculiar style in the times of transition to original English rock.

Breakthrough of The Kinks

With his brother Dave, Ray Davies founded a band known as The Kinks, which became successful with their hard guitars and catchy melodies that combined wit and a satiric tone. Such songs by Davies as "You Really Got Me" made The Kinks' breakthrough and established their position among the brightest bands performing in Britain during the British Invasion of the US charts.

But Ray Davies very soon proved his talent and showed that he was not able to write only energetic and catchy tunes. Songs with unique atmosphere written by Davies revealed him as a musician of wide talents:

  • "You Really Got Me" was full of guitar energy
  • "Waterloo Sunset" transformed the scenery of London into a ballad composition
  • "Lola" combined humor and character sketch

Certainly, one of his masterpieces in these years is "Waterloo Sunset" which was released in 1967. This composition is considered one of the best songs written by Davies, which is characterized by tenderness and a detached attitude toward city life at the same time. The title's imagery is quite simple, but the emotions which can be found there are quite profound and layered. Already in 1968, with "The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society" Davies proved his talent as a songwriter able to write not only a hit but a piece of art which requires time and effort to perceive properly.

Thus, "Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire)" in 1969 shows the next step in his evolution and reveals his skills in creation of concept albums. Then comes Davies' masterpiece "Lola" in 1970. Davies showed again that he was capable of composing a great hit using a complex composition built around character and a great witty hook. Davies had a great talent to make a tune catchy enough with lots of humorous and emotional elements.

Writing outside of hits

Certainly, Davies' songs which gained great popularity with their melodies do not characterize all his skills. Indeed, the role played by Ray Davies as a songwriter who took rock to the level of songwriting as storytelling and mini-plays cannot be underestimated. This influence is noticeable even nowadays when modern musicians use peculiar details to make their compositions sound natural and true.

Indeed, the further writing with The Kinks also showed the variety of Ray Davies' talent. "Come Dancing" in 1983 proved that he was still able to write a tune combining nostalgia, family scenes and a great catchy melody, which brought him back into the mainstream.

Davies managed to remain recognizable through changing trends in the music industry due to such skills as melodic feeling and attention to characters' description and humor.

Even the solo work of Davies and his songs for other media allowed him to show his versatile personality and creativity. All these works are characteristic of the way Ray Davies is perceived by his fans.

Of course, Ray Davies is first of all a singer known for the peculiar voice, but besides being a great performer, he is also a songwriter who was capable of making a career of describing some small things which other people usually ignore. His tunes often tell us the story which includes description of some event and emotional charge associated with it. This ability of Davies makes many of his songs everlasting.

Certainly, for the audience Ray Davies' biggest contribution lies in the ability to create something universal based on the depiction of something local. For instance, the image of a London street, a summer day, family arguments, a lonely railway station or a funny tragic hero which is characterized by Davies can make us understand something universal. Thus, Ray Davies plays an important role in the history of popular music, adding new qualities to the genre such as sense of place, attentiveness and tenderness.