Template:Short description Template:Good article Template:Use British English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox song

"You Really Got Me" is a song by the English rock band the Kinks, written by frontman Ray Davies and released as their third single in 1964. The song, originally performed in a more blues-oriented style, was inspired by artists such as Lead Belly and Big Bill Broonzy. Two versions were recorded, with the second performance used for the final single. Lead guitarist Dave Davies performs the song's famous guitar solo. Although it was long rumoured that future Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page had performed the song's guitar solo, this has been debunked by Page himself.<ref name="AllMusic">Template:Cite journal</ref>

"You Really Got Me" is built around power chords (perfect fifths and octaves) and it heavily influenced later rock musicians, particularly in the heavy metal and punk rock genres.<ref>Template:Harvnb: "Musicologists argue that 'You Really Got Me' was the origin of heavy metal and the beginnings of punk."</ref> Built around a guitar riff played by Dave Davies, its lyrics were described by Dave as "a love song for street kids".Template:Sfn

The song was released in the UK on 4 August 1964 by Pye Records as the group's third single, and reached number one on the Record Retailer chart the following month, remaining there for two weeks. It was released in the US on 2 September by Reprise Records. The song became the group's breakthrough hit. It established them as one of the top British Invasion acts in the United States, reaching number seven later in the year. "You Really Got Me" was later included on the Kinks' debut album, Kinks. American rock band Van Halen covered the song in their 1978 eponymous debut album; it was released as their first single and peaked at No. 36 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was also covered by American rock band Oingo Boingo in their 1981 album Only a Lad.Template:Citation needed

BackgroundEdit

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"You Really Got Me" was written by Ray Davies, the Kinks' vocalist and main songwriter, sometime between 9 and 12 March 1964.Template:Sfn Created on the piano in the front room of the Davies' home, the song was stylistically very different from the finished product, being much lighter and somewhat jazz-oriented.Template:Sfn Ray said of the song's writing, "When I came up with ['You Really Got Me'] I hadn't been writing songs very long at all. It was one of the first five I ever came up with."Template:Sfn

Davies said that he had been inspired to write the song one night during his college days playing with the Dave Hunt Band, when he saw an attractive girl on the dance floor. He said: "When we finished, I went off to find her, but she was gone and never returned to the club. She really got me going."<ref name=myers>Template:Cite book</ref>

During the spring of 1964, Ray Davies played an early version of "You Really Got Me" on the piano to rock photographer Allan Ballard during a photo shoot. Ballard later remembered, "It was quite a small, pokey, Victorian Terrace, a bit scruffy, and in the hallway they had an upright piano. Ray sat down and plonked out, 'Der-der, der, Der-der!' He said, 'What do you reckon to this?' It meant nothing to me at the time, but it ended up as 'You Really Got Me'."Template:Sfn

Ray, initially planning for the song to be a "more laid-back number", later played the chords of the song to brother Dave Davies, the Kinks' lead guitarist. However, upon hearing the track, Dave decided that the riff would be much more powerful on a guitar.Template:Sfn Ray said of the track's change to a guitar-centred track, "I wanted it to be a jazz-type tune, because that's what I liked at the time. It's written originally around a sax line ... Dave ended up playing the sax line in fuzz guitar and it took the song a step further."Template:Sfn The band began performing the new track in some of their live shows, where it was well received.Template:Sfn

In 1998, Ray said, "I'd written 'You Really Got Me' as tribute to all those great blues people I love: Lead Belly and Big Bill Broonzy."<ref name="Storyteller" /> Dave cited Gerry Mulligan as an inspiration, saying, "Ray was a great fan of Gerry Mulligan, who was in [the Jazz on a Summer's Day movie], and as he sat at the piano at home, he sort of messed around in a vein similar to Mulligan and came up with this figure based on a 12-bar blues".Template:Sfn Dave has also said that song had been inspired by Jimmy Giuffre's song "The Train and the River".<ref name=HowWeMade/> According to the band's manager, Larry Page, the song's characteristic riff came about while working out the chords of the Kingsmen's "Louie Louie".Template:Sfn Lyrically, the song was said to be influenced by an encounter with one of the band's "first serious female fans".Template:Sfn<ref name="SOS">Template:Cite journal</ref>

RecordingEdit

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The Kinks recorded "You Really Got Me" at least twice in mid-1964, likely around June 14 and July 12.Template:Sfn The band's demo was in a "bluesy" style, while a full studio version recorded in June was slower and less emphatic than the final single.Template:Sfn Shel Talmy had, according to Davies, covered the track in reverb, all but burying the lead guitar. The band wanted to rerecord the song, but their record company Pye refused to fund another session on the grounds that the band's first two singles had failed to chart.Template:Sfn Ray Davies, however, threatened that he would refuse to perform or promote the single unless it was re-recorded.Template:Sfn Manager Larry Page also refused to publish the original recording.Template:Sfn When Pye stood its ground, the band's own management broke the stalemate by funding the session themselves.Template:Sfn Ray Davies' adamant attitude on behalf of the career-making song effectively established him as the leader and chief songwriter of the Kinks. Davies later said, "I was floundering around trying to find an identity. It was in 1964 that I managed to do that, to be able to justify myself and say, 'I exist, I'm here.' I was literally born when that song hit."Template:Sfn

The influential distortion sound of the guitar track was created after guitarist Dave Davies sliced the speaker cone of his guitar amplifier with a razor blade and poked it with a pin.<ref name="amgreview"/> The amplifier was affectionately called "little green", after the name of the amplifier made by the Elpico company, and purchased in Davies' neighbourhood music shop, linked to a Vox AC-30.<ref name=HowWeMade>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2014, Dave Davies accused brother Ray of lying about participating in Dave's guitar distortion sound. Dave wrote on his Facebook page, "My brother is lying. I don't know why he does this but it was my Elpico amp that I bought and out of frustration I cut the speaker cone up with a razor blade and I was so shocked and surprised and excited that it worked that I demonstrated the sound to Ray and [Kinks bassist] Pete [Quaife]Template:Nbsp... Ray liked the sound and he had written a riff on the piano which formed the basis of the song 'You Really Got Me' and I played the riff on my guitar with my new sound. I alone created this sound."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

According to recent Kinks' releases that give full official performance credits of the track, group members Ray Davies (vocals and rhythm guitar), Dave Davies (lead guitar), Pete Quaife (bass) are joined by session men Bobby Graham (drums), and Arthur Greenslade (piano).<ref name="PB">Template:Cite AV media notes</ref><ref name="TK">Template:Cite AV media notes</ref> Regular Kinks drummer Mick Avory plays the tambourine.

Guitar soloEdit

The guitar solo on the recording has been the subject of the persistent myth that it was not played by the Kinks' lead guitarist Dave Davies, but by then-session player Jimmy Page, who later joined the Yardbirds and Led Zeppelin. Among those claiming Page played lead guitar was Jon Lord of Deep Purple, who also claimed to play piano on the track.<ref name=lord>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Page has always denied playing the song's guitar solo, going so far as to say in a 1970s interview cited in Sound on Sound magazine, "I didn't play on 'You Really Got Me' and that's what pisses him [Ray Davies] off."<ref name=SOS /> Rock historian and author Doug Hinman makes a case that the rumour was begun and fostered by the established British rhythm and blues community, many of whose members were resentful that an upstart band of teenagers such as the Kinks could produce such a powerful and influential blues-based recording seemingly out of nowhere.Template:Sfn

Shel Talmy, the producer on the track, put the controversy to rest in an interview with The Guardian, saying, "contrary to myth, Jimmy didn't play on 'You Really Got Me'."<ref name=HowWeMade/> In a 7 November 2014 interview with SiriusXM's Town Hall series, Page confirmed again that he did not play on the song, saying "Oh, Crikey! I wasn't on 'You Really Got Me,' but I did play on the Kinks' records. That's all I'm going to say about it. But every time I do an interview, people ask me about 'You Really Got Me.' So maybe somebody can correct Wikipedia so people won't keep asking me."<ref name="5 Things">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Drummer Mick Avory also confirmed that the guitar solo was played by Dave Davies and not Jimmy Page in an interview with AllMusic in 2023.<ref name="AllMusic"/>

In his 1998 autobiographical release The Storyteller,<ref>Ray Davies: The Storyteller. AllMusic</ref> Ray Davies discusses the guitar solo. He confirms that his brother Dave played the solo and it was preceded by some bantering between the two:

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Music and lyricsEdit

Template:Quote box Commentators have described "You Really Got Me" as garage rock,Template:Sfn hard rock,<ref name=VH1 /> rock and roll,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and proto-punk.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> While Ray Davies had been instructed at the time to write "Beatle-type" material for commercial reasons, "You Really Got Me" was written as a more R&B-based composition.Template:Sfn The song is centred on a guitar riff that has been called "instantly identifiable".<ref name=SOS /> American musicologist Robert Walser described "You Really Got Me" as "the first hit song built around power chords."Template:Sfn

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}} "Review of 'You Really Got Me' "]. AllMusic.</ref> Dave Davies has rejected the idea that the song is heavy metal, saying: "I've never really like that term, heavy metal. I think, in all humility, it was the first heavy guitar riff rock record. Just because of the sound—if you played it on a ukulele, it might not have been so powerful."Template:Sfn

The lyrics of the song are about lust and sex.Template:Sfn Dave Davies said of the song's lyrics, Template:"'You Really Got Me' [is] such a pure record, really. It's a love song for street kids. They're not going to wine and dine you, even if they knew how to chat you up. [They say] 'I want you—come here.Template:'"Template:Sfn

Release and receptionEdit

"You Really Got Me" was released as the band's third single on 4 August 1964, backed with "It's All Right" (also spelled "It's Alright").Template:Sfn Within three days of the single's release, "You Really Got Me" began to appear on local charts. Eventually, the song climbed to the top of the British charts, the band's first single to do so.Template:Sfn Ray Davies later claimed that, due to the single's high demand, Pye Records put all their other records on hold to solely produce copies of "You Really Got Me".Template:Sfn Due to the high level of success the single achieved in the UK, a rush-release of "You Really Got Me" was put out in the US on 2 September 1964, despite being delayed from its initial release date of 26 August.Template:Sfn Although it did not enter the charts until 26 September, the record rose to number seven on the Billboard Hot 100.Template:Sfn

The song later appeared on the band's debut album, Kinks, with the title of the American release of the album changed to You Really Got Me. Plans for Ray to sing versions of the song in French, German, Spanish, and Japanese for their respective markets were proposed by Shel Talmy but never materialised.Template:Sfn The single B-side, "It's All Right", was included on the UK EP Kinksize Hits (1964).<ref>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref> It was first issued on an album in the US, where it was included on the Kinks' third album Kinkdom (1965).<ref>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref> Music writers have called the song "shockingly different" from the Kinks' recorded work up to this point, and a "frenetic lost gem".Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The song is included on a 1998 CD reissue of the group's debut album.Template:Sfn

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Upon release, the single received a positive review from Record Mirror, which said, "Highly promising group with strong guitar sound and a compact sort of vocal performance. Mid-tempo but bustling song should sell well."Template:Sfn In Melody Maker, singer Dave Berry was featured in a blindfold test of the song, with Berry at first guessing the song was by the Kingsmen.Template:Sfn He said, "It's fabulous, this one. I like these records that sound as if they've gone into a recording studio and done what they wanted to on the spot. It's a good chance of being a big hit."Template:Sfn The Melody Maker review had a lasting impact on Ray Davies, who said that Berry "had a few hits—so he mattered" and that Berry's belief that the band had "done what they wanted" had "said it all" for him.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn In the U.S., Cash Box called the single "a pulsating, blues-flavored rock-a-rhythmic...that builds along the way."<ref name=cb>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

The Kinks' use of distorted guitar riffs continued with songs like "All Day and All of the Night", "Tired of Waiting for You", and "Set Me Free", among others. Pete Townshend of the Who, a band also produced by Talmy at that time, has stated that their first single, "I Can't Explain", was influenced by the Kinks' work at the time.Template:Sfn Other artists influenced by "You Really Got Me" include Tom Petty,Template:Sfn John Lydon,Template:Sfn Joe Jackson,Template:Sfn Chris Bell of Big Star,Template:Sfn and Jimi Hendrix, who, according to Dave Davies, described the song as "a landmark record".Template:Sfn

In 1999, "You Really Got Me" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.<ref>"Grammy Hall of Fame Award" Grammy.org Retrieved 20 December 2012</ref> Rolling Stone magazine placed the song at number 82 on their list of the 500 greatest songs of all time and at number four on their list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> In early 2005, the song was voted the best British song of the 1955–1965 decade in a BBC radio poll.<ref name="bbc poll">Template:Cite news</ref> In March 2005, Q magazine placed it at number nine in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks.<ref name=q>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2009, it was named the 57th Greatest Hard Rock Song by VH1.<ref name="VH1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Live historyEdit

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Before its release, the Kinks performed "You Really Got Me" in some of their early concerts.Template:Sfn It was a crowd favourite, with Ray Davies later claiming to feel a connection with the crowd as he performed the song.Template:Sfn Ray later said, "Our success came from playing [the song] live. When we played 'You Really Got Me' people actually took notice. They realised we had something original."Template:Sfn

The Kinks continued to perform successfully for over 30 years through many musical styles, but "You Really Got Me" remained a mainstay in concert.<ref name=amgreview />Template:Sfn During some shows, the song was played in a medley with its follow-up single "All Day and All of the Night", while in 1977, a performance on Saturday Night Live featured a four-song medley of "You Really Got Me", "All Day and All of the Night", "A Well Respected Man", and "Lola".Template:Sfn In a live performance on the Don Lane Show in 1982, "You Really Got Me" was featured in a medley with the band's 1981 song, "Destroyer".Template:Sfn In 1984, Dave Davies claimed that, even after twenty years of performing "You Really Got Me", the track was "still fun to play live."<ref name=inthespotlight>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

A live version of "You Really Got Me" was released on the band's 1980 live album, One for the Road. This version, following the minor success of the same album's live version of "Lola", was released as a single in America, backed with the live take of Low Budget's "Attitude".Template:Sfn It failed to chart.Template:Sfn This version was later included on the 1986 compilation album Come Dancing with the Kinks: The Best of the Kinks 1977–1986.Template:Sfn

Other live renditions of "You Really Got Me" have also been released. A version on Live at Kelvin Hall recorded at Kelvin Hall in Glasgow, Scotland, was released in 1967, while a performance at the Mann Music Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, appeared on 1994's To the Bone.Template:Sfn The Davies brothers also performed a live version in Boston, Massachusetts with the Smithereens in November 1991, which later appeared on the latter band's 1995 compilation album Attack of the Smithereens.Template:Sfn Ray and Dave Davies still perform the song in solo shows, generally as a closing number.Template:Citation needed

In December 2015, Ray Davies joined Dave onstage at one of his concerts to perform "You Really Got Me".<ref name=rs>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The event marked the first time the brothers performed on stage together in nearly 20 years, sparking rumours of a Kinks reunion.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

PersonnelEdit

According to Doug Hinman:Template:Sfn

The Kinks

Additional musicians

ChartsEdit

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Weekly chartsEdit

Template:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chart
Chart (1964–1965) Peak
position
Australia<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> 2
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

40
France (IFOP)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

16
Sweden (Kvällstoppen)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> 11
Sweden (Tio i Topp)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> 8
UK (Melody Maker)Template:Sfn 1
UK (Record Retailer)<ref name="UK">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

1
US Cash Box Top 100<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

5

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Year-end chartsEdit

Chart (1964) Position
US Billboard Year-End<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> 79

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CertificationsEdit

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Van Halen versionEdit

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Template:AnchorThe American hard rock band Van Halen released a cover of "You Really Got Me" on its self-titled 1978 debut album. As the band's first single, it was a popular radio hit that helped jump-start the band's career,<ref name="HallFame">"Van Halen - Inductee 2007". Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. 12 March 2007. Retrieved 8 May 2009.</ref> as it had done for the Kinks 14 years earlier. This version, which Eddie Van Halen called an "updated" version of the original, featured "histrionic" guitar playing by himself and "vocal shenanigans" by David Lee Roth.<ref name=amgreview /> The song had been played by the band live for years before its studio release. On the radio, it is often featured with "Eruption", the instrumental that precedes it on the album, as an intro.Template:Sfn

The song was released as a single as a result of an encounter between Van Halen and members of the band Angel. Van Halen and Angel drummer Barry Brandt had both been bragging about their new material to one another, resulting in Van Halen showing Brandt a demo of "You Really Got Me". The next day, the band's producer, Ted Templeman, told Van Halen that Angel was recording its own cover of "You Really Got Me" to release before Van Halen's version. As a result, the song was rush-released as a single before Angel could do so.Template:Sfn

Record World said that it's a "supercharged, heavier version" than the Kinks' version and that "it's still a fine, primal rocker."<ref name=rw>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Eddie Van Halen later expressed dissatisfaction with the use of "You Really Got Me" as the band's debut single. He said, "It kind of bummed me out that Ted [Templeman] wanted our first single to be someone else's tune. I would have maybe picked "Jamie's Cryin'Template:'", just because it was our own."Template:Sfn

The Kinks' Dave Davies has claimed to dislike Van Halen's rendition of the song, saying "There's the thing: good art isn't always about having the comfiest technique. I shouldn't encourage him, but I'm sure Eddie Van Halen played better when he was drunk." He also told of how a concert-goer approached him after a live show and congratulated him on performing a "great cover of the Van Halen song".<ref name="blabber">"Dave Davies Slams Van Halen's The Kinks Cover" Template:Webarchive. Blabbermouth. 2 August 2010.</ref> Ray Davies, on the other hand, claimed to like the track because it made him laugh.Template:Sfn

Chart (1978) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)<ref name=aus>Template:Cite book</ref> 12
Canadian RPM Top Singles<ref name="canada vh">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

49
US Billboard Hot 100<ref name="allmusic vh">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

36
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Chart (2020) Peak
position

See alsoEdit

NotesEdit

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ReferencesEdit

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BibliographyEdit

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Further readingEdit

External linksEdit

Template:The Kinks Template:The Kinks singles Template:Van Halen Template:Authority control