Editing Ray Davies

{{short description|English musician (born 1944)}}
{{other people}}
{{BLP sources|date=December 2023}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2023}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| honorific_prefix = [[Sir]]
| name             = Ray Davies
| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100|CBE}}
| image            = Kinks.jpg
| caption          = Davies performing in 1977
| landscape        = yes
| alias            = Raymond Douglas, Godfather of Britpop
| birth_name       = Raymond Douglas Davies
| birth_date       = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1944|6|21}}
| birth_place      = London, England
| genre            = {{hlist|[[Rock music|Rock]]|[[Pop music|pop]]}}
| occupations      = {{hlist|Musician|singer|songwriter}}
| instrument       = {{hlist|Vocals|guitar|harmonica|keyboards}}
| years_active     = 1960–present
| label            = 
| past_member_of   = [[The Kinks]]
| website          = {{URL|raydavies.info}}
}}

'''Sir Raymond Douglas Davies''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|CBE}} ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|d|eɪ|v|ɪ|z}} {{respell|DAY|viz}};<ref>{{cite web |title=Ray Davies |url=http://www.wnyc.org/shows/lopate/episodes/2009/11/09/segments/144019 |work=The Leonard Lopate Show |date=9 November 2009 |access-date=23 December 2009|time=1:32–1:40}} "[Davies:] Think of it as 'viz', v-i-z".</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Mendelsohn |first=John |author-link=John Mendelsohn (musician) |title=Kinks |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/community.28039869 |work=[[Los Angeles Free Press]] |volume=6 |issue=283 |date=19 December 1969 |page=38 |quote=Ray Davies (pronounced his last name, by the way, as if it had no 'e'){{nbsp}}...}}</ref> born 21 June 1944) is an English musician. He was the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and primary songwriter for the [[Rock music|rock]] band [[the Kinks]], which he led, with his younger brother [[Dave Davies|Dave]] providing lead guitar and backing vocals, and both of them were the only consistent members during their existence. He has also acted in, directed and produced shows for theatre and television. Known for focusing his lyrics on rock bands, [[Culture of England|English culture]], nostalgia and social [[satire]], he is often referred to as the "Godfather of [[Britpop]]",<ref>{{cite book |last=Hasted |first=Nick |title=You Really Got Me: The Story of The Kinks |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eDv_AgAAQBAJ&pg=PT309 |publisher=Omnibus Press |year=2017 |isbn=978-0-85712-991-8}}</ref> though he disputes this title.<ref>{{cite web |date=16 July 2015 |title=Ray Davies: 'I'm not the godfather of Britpop … more a concerned uncle' |url=http://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jul/16/ray-davies-kinks-not-godfather-of-britpop-concerned-uncle |access-date=29 October 2021 |website=The Guardian}}</ref> He was inducted into the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] as a member of the Kinks in 1990. After the dissolution of the Kinks in 1996, he embarked on a solo career.

==Early years==
[[File:Kinks Denmark Terrace Davies.jpg|thumb|right|6 Denmark Terrace, birthplace of the Davies brothers]]
Raymond Douglas Davies was born at 6 Denmark Terrace in the [[Fortis Green]] area of [[London]] on 21 June 1944.<ref name=":1">{{cite book |last=Kitts |first=Thomas M. |title=Ray Davies: Not Like Everybody Else |publisher=Routledge |year=2008 |isbn=9781135867959 |pages=1–2}}</ref> He is the seventh of eight children born to working-class parents, including six elder sisters and younger brother [[Dave Davies]].<ref name=":1" /> His father, Frederick George Davies,<ref>England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837-1915, England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007, UK, Burial and Cremation Index, 1576-2014</ref> was a slaughterhouse worker.<ref name="ReferenceA">London, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1936</ref> Frederick liked to hang out in pubs and was considered a ladies' man. He was born in [[Islington]] and his registered birth name was Frederick George Kelly.<ref>England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837-1915</ref>

Frederick's father, Henry Kelly, was a [[greengrocer]] who married Amy Elizabeth Smith at [[St Luke's Church, Kentish Town|St Luke's Church]] in [[Kentish Town]] in 1887, and they had two children, Charles Henry and Frederick George.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> However, the marriage failed and Amy moved in with Harry Davies, bringing her two small children and her mother.<ref>1911 England Census</ref> Harry Davies, born in [[Minsterley]] in 1878, was an [[Ostlers|ostler]] who had moved with his family from Shropshire to Islington.<ref>1911 England Census, 1901 England Census, 1891 England Census</ref> Frederick George had changed his surname to Davies by the time he married Annie Florence Willmore (1905–1987)<ref>England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007, London, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1936</ref> in Islington in 1924.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> Annie came from a "sprawling family". She had a sharp tongue and could be crude and forceful.<ref>Johnny Rogan, ''Ray Davies: a complicated life'', Vintage Books, 2015, p. 7-8.</ref>

When Davies was still a small child, one of his older sisters became a star of the dance halls, and soon had a child out of wedlock by an African man, an unauthorized immigrant who subsequently disappeared from her life. The child, a daughter, was ultimately raised by Ray's mother.<ref>Johnny Rogan, ''Ray Davies : a complicated life'', Vintage books, 2015, p. 15.</ref> Ray attended William Grimshaw Secondary Modern School in [[Muswell Hill]] along with [[Rod Stewart]]<ref name=":0" /> (now called [[Fortismere School]]).<ref name="rockstars">{{cite book |last1=Rees |first1=Dafydd |last2=Crampton |first2=Luke |title=Q Encyclopedia of Rock Stars |publisher=Dorling Kindersley |year=1996 |isbn=0-7513-0393-3}}</ref> His first Spanish guitar was a birthday gift from his eldest sister Rene, who died at the age of 31 from a [[heart attack]] on the day before Ray's 13th birthday, while she was out dancing at the Lyceum Ballroom in the [[Strand, London]] in June 1957.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite web|date=11 March 2015|title=Ray Davies by Johnny Rogan review – the 'complicated life' of the Kinks frontman|url=http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/mar/11/ray-davies-a-complicated-life-johnny-rogan-review-kinks|access-date=27 June 2021|website=The Guardian}}</ref>

==1960s–1980s==

===The Kinks' early years===
[[File:The Kinks Majalah Aktuil edisi 48 tahun 1970.jpg|left|thumb|391x391px|Kinks individual photos in 1970]]
Davies was an art student at [[Hornsey College of Art]] in London in 1962–63. In late 1962 he became increasingly interested in music. At a Hornsey College Christmas dance, he sought advice from [[Alexis Korner]] who was playing at the dance with [[Blues Incorporated]], and Korner introduced him to [[Giorgio Gomelsky]], a promoter and future manager of [[the Yardbirds]]. Gomelsky arranged for Davies to play at his Piccadilly Club with the Dave Hunt Rhythm & Blues Band, and on New Year's Eve, the Ray Davies Quartet opened for [[Cyril Stapleton]] at the Lyceum Ballroom. A few days later he became the permanent guitarist for the Dave Hunt Band, an engagement that would only last about six weeks.<ref name=Kitts/> The band were the house band at Gomelsky's new venture, the [[Crawdaddy Club]] in [[Richmond-upon-Thames]]. When the Dave Hunt band were snowed in during the [[Winter of 1962–63 in the United Kingdom|coldest winter since 1740]], Gomelsky offered a gig to a new band called [[the Rolling Stones]], who had previously supported Hunt at the Piccadilly and would take over the residency. Davies then joined the Hamilton King Band until June 1963. The Kinks (then known as the Ramrods) spent the summer supporting [[Rick Wayne]] on a tour of US airbases.<ref name=Kitts>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/raydaviesnotlike0000kitt|url-access=registration|pages=[https://archive.org/details/raydaviesnotlike0000kitt/page/29 29]–30|title=Ray Davies: Not Like Everybody Else|first=Thomas M.|last=Kitts|publisher=Routledge|date=2008|isbn=9781135867959}}</ref>

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 early composition "[[You Really Got Me]]", which was released as the band's third single in August of that year. Davies led the Kinks through a period of musical experimentation between 1966 and 1975, with notable artistic achievements and commercial success.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thekinks.info/about-the-kinks/the-band/|title=The Band|website=The Kinks Official Website|language=en-US|access-date=9 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170613155258/http://www.thekinks.info/about-the-kinks/the-band/|archive-date=13 June 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[File:The Kinks You Really Got Me.ogg|thumb|305x305px|"[[You Really Got Me]]" audio file]]

The Kinks' early recordings of 1964 ranged from covers of [[Rhythm and blues|R&B]] standards like "[[Long Tall Sally]]" and "[[Slim Harpo|Got Love If You Want It]]" to the chiming, melodic [[beat music]] of Ray Davies's earliest original compositions for the band, "[[You Still Want Me]]" and "[[Kinda Kinks|Something Better Beginning]]", to the more influential [[proto-metal]], [[protopunk]], [[power chord]]-based [[hard rock]] of the band's first two hit singles, "[[You Really Got Me]]" and "[[All Day and All of the Night]]".

However, by 1965, this raucous, hard-driving early style had gradually given way to the softer and more introspective sound of "[[Tired of Waiting for You]]", "[[Kinda Kinks|Nothin' in the World Can Stop Me Worryin' 'Bout That Girl]]", "[[Set Me Free (The Kinks song)|Set Me Free]]", "[[I Go to Sleep]]" and "[[The Kink Kontroversy|Ring the Bells]]". With the eerie, droning "[[See My Friends]]"—inspired by the untimely death of the Davies brothers' older sister Rene in June 1957—the band began to show signs of expanding their musical palette even further. A rare foray into early [[psychedelic rock]], "See My Friends" is credited by Jonathan Bellman as the first Western pop song to integrate Indian [[raga]] sounds—released six months before [[the Beatles]]' "[[Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)]]".<ref>Jonathan Bellman. ''The Exotic in Western Music''. Lebanon, New Hampshire. 1998.</ref>

===Mid-period (1965–1975)===
[[File:Fanclub1967TheKinks1.jpg|thumb|Ray Davies with his brother Dave in background, performing with the Kinks (Dutch TV, 1967)]]
Beginning with "[[A Well Respected Man]]" and "[[Where Have All the Good Times Gone]]" (both recorded in the summer of 1965), Davies's lyrics assumed a new sociological character. He began to explore the aspirations and frustrations of common working-class people, with particular emphasis on the psychological effects of the [[British class system]]. ''[[Face to Face (The Kinks album)|Face to Face]]'' (1966), the first Kinks album composed solely of original material, was a creative breakthrough. As the band began to experiment with theatrical sound effects and [[baroque (music)|baroque]] musical arrangements ([[Nicky Hopkins]] played [[harpsichord]] on several tracks), Davies's songwriting fully acquired its distinctive elements of narrative, observation and wry social commentary. His topical songs took aim at the complacency and indolence of wealthy playboys and the upper class ("[[Face to Face (The Kinks album)|A House in the Country]]", "[[Sunny Afternoon]]"), the heedless ostentation of a self-indulgent spendthrift ''[[nouveau riche]]'' ("[[Face to Face (The Kinks album)|Most Exclusive Residence For Sale]]"), and even the mercenary nature of the music business itself ("[[Face to Face (The Kinks album)|Session Man]]").

By late 1966, Davies was addressing the bleakness of life at the lower end of the social spectrum: released together as the complementary A-B sides of a [[single (music)|single]], "[[Dead End Street (song)|Dead End Street]]" and "[[Big Black Smoke]]" were powerful neo-[[Dickens]]ian sketches of urban poverty. Other songs like "[[Something Else by the Kinks|Situation Vacant]]" (1967) and "[[Shangri-La (Ray Davies song)|Shangri-La]]" (1969) hinted at the helpless sense of insecurity and emptiness underlying the materialistic values adopted by the English working class. In a similar vein, "[[Dedicated Follower of Fashion]]" (1966) wittily satirized the consumerism and [[celebrity worship]] of [[Carnaby Street]] and '[[Swinging London]]', while "[[David Watts (song)|David Watts]]" (1967) humorously expressed the wounded feelings of a plain schoolboy who envies the grace and privileges enjoyed by a charismatic upper class student.

The Kinks have been called "the most adamantly British of the Brit Invasion bands"<ref name="Paul Evans 1992, p. 403">Paul Evans ''The Rolling Stone Album Guide'', Straight Arrow Publishers, 1992, p. 403</ref> on account of Ray Davies's abiding fascination with [[British Empire|England's imperial past]] and his tender, bittersweet evocations of "a vanishing, romanticized world of village greens, pubs and [[Public school (United Kingdom)|public schools]]".<ref name="Paul Evans 1992, p. 403"/> During the band's mid-period, he wrote many cheerfully eccentric—and often ironic—celebrations of [[English culture|traditional English culture and living]]: "Village Green" (1966), "Afternoon Tea" and "[[Autumn Almanac]]" (both 1967), "The Last of the Steam-Powered Trains" (1968), "[[Victoria (The Kinks song)|Victoria]]" (1969), "[[Have a Cuppa Tea]]" (1971) and "Cricket" (1973). In other songs, Davies revived the style of British music hall and [[trad jazz]]: "[[Dedicated Follower of Fashion]]", "[[Sunny Afternoon]]", "[[Dandy (song)|Dandy]]" and "Little Miss Queen of Darkness" (all 1966); "[[Mister Pleasant]]" and "End of the Season" (both 1967); "Sitting By the Riverside" and "All of My Friends Were There" (both 1968); "She's Bought a Hat Like Princess Marina" (1969); "Acute Schizophrenia Paranoia Blues" and "Alcohol" (both 1971); "Look a Little on the Sunny Side" (1972); and "Holiday Romance" (1975). Occasionally, he varied the group's sound with more disparate musical influences, such as [[raga]] ("Fancy", 1966), [[bossa nova]] ("No Return", 1967) and [[calypso music|calypso]] ("I'm on an Island", 1965; "Monica", 1968; "[[Apeman (song)|Apeman]]", 1970; "[[Supersonic Rocket Ship]]", 1972).

Davies is often at his most affecting when he sings of giving up worldly ambition for the simple rewards of love and domesticity ("This is Where I Belong", 1966; "Two Sisters", 1967; "The Way Love Used to Be", 1971; "Sweet Lady Genevieve", 1973; "You Make It All Worthwhile", 1974), or when he extols the consolations of friendship and memory ("[[Waterloo Sunset]]", 1967; "[[Days (The Kinks song)|Days]]", 1968; "[[Do You Remember Walter?]]", 1968; "[[Picture Book (song)|Picture Book]]", 1968; "Young and Innocent Days", 1969; "Moments", 1971; "Schooldays", 1975). {{citation needed|date=July 2022}}Yet another perennial Ray Davies theme is the championing of individualistic personalities and lifestyles ("[[I'm Not Like Everybody Else]]", 1966; "Johnny Thunder", 1968; "Monica", 1968; "[[Lola (song)|Lola]]", 1970; "[[Celluloid Heroes]]", 1972; "Where Are They Now?", 1973; "[[Sitting in the Midday Sun]]", 1973). On his 1967 song "[[Waterloo Sunset]]", the singer finds a fleeting sense of contentment in the midst of urban drabness and solitude.

Davies's mid-period work for the Kinks also showed signs of an emerging social conscience. For example, "Holiday in Waikiki" (1966) deplored the commercialization of a once unspoiled [[indigenous culture]]. Similarly, "God's Children" and "[[Apeman (song)|Apeman]]" (both 1970), and the songs "[[20th Century Man]]", "Complicated Life" and "Here Come the People in Grey" from ''[[Muswell Hillbillies]]'' (1971), passionately decried [[industrialization]] and [[bureaucracy]] in favour of simple [[pastoral]] living. Perhaps most significantly, the band's acclaimed 1968 concept album ''[[The Kinks are the Village Green Preservation Society]]'' gave an affectionate embrace to "[[Merry England]]" nostalgia and advocated the preservation of traditional English country village and [[Hamlet (place)|hamlet]] life.

A definitive testament to Davies's reputation as a songwriter of insight, empathy and wit can be heard on the Kinks' landmark 1969 album ''[[Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire)]]''. Originally conceived as the soundtrack to a television play that was never produced, the band's first [[rock opera]] affectionately chronicled the trials and tribulations of a working-class [[everyman]] and his family from the very end of the [[Victorian era]] through the First World War and Second World War, the [[Rationing in the United Kingdom|postwar austerity years]], and up to the 1960s. The overall theme of the record was partly inspired by the life of Ray and Dave Davies's brother-in-law, Arthur Anning, who had married their elder sister Rose—herself the subject of an earlier Kinks song, "[[Rosie Won't You Please Come Home]]" (1966)—and had emigrated to Australia after the war.<ref>Kitts, Thomas. ''Ray Davies: Not Like Everybody Else'', p.131.</ref> Throughout a dozen evocative songs, ''Arthur'' fulfills its ambitious subtitle as Davies embellishes an intimate family chronicle with satirical observations about the shifting mores of the English working class in response to the declining fortunes of the [[British Empire]].

The Kinks followed up ''Arthur'' with ''[[Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One]]'' (1970), a satirical take on the travails of the recording industry. This album proved to be another critical achievement as well as a commercial hit, spawning "[[Lola (song)|Lola]]", their first US Top Ten single since "[[Tired of Waiting for You]]" in 1965. ''[[Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One]]'' would also prove to be the band's final album before signing with RCA Records. This period on the [[RCA]] label (1971–75) produced ''[[Muswell Hillbillies]]'', ''[[Everybody's in Show-Biz]]'', ''[[Preservation Act 1]]'' and ''[[Preservation Act 2|Act 2]]'', ''[[Soap Opera (album)|Soap Opera]]'' and ''[[Schoolboys in Disgrace]]''.

===Later sound (1976–1984)===
[[File:Ray Davies of the Kinks.jpg|thumb|270px|Ray Davies performing in [[Toronto]], 1977]]
When the Kinks changed record labels from [[RCA]] to [[Arista Records|Arista]] in 1976, Davies abandoned his recent propensity for ambitious, theatrical [[concept albums]] and [[rock operas]] (see above) and returned to writing more basic, straightforward songs. During this decade the group founded their own London recording studio "Konk" which employed newer production techniques to achieve a more refined sound on the albums ''[[Sleepwalker (The Kinks album)|Sleepwalker]]'' (1977) and ''[[Misfits (The Kinks album)|Misfits]]'' (1978).<ref>{{cite web|title=About {{!}} Konk Studios {{!}} London Recording Studio|url=https://www.konkstudios.com/about|access-date=27 June 2021|website=konk-studios}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> Davies's focus shifted to wistful ballads of restless alienation ("[[Sleepwalker (The Kinks album)|Life on the Road]]", "[[Misfits (The Kinks song)|Misfits]]"), meditations on the inner lives of obsessed pop fans ("[[Juke Box Music]]", "[[A Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy]]"), and exhortations of ''[[carpe diem]]'' ("[[Life Goes On (The Kinks song)|Life Goes On]]", "[[Live Life]]", "[[Misfits (The Kinks album)|Get Up]]"). A notable single from late 1977 reflected the contemporary influence of [[punk rock]], "[[Father Christmas (song)|Father Christmas]]" (A-side) and "[[Father Christmas (song)|Prince of the Punks]]" (B-side—inspired by Davies's troubled collaboration with [[Tom Robinson]]).

By the early 1980s, the Kinks revived their commercial fortunes considerably by adopting a much more mainstream [[arena rock]] style; and the band's four remaining studio albums for Arista—''[[Low Budget (album)|Low Budget]]'' (1979), ''[[Give the People What They Want (The Kinks album)|Give the People What They Want]]'' (1981), ''[[State of Confusion]]'' (1983) and ''[[Word of Mouth (The Kinks album)|Word of Mouth]]'' (1984)—showcased a decidedly canny and [[opportunism|opportunistic]] approach. On "[[(Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman]]", Davies vented his [[existential]] angst about the [[1979 energy crisis]] over a thumping [[disco]] beat; on "[[A Gallon of Gas]]", he addressed the same concern over a traditional acoustic [[twelve-bar blues]] [[shuffle note|shuffle]]. In contrast, "[[Better Things (The Kinks song)|Better Things]]" (1981), "[[Come Dancing (song)|Come Dancing]]" (1982), "[[Don't Forget to Dance]]" (1983) and "[[Good Day (The Kinks song)|Good Day]]" (1984) were sentimental songs of hope and nostalgia for the aging [[Silent Generation|Air Raid Generation]]. However, with "[[Catch Me Now I'm Falling]]" (1979), "[[Destroyer (The Kinks song)|Destroyer]]" (1981), "Clichés of the World (B Movie)" (1983) and "[[Do It Again (The Kinks song)|Do It Again]]" (1984), the Davies brothers cranked out strident, heavy-[[riff]]ing [[hard rock]] that conveyed an attitude of bitter [[Cynicism (contemporary)|cynicism]] and [[Weltschmerz|world-weary]] disillusionment.

{{blockquote|I write songs because I get angry, and now I'm at the stage where it's not good enough to brush it off with humour.|''[[NME]]'', June 1978<ref name="NME Rock 'N' Roll Years">{{cite book |last=Tobler |first=John |title=NME Rock 'N' Roll Years |publisher=Reed International Books Ltd |location=London |edition=1st |year=1992 |page=315 |id=CN 5585}}</ref>}}

==1990s–present==
Aside from the lengthy Kinks discography, Davies has released seven 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, ''[[Working Man's Café]]'' in October 2007, ''[[The Kinks Choral Collection]]'' in June 2009, ''[[Americana (Ray Davies album)|Americana]]'' in April 2017, and its sequel, ''[[Our Country: Americana Act II]]'' in June 2018.

In 1986, Davies contributed the track "Quiet Life" to the soundtrack of the [[Julien Temple]] film ''[[Absolute Beginners (film)|Absolute Beginners]]'' that is a musical film adapted from [[Colin MacInnes]]' [[Absolute Beginners (novel)|book of the same name]] about life in late-1950s London. The song was released as a single. Davies appeared in the film, in which he also sang "Quiet Life".

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]].<ref>{{cite web |title=More names join UK Music Hall of Fame |website=[[NME]] |date=18 October 2005 |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/new-order-112-1367962 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180811163213/https://www.nme.com/news/music/new-order-112-1367962 |archive-date=11 August 2018}}</ref>

Davies published his "unauthorised autobiography", ''[[Xray (Book)|X-Ray]]'', in 1994.<ref>{{cite book |last=Davies |first=Ray |title=X-Ray&nbsp;— Ray Davies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0adpQAAACAAJ |year=1995 |publisher=Penguin |access-date=13 June 2014 |isbn=9780140145274}}</ref> In 1997, he published a book of short stories entitled ''Waterloo Sunset''. He has made three films, ''Return to Waterloo'' in 1985, ''Weird Nightmare'' (a documentary about [[Charles Mingus]]) in 1991, and ''Americana''.

Davies was appointed [[Order of the British Empire|Commander of the Order of the British Empire]], by Queen [[Elizabeth II]], in the [[2004 New Year Honours]].<ref name="GB" />

In 2005, Davies released ''The Tourist'', a four-song [[Extended Play|EP]], in the UK; and ''Thanksgiving Day'', a five-song EP, in the US.<ref>{{cite web |last=Denselow |first=Robin |author-link=Robin Denselow |title=Ray Davies on why he's come home to London |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2005/oct/03/popandrock.raydavies |website=[[The Guardian]] |date=3 October 2005 |access-date=27 November 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Thanksgiving Day – Ray Davies |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/thanksgiving-day-mw0000524287 |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=27 November 2018}}</ref>

[[File:Ray Davies in 2008 Ottawa 4947 by Benoit Aubry of Ottawa.JPG|thumb|Davies at Bluesfest 2008 in Ottawa]]

A choral album, ''[[The Kinks Choral Collection]]'', on which Davies had been collaborating with the [[Crouch End Festival Chorus]] since 2007, was released in the UK in June 2009 and in the US in November 2009. The album was re-released as a special extended edition including Davies's charity Christmas single "Postcard From London" featuring Davies's former girlfriend and leader of [[the Pretenders]], [[Chrissie Hynde]]. The video for the single was directed by [[Julien Temple]] and features London landmarks including [[Waterloo Bridge]], [[Carnaby Street]], [[Piccadilly Circus|the statue of Eros]] steps and the [[Charlie Chaplin]] statue in [[Leicester Square]]. The duet was originally recorded with [[Kate Nash]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.music-news.com/ShowNews.asp?nCID=0&H=Ray-Davies-duets-with-Chrissie-Hynde&nItemID=30444 |title=Ray Davies duets with Chrissie Hynde |access-date=11 November 2009}}</ref> His first choice had been [[Dame Vera Lynn]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=17949 |title=Postcard From London Songfacts |publisher=Songfacts.com |date=11 December 2009 |access-date=9 June 2010}}</ref>

In October 2009, Davies performed "[[All Day and All of the Night]]" with [[Metallica]] at the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame#25th anniversary concert|25th Anniversary Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Concert]].{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}

Davies was a judge for the 3rd (in 2004) and 7th (in 2008) annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers.<ref name="independentmusicawards1">{{cite web |title=Past Judges |url=http://www.independentmusicawards.com/ima_new/pastjudges.asp |url-status=dead |publisher=Independent Music Awards |access-date=9 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713024722/http://www.independentmusicawards.com/ima_new/pastjudges.asp |archive-date=13 July 2011 }}</ref>

Davies played at [[Glastonbury Festival 2010|Glastonbury Festival]] in 2010, where he dedicated several songs to the Kinks' bassist [[Pete Quaife]], who died a few days before the festival.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lynskey |first=Dorian |date=28 June 2010 |title=Glastonbury festival |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/jun/28/glastonbury-festival-2010-review |access-date=10 May 2024 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

A collaborations album, ''[[See My Friends (album)|See My Friends]]'', was released in November 2010 with a US release to follow in early 2011.<ref name=WSJ>{{cite web |last=Jurgensen |first=John |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304432304576372014266916424?mod=googlenews_wsj |title=Well-Respected Man |publisher=Online.wsj.com |date=10 June 2011 |access-date=2 November 2011}}</ref>

2011 also marked Davies's return to [[New Orleans]], Louisiana, to play the [[Voodoo Experience]] Music festival. His setlist included material by the Kinks and solo material.<ref name=NOLA>{{cite news |first=Peter |last=Forest |url=http://www.nola.com/voodoofest/index.ssf/2011/10/ray_davies_spotlights_his_deep.html |title=Ray Davies spotlights his deep Kinks catalog at Voodoo Fest |newspaper=NOLA.com |access-date=2 November 2011}}</ref> That autumn, he toured with [[the 88]] as his backing band. In August 2012, Davies performed "Waterloo Sunset" as part of the closing ceremony of the [[London 2012 Summer Olympics]], watched by over 24 million viewers in the UK; the song was subsequently cut by NBC from the US broadcast, in favour of a preview of its upcoming show ''[[Animal Practice]]''.

On 18 December 2015, Ray joined his brother Dave for an encore at London's Islington Assembly Hall. The two performed "You Really Got Me", marking the first time in nearly 20 years that the brothers had appeared and performed together.<ref>{{cite web |last=Fanelli |first=Damian |date=22 December 2015 |title=The Kinks' Ray and Dave Davies Reunite After 20 Years to Play "You Really Got Me" |url=https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/kinks-ray-and-dave-davies-reunite-after-20-years-play-you-really-got-me-video |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028052452/https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/kinks-ray-and-dave-davies-reunite-after-20-years-play-you-really-got-me-video |archive-date=28 October 2020 |access-date=4 January 2016 |website=Guitar World}}</ref>

In April 2017, Davies released the album ''[[Americana (Ray Davies album)|Americana]]''. Based on his experiences in the US it follows on from the short DVD ''Americana&nbsp;— a work in progress'' (found on the deluxe CD ''Working Man's Cafe'' from 2007), and his biographical book ''Americana'' from 2013. A second volume ''Our Country: Americana Act&nbsp;II'' was released in June 2018. For his backing band on ''Americana'' Davies chose [[The Jayhawks]], an alt-country/country-rock band from Minnesota.<ref name="20170421FT">{{cite news |last=Hunter-Tilney |first=Ludovic |title=Ray Davies: Americana&nbsp;— 'sedate roots-rock' |url=https://www.ft.com/content/5d4e617a-2565-11e7-8691-d5f7e0cd0a16 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/5d4e617a-2565-11e7-8691-d5f7e0cd0a16 |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |work=[[Financial Times]] |date=21 April 2017 |access-date=23 April 2017}}</ref><ref name="20170423BBC">{{cite news |last=Savage |first=Mark |title=To Ray Davies, America is a 'beautiful but dangerous' place |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-39665367 |publisher=[[BBC News]] |date=23 April 2017 |access-date=23 April 2017}}</ref>

He was [[Knight Bachelor|knighted]] in the [[2017 New Year Honours]] for services to the arts.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=61803 |supp=y |page=N2 |date=31 December 2016}}</ref>

==Musicals==
[[File:Ray Davies tour.jpg|thumb|right|Davies "Other People's Lives" tour Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver, BC 2006]]
In 1981, Davies collaborated with [[Barrie Keeffe]] in writing his first stage musical, ''[[Chorus Girls (musical)|Chorus Girls]]'', which opened at the [[Theatre Royal Stratford East]], London,<ref>{{cite web |last=Smith |first=Alistair |title=Kinks frontman Davies makes musical debut |url=http://www.thestage.co.uk/news/newsstory.php/21291/kinks-frontman-davies-makes-musical-debut |work=The Stage |date=16 July 2008 |access-date=9 June 2010}}</ref> starring [[Marc Sinden]], and had a supporting cast of [[Michael Elphick]], [[Anita Dobson]], [[Lesley Manville]], [[Kate Williams (actress)|Kate Williams]] and [[Charlotte Cornwell]]. It was directed by Adrian Shergold, the [[choreography]] was by [[Charles Augins]], and [[Jim Rodford]] played bass as part of the theatre's "house band".{{citation needed|date=April 2020}}

Davies wrote songs for a musical version of [[Jules Verne]]'s ''[[Around the World in Eighty Days (Verne novel)|Around the World in 80 Days]]''; the show, ''80 Days'', had a book by playwright [[Snoo Wilson]]. It was directed by [[Des McAnuff]] and ran at the [[La Jolla Playhouse]]'s [[Mandell Weiss Theatre]] in San Diego from 23 August to 9 October 1988. The musical received mixed responses from the critics. Davies's multi-faceted music, McAnuff's directing, and the acting, however, were well received, with the show winning the "Best Musical" award from the San Diego Theatre Critics Circle.<ref>{{cite web |author=Neu |url=http://www.kinks.de/40jahre/teil6_e.html |title=Kinks.de |publisher=Kinks.de |access-date=9 June 2010}}</ref>

Davies's musical ''[[Come Dancing (song)#Musical|Come Dancing]]'', based partly on [[Come Dancing (song)|his 1983 hit single]] with 20 new songs, ran at the [[Theatre Royal Stratford East]], London in September–November 2008.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/ray-davies-turns-kinks-classic-into-come-dancing-the-musical-6859180.html |title=Ray Davies turns Kinks classic into Come Dancing the musical |work=Evening Standard |access-date=7 April 2018 |language=en-GB}}</ref>

''[[Sunny Afternoon (musical)|Sunny Afternoon]]'', a musical based on Ray Davies's early life and featuring Kinks songs, opened to critical acclaim at [[Hampstead Theatre]]. The musical moved to the [[Harold Pinter Theatre]] in London's [[West End theatre|West End]] in October 2014. The musical won four awards at the 2015 [[Olivier Awards]], including one for Ray Davies: the Autograph Sound Award for Outstanding Achievement in Music .<ref>[http://sunnyafternoonthemusical.com Sunny Afternoon]; retrieved 27 October 2014.</ref> ''Sunny Afternoon'' made its North American debut in March 2025 at [[Chicago Shakespeare Theater]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.chicagoshakes.com/productions/sunny-afternoon/ |title=Sunny Afternoon |date=2 May 2024}}</ref>

==Awards==
*In 1990, the Kinks were the third British band (along with [[the Who]]) to be inducted into the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]]. At the induction (performed by [[Pete Townshend]]), Davies was described as "almost indisputably rock's most literate, witty and insightful songwriter". The members inducted were Avory, the Davies brothers and Quaife.<ref>{{cite news |last=Varga |first=George |title=On the record with rock legend Ray Davies |url=http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-record-rock-legend-ray-davies-2012jul21-htmlstory.html |work=The San Diego Union-Tribune |date=21 July 2012 |access-date=29 January 2018}}</ref>
*In 1999, "You Really Got Me" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.<ref>{{cite news |title=GRAMMY Hall Of Fame |url=https://www.grammy.com/grammys/awards/hall-of-fame#y |work=GRAMMY.com |date=18 October 2010 |access-date=7 April 2018}}</ref>
*Davies was appointed [[Commander of the Order of the British Empire]] (CBE) for services to Music in the [[2004 New Year Honours]].<ref name=GB>United Kingdom: {{London Gazette |issue=57155 |date=31 December 2003 |pages=7 |supp=1}}</ref>
*On 22 June 2004, Davies won the ''[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]'' Songwriter [[MOJO Awards|Award]], which recognises "an artist whose career has been defined by his ability to pen classic material on a consistent basis."
*In 2005, The Kinks were inducted into the [[UK Music Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/events/ukmusic/nominees.shtml |title=BBC – Radio 2 – UK Music Hall Of Fame 2005 |website=Bbc.co.uk |access-date=7 April 2018}}</ref>
*On 3 October 2006, Davies was awarded the [[Broadcast Music Incorporated|BMI]] Icon Award for his "enduring influence on generations of music makers" at the 2006 annual BMI London Awards.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/334992 |title=Kinks Frontman Ray Davies Takes Top Honor at BMI London Awards |date=3 October 2006 |publisher=bmi.com |access-date=15 September 2010}}</ref>
*On 15 February 2009, The Mobius Best Off-West End Production in the UK for the musical ''Come Dancing''.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://mckennamusicaljubilee.com/talented-ray-davies-part-three/ |title=The Talented Ray Davies Part Three - McKenna Musical Jubilee |date=21 September 2017 |work=McKenna Musical Jubilee |access-date=3 January 2018}}</ref>
*On 7 September 2010, Davies was awarded the Outstanding Achievement Award at the ''[[GQ]]'' Men of the Year Awards.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/gallery/gq-men-of-the-year-2010-winners |title=The winners |website=Gq-magazine.co.uk |date=29 March 2012 |access-date=4 September 2017}}</ref>
*On 26 October 2010, Davies was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award at his [[Avo Session Basel|AVO Session]] concert in Basel; the concert was televised internationally.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://m.baloisesession.ch/en/festival/awards#352220 |title=BALOISE SESSION Awards |website=Baloise Session |access-date=8 February 2018}}</ref>
*On 12 June 2014, Davies was inducted into the American [[Songwriters Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ray-davies-donovan-inducted-into-songwriters-hall-of-fame/ |title=Ray Davies, Donovan inducted into Songwriters Hall of Fame |access-date=4 September 2017}}</ref>
*On 12 April 2015, Davies won an Olivier Award for Outstanding Musical Achievement for his West End musical ''Sunny Afternoon'', which garnered 3 additional Olivier's.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://officiallondontheatre.com/olivier-awards/winners/olivier-winners-2015/ |title=Olivier Winners 2015 |work=Olivier Awards |access-date=8 February 2018 |language=en-GB}}</ref>
*In August 2015, Davies was voted 27th-greatest songwriter of all time by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in its "100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time" list.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-greatest-songwriters#ray-davies |title=100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time |access-date=15 December 2021 |language=en-GB}}</ref>
*On 3 October 2016, Davies was awarded with a [[BASCA]] Gold Badge award for his unique contribution to music.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.musicweek.com/talent/read/basca-gold-badge-award-winners-revealed/066139 |title=BASCA Gold Badge Award winners revealed |website=Musicweek.com |access-date=29 June 2018}}</ref>
*Davies was [[Knight Bachelor|knighted]] in the [[2017 New Year Honours]] for services to the arts.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=61803 |date=31 December 2016 |supp=y |page=N2}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Davies has been married three times and has four daughters. 

In 1964, he married Rasa Didzpetris. The couple had two daughters, Louisa and Victoria.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |title=Ray Davies on understanding hipsters, not talking to Pete Townshend – and why he fled Tony Blair's Britain |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/music-theatre/2017/04/ray-davies-understanding-hipsters-not-talking-pete-townshend-and-why |website=New Statesman |date=12 April 2017 |access-date=27 June 2021}}</ref><ref name="First Marriage details at freebmd.org.uk">{{cite web |url=http://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=S%2FEtrW3XXM9Cgrxo0nmYYw&scan=1 |title=Marriages Dec 1964 |publisher=[[FreeBMD]] |date=31 December 2016 |access-date=27 March 2018}}</ref> 

He changed his legal name by [[deed poll]] to Raymond Douglas for five years, which allowed him anonymity for his second marriage in 1974 to Yvonne Gunner.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2">{{cite book |last=Kitts |first=Thomas M. |title=Ray Davies: Not Like Everybody Else |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=2008 |isbn=9781135867959 |pages=175}}</ref> The couple had no children and divorced in 1981.<ref name=":2" /> 

In the 1980s, Davies had a relationship with [[Chrissie Hynde]] of [[the Pretenders]]. The couple had a daughter, Natalie Rae Hynde.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bluffer's guide to Ray Davies |url=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/local-news/bluffers-guide-to-ray-davies-2252026 |website=WalesOnline |access-date=20 November 2021 |date=18 May 2007}}</ref> 

His third marriage was to Irish ballet dancer Patricia Crosbie, with whom he had a daughter named Eva.<ref>{{cite web |title=This much I know: Patricia Crosbie, Ballet mistress |url=http://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/features/this-much-i-know-patricia-crosbie-ballet-mistress-256291.html |date=26 January 2014 |website=[[Irish Examiner]] |access-date=27 March 2018}}</ref>

In January 2004, Davies was shot in the leg while chasing thieves who had snatched his companion's purse as they walked through the [[French Quarter]] of [[New Orleans]].<ref>"[http://edition.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/Music/01/05/davies.shot/ Kinks star shot in New Orleans]", CNN, 5 January 2004</ref> A man was arrested, but the charges were dropped because Davies had already returned to London and did not come back to New Orleans for the trial.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.jazzfestforum.com/forum/main-category/jazz-fest-forum/3046-the-ray-davies-case-comes-back-in-a-typically-frustrating-way |title=The Ray Davies Case Comes Back in a Typically Frustrating Way – New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival |access-date=12 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191012203338/https://www.jazzfestforum.com/forum/main-category/jazz-fest-forum/3046-the-ray-davies-case-comes-back-in-a-typically-frustrating-way |archive-date=12 October 2019 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In June 2011, Davies' doctor ordered him to stay at home and rest for six months after [[Thrombus|blood clots]] were discovered in his lungs.<ref>{{cite web |last=Jurgensen |first=John |title=Ray Davies Talks About Coming Shows and Albums |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304432304576372014266916424 |website=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |date=10 June 2011 |access-date=27 March 2018}}</ref>

==Solo discography==
{{see also|The Kinks discography}}

===Solo albums===
*''[[Return to Waterloo]]'' (1985)
*''The Storyteller'' (1998) (UK No. 105)<ref>{{cite web |last1=Erlewine |first1=Stephen |title=The Storyteller - Ray Davies |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-storyteller-mw0000036092 |website=AllMusic |access-date=20 June 2021}}</ref>
*''[[Other People's Lives]]'' (2006) (UK No. 36, US No. 122)
*''[[Working Man's Café]]'' (2007) (UK No. 179, US No. 140)
*''[[Americana (Ray Davies album)|Americana]]'' (2017) (UK No. 15, US No. 79)
*''[[Our Country: Americana Act II]]'' (2018) (UK No. 58)

===Collaborative albums===
*''[[The Kinks Choral Collection]]'' (2009) (UK No. 28) (with the [[Crouch End Festival Chorus]])
*''[[See My Friends (album)|See My Friends]]'' (2010) (UK No. 12)

===Compilation albums===
*''Collected'' (2009)
*''Waterloo Sunset&nbsp;— The Very Best of The Kinks and Ray Davies'' (2012) (UK No. 14)

===Chart singles written by Davies===
The following is a list of Davies compositions that were chart hits for artists other than The Kinks i.e. covers. Some were originally hits for The Kinks themselves. (See ''[[The Kinks discography]]'' for hits by The Kinks.)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Title
! rowspan="2"| Artist
! colspan="3"| Chart positions
|-
! style="width:70px;"| <small>[[UK Singles Chart]]<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums">{{cite book
| first= David
| last= Roberts
| year= 2006
| title= British Hit Singles & Albums
| edition= 19th
| publisher=Guinness World Records Limited
| location= London
| isbn= 1-904994-10-5
| pages= Various}}</ref></small>
! style="width:60px;"| <small>Canada</small>
! style="width:60px;"| <small>[[Billboard Hot 100|US Hot 100]]</small>
|-
|rowspan="2"|1965
|"[[This Strange Effect]]"
|[[Dave Berry (musician)|Dave Berry]]
| style="text-align:center;"|37
| style="text-align:center;"|
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
|"Something Better Beginning"
|[[The Honeycombs]]
| style="text-align:center;"|39
| style="text-align:center;"|
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
|rowspan="2"|1966
|"A House in the Country"
|[[The Pretty Things]]
| style="text-align:center;"|50
| style="text-align:center;"|
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
|"[[Dandy (song)|Dandy]]"
|[[Herman's Hermits]]
| style="text-align:center;"|
| style="text-align:center;"|1
| style="text-align:center;"|5
|-
|rowspan="2"|1978
|"[[You Really Got Me]]"
|[[Van Halen]]
| style="text-align:center;"|
| style="text-align:center;"|49
| style="text-align:center;"|36
|-
|"[[David Watts (song)|David Watts]]"
|[[The Jam]]
| style="text-align:center;"|25
| style="text-align:center;"|
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
|1979
|"[[Stop Your Sobbing]]"
|[[The Pretenders]]
| style="text-align:center;"|34
| style="text-align:center;"|
| style="text-align:center;"|65
|-
|1981
|"I Go To Sleep"
|The Pretenders
| style="text-align:center;"|7
| style="text-align:center;"|
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
|rowspan="2"|1988
|"[[All Day and All of the Night]]"
|[[The Stranglers]]
| style="text-align:center;"|7
| style="text-align:center;"|
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
|"[[Victoria (The Kinks song)|Victoria]]"
|[[The Fall (band)|The Fall]]
| style="text-align:center;"|35
| style="text-align:center;"|
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
|1989
|"[[Days (The Kinks song)|Days]]"
|[[Kirsty MacColl]]
| style="text-align:center;"|12
| style="text-align:center;"|
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
|1997
|"[[Waterloo Sunset]]"
|[[Cathy Dennis]]
| style="text-align:center;"|11
| style="text-align:center;"|
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
|2007
|"[[The Village Green Preservation Society]]"
|[[Kate Rusby]]
| style="text-align:center;"|102
| style="text-align:center;"|
| style="text-align:center;"|
|}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

;Sources
* Kitts, Thomas. ''Ray Davies, Not Like Everybody Else'', 302 pp., Routledge Pub., 2008. {{ISBN|0-415-97769-X}} (paper)

==Further reading==
* Polito, Robert. ''Bits of Me Scattered Everywhere: Ray Davies and the Kinks'', pp.&nbsp;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)
* Rogan, Johnny. ''Ray Davies : a complicated life'', Vintage, 2015.

==External links==
{{commons category|Ray Davies}}
*[http://www.raydavies.info/ Official website]
*[http://www.kindakinks.net/ The Kinks website]
*{{Discogs artist}}

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