You Really Got Me
| "You Really Got Me" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| B-side | "It's Alright" |
"You Really Got Me" is a rock song written by Ray Davies and performed by his band, The Kinks. It was released as the group's third single, in August 1964, and reached Number 1 on the UK singles chart the following month, staying there for two weeks. It was the group's breakthrough hit, and established them as one of the top British Invasion acts in the United States. It was later included on the Kinks' debut album, The Kinks.
"You Really Got Me" was built around parallel 5ths and octaves (power chords), and was to prove heavily influential on later rock and roll musicians, particularly in the heavy metal genre. It is considered to be the prototypical heavy metal and proto-punk song. As critic Denise Sullivan of Allmusic writes, "'You Really Got Me' remains a blueprint song in the hard rock and heavy metal arsenal."[1]
History
The song was recorded by the Kinks in a number of styles in the summer of 1964 before the final sound was achieved. The group was under tremendous pressure for a hit from their record company Pye, after their two previous single releases failed to chart. Ray Davies in particular was stubbornly persistent in forcing the Kinks' management and record company to take the time and money needed to develop the record's landmark sound and style. Davies' efforts on behalf of the career-making song effectively established him as the leader and chief songwriter of the Kinks.
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. 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, slaved into a Vox AC-30.
The guitar solo on the recording is the source of one of the most controversial and persistent myths in all of rock and roll: that it was not played by the Kinks' lead guitarist Dave Davies, but by then-session player Jimmy Page. The solo was undoubtedly played by Dave Davies (then 17 years old), as everyone involved in the July 1964 recording sessions for the track has always maintained. Although an effective and integral part of the song, it is essentially a faster variation of the "Louie Louie" guitar solo, and did not represent a great technical or stylistic achievement on par with that song's driving three-chord rhythm backing (save for the method of playing the pentatonic scale in a manner that "seems" sloppy; this technique is a major watershed in the history of rock and roll, arguably an influence on punk rock). However, the story has circulated for decades that the solo was played by Jimmy Page, who later joined The Yardbirds and Led Zeppelin. Page was in fact hired by Kinks producer Shel Talmy as a session rhythm guitarist on a handful of tracks on the Kinks' first album, but those sessions took place several weeks after the "You Really Got Me" session. Page has always denied playing the song's guitar solo, going so far as to state in a 1977 interview that "I didn't play on 'You Really Got Me' and that's what pisses him (Ray Davies) off." Rock historian and author Doug Hinman makes a case that the rumour was begun and fostered by the established UK 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.
At least one external musician did however play a little session work on "You Really Got Me" - keyboardist Jon Lord of Deep Purple.[2] At the behest of producer Shel Talmy, session drummer Bobby Graham played drums on the recording, rather than regular Kinks drummer Mick Avory. Graham went on to play the main drum part on all of the Kinks' early recordings. Interestingly, both Jon Lord and Shel Talmy claim Jimmy Page did play on "You Really Got Me". Talmy credits him for the rhythm guitar [3] and Lord for the solo. [4]
According to Ray Davies, the song's characteristic riff came about while working out the chords of The Kingsmen's "Louie Louie." 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 has stated that their first single, "I Can't Explain," was an intentional soundalike of The Kinks' work at the time (The Who were also produced by Shel Talmy at that time).
The Kinks would go on to perform successfully together as a band for over 30 years, through many musical styles, and they would always play "You Really Got Me" in concert. Both Ray and Dave Davies still perform the song in solo shows, generally as a closing number. The song appears at number 82 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time. In early 2005, the song was voted the best British song of the 1955-1965 decade in a BBC radio poll. In March 2005, Q magazine placed it at number 9 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks.
Cover versions
This song has been covered by a large number of artists, most famously by Van Halen.
13th Floor Elevators, 1966
The 13th Floor Elevators covered the song in 1966. A live version is included in the 2003 re-release of their album The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators.
The Human Instinct, 1969
New Zealand blues-rock band The Human Instinct included a slow blues version of the song on their 1969 debut album, Burning Up Years. It also appeared as the B-side of their single "I Think I'll Go Back Home" the same year.
Mott the Hoople, 1969
On Mott the Hoople's debut album, they did an all instrumental cover of the song. On their second album, they added the vocal track.
801, 1976
From a short-lived prog/glam supergroup featuring Roxy Music's Phil Manzanera and Roxy alum Brian Eno, 801's debut LP '801 Live' included a deadpan proto-New Wave version of "You Really Got Me" in the mode of the noisier uptempo songs on Eno's early-1970s rock albums.
Robert Palmer, 1978
In 1978, Robert Palmer released his solo album Double Fun, a collection of Caribbean-influenced rock which included a down-tempo and syncopated cover of "You Really Got Me". The album reached the Top 50 on the US Billboard charts.
Van Halen, 1978
Probably the most famous cover version of ⓘ, was by the U.S. hard rock band Van Halen covered the song for their 1978 debut album, Van Halen. It was a popular radio hit, and jumpstarted the band's career [citation needed], just as it had done for The Kinks 14 years earlier. Some big differences are well noted between both versions, like the talk box used by Eddie Van Halen after the solo, to simulate a girl having sex. This version was the soundtrack of the 1995 award-winning Nissan commercial Toys in which "Nick", driving a toy Nissan 300ZX, entices "Roxanne" out on a date, much to "Tad"'s dismay. Mattel sued.[5]
A cover of the Van Halen version of this song is playable in the PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360 game, Guitar Hero II, and was also used in the film Private Parts.
Dalek I Love You, 1980
Dalek I Love You's version, on their 1979 album Compass Kumpas is very different from the original; it features a mixture of A cappella vocals and synth-pop instrumentation.
Oingo Boingo, 1981
Oingo Boingo's 1981 version differed markedly from the original, similar in style to Devo's twisted covers. It was included on Oingo Boingo's 1982 album Nothing to Fear.
Sly & The Family Stone, 1983
Sly & the Family Stone covered the song in their last studio album, Ain't But the One Way.
Toots Hibbert, 1998
A ska cover leads off the CD Ska Father.
Superdrag, 2001
American power-pop/alternative rock band Superdrag covered the song on their 2001 album Greetings from Tennessee.
BoyBand, 2006
In 2006, New Zealand radio station The Edge created New Zealand's first ever manufactured boy band in a promotion. This group released one single in their promised "15 seconds of fame", a cover version of "You Really Got Me". This single spent one week at number one in the RIANZ New Zealand Singles Chart.
Robots In Disguise, 2006
The female electro punk duo Robots in Disguise covered "You Really Got Me" on their 2006 album.
Sanjaya Malakar, 2007
The controversial contestant of American Idol's sixth season, who was derided by critics as "utterly horrendous", an "oddball" and tone deaf,[6] [7]performed the song during the competition.
Charts
Singles - Billboard (North America)
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | "You Really Got Me" by The Kinks | Pop Singles | 7 |
| 1978 | "You Really Got Me" by Van Halen | Pop Singles | 36 |
References
- ^ http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=33:agl67u504020
- ^ http://www.picturedwithin.com/interviews/leicester_mercury.html
- ^ http://www.richieunterberger.com/talmy.html
- ^ Modern Keyboard, Jan. 1989
- ^ After Aqua, Mattel goes after Car AdMTV.com September 24, 1997
- ^ "Sanjaya Malakar Voted Off 'American Idol'", Associated Press, April 19, 2007
- ^ Billboard.com article, May 1, 2007
