"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 charts 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. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... A collection of various CD singles In music, a single is a short recording of one or more separate tracks. ... The Kinks were an English rock group formed in 1963 by lead singer-songwriter Ray Davies, his brother, lead guitarist and vocalist Dave Davies, and bassist Pete Quaife. ... Kinks is the self-titled debut album by English rock band, The Kinks. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Hard rock is a variation of rock and roll music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage and psychedelic rock. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Pye Records was a British record label. ... A songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics to songs, the musical composition or melody to songs, or both. ... Raymond Douglas Davies, CBE (born June 21, 1944 in Fortis Green, London) is an influential English rock musician, best known as lead singer-songwriter for The Kinks - one of the most influential, prolific and long-lived British Invasion bands - which he led with his younger brother, Dave. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... // A record chart, also known as a music chart, is a method of ranking music according to popularity during a given period of time. ... The Kinks were an English rock group formed in 1963 by lead singer-songwriter Ray Davies, his brother, lead guitarist and vocalist Dave Davies, and bassist Pete Quaife. ... All Day and All of the Night was a hit 1964 rock song by the British Invasion band The Kinks. ... A song is a relatively short musical composition. ... Raymond Douglas Davies, CBE (born June 21, 1944 in Fortis Green, London) is an influential English rock musician, best known as lead singer-songwriter for The Kinks - one of the most influential, prolific and long-lived British Invasion bands - which he led with his younger brother, Dave. ... The Kinks were an English rock group formed in 1963 by lead singer-songwriter Ray Davies, his brother, lead guitarist and vocalist Dave Davies, and bassist Pete Quaife. ... A collection of various CD singles In music, a single is a short recording of one or more separate tracks. ... 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The appearance of The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show, February 9, 1964, was the breakthrough moment of the burgeoning British Invasion. ...

"You Really Got Me" was built around parallel 5ths and octaves, 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] Rock and roll (also spelled Rock n Roll, especially in its first decade), also called rock, is a form of popular music, usually featuring vocals (often with vocal harmony), electric guitars and a strong back beat; other instruments, such as the saxophone, are common in some styles. ... Heavy metal (sometimes referred to simply as metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s. ... The All Music Guide (AMG) is a large, comprehensive and high quality metadata database about music. ... Hard rock is a variation of rock and roll music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage and psychedelic rock. ...

For its era the song was raw and gritty, an edgy piece of otherwise straight guitar music with lyrics that hinted at pleading and mad passion. It was the instrumentation, however, which caught the ear - more adult than the early Beatles, it also preceded the Rolling Stones early fuzz guitar-driven songs. This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Lyrics are the words in songs. ... The White Album, see The Beatles (album). ... The Rolling Stones are an English band whose blues, rhythm and blues and rock and roll-infused music became popular during the British Invasion in the early 1960s. ...

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. Pye Ltd. ...

The Kinks' "You Really Got Me" guitar riff

The influential distortion sound of the guitar track was created after guitarist Dave Davies sliced the cone of his 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. Download high resolution version (861x130, 4 KB)The Kinks You Really Got Me riff. ... Download high resolution version (861x130, 4 KB)The Kinks You Really Got Me riff. ... Dave Davies (born David Russell Gordon Davies, 3 February 1947, in Muswell Hill, London, England) was a singer and guitarist with the English rock band The Kinks, which he founded with Pete Quaife in 1963. ... Generally, an amplifier is any device that uses a small amount of energy to control a larger amount of energy. ... Vox is a musical equipment manufacturer based in Britain, which is most famous for making the AC30 guitar amplifier and the Vox organ. ...

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 never publicly taken credit for 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. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... James Patrick Jimmy Page, OBE (born 9 January 1944) is an English guitarist, composer and record producer. ... Dave Davies (born David Russell Gordon Davies, 3 February 1947, in Muswell Hill, London, England) was a singer and guitarist with the English rock band The Kinks, which he founded with Pete Quaife in 1963. ... Louie Louie is an American rock n roll song written by Richard Berry in 1955. ... A pentatonic scale is a musical scale with five pitches per octave. ... Punk rock is an anti-establishment music movement beginning around 1976 (although precursors can be found several years earlier), exemplified and popularised by The Ramones, the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned. ... James Patrick Jimmy Page, OBE (born 9 January 1944) is an English guitarist, composer and record producer. ... Not to be confused with Yard Birds. ... Led Zeppelin were an English rock band that formed in September 1968. ... Shel Talmy (born August 11, 1937 in Chicago, Illinois, United States) is a notable record producer. ... Rhythm guitar is a guitar that is primarily used to provide rhythmic and harmonic accompaniment for a singer or for other instruments in an ensemble. ... Raymond Douglas Davies, CBE (born June 21, 1944 in Fortis Green, London) is an influential English rock musician, best known as lead singer-songwriter for The Kinks - one of the most influential, prolific and long-lived British Invasion bands - which he led with his younger brother, Dave. ... Rhythm and blues (also known as R&B or RnB) is a popular music genre combining jazz, gospel, and blues influences, first performed by African American artists. ...

At least one external musician did however play a little session work on "You Really Got Me" - keyboardist Jon Lord of Deep Purple. At the behest of producer Shel Talmy, session drummer Bobby Graham played drums on the recording, rather than regular Kinks drummer Mick Avory. Jon Douglas Lord (born Leicester 9 June 1941) is an English composer, Hammond organ and piano player. ... This article is about the rock band. ... Shel Talmy (born August 11, 1937 in Chicago, Illinois, United States) is a notable record producer. ... Bobby Graham (born Robert Graham Neate on March 11, 1940 in Edmonton, London) is a session musician and has been described as the most incredible drummer in the United Kingdom, or alternatively, Europe. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

If you listen to the drum part right before the solo, you can hear Dave Davies say **** off! Story on Track 28 of Ray Davies: The Storyteller

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 Kingsmen were a rock band from Portland, Oregon who rose suddenly to fame with their recording of Richard Berrys Louie, Louie. ... Louie Louie is an American rock n roll song written by Richard Berry in 1955. ... All Day and All of the Night was a hit 1964 rock song by the British Invasion band The Kinks. ... Tired of Waiting for You was a hit 1965 rock song by the British Invasion band The Kinks. ... Set Me Free is the debut single by Velvet Revolver from their debut album, Contraband. ... Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (born May 19, 1945 in Chiswick, London), is an award-winning English rock guitarist, singer, songwriter, and composer. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... I Cant Explain is a song released by English rock band The Who in 1965, written by Pete Townshend and produced by Shel Talmy. ... Shel Talmy (born August 11, 1937 in Chicago, Illinois, United States) is a notable record producer. ...

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. The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time was the cover story of a special issue of Rolling Stone magazine published in November 2004. ... The British Broadcasting Corporation, which is usually known as the BBC, is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world in terms of audience numbers, employing 26,000 staff in the United Kingdom alone and with a budget of more than GB£4 billion. ... Q is a music and entertainment magazinepublished monthly in the United Kingdom. ...

Have I The Right? is The Honeycombs debut single and is the biggest hit they had. ... The Honeycombs were a English pop group of the 1960s. ... This is a list of the number one singles on the UK Singles Chart, during the 1960s. ... is the 253rd day of the year (254th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ... Im Into Something Good is a song composed by Gerry Goffin and Carole King and made famous by Hermans Hermits. ... Best of the 60s album Hermans Hermits were an English rock band in the 1960s, formed in Manchester in 1963. ...

Cover versions

This song has been covered by a large number of artists, most famously by Van Halen. This article or section may contain excessive or improper use of copyrighted images and/or audio files. ...

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 13th Floor Elevators was a rock music group founded in Austin, Texas in late 1965. ... The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators is a 1966 album by 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. The Human Instinct are a New Zealand blues rock band active from the late 1960s until the early 1980s. ... Burning Up Years was the debut album by New Zealand blues-rock band The Human Instinct. ...

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. Mott the Hoople were a 1970s English rock and roll and glam rock band with strong R&B roots. ...

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

The single of "You Really Got Me", released 1978

Probably the most famous cover version of the song, US 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, just as it had done for The Kinks 14 years earlier. 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.^[1] Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Hard rock is a variation of rock and roll music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage and psychedelic rock. ... This article or section may contain excessive or improper use of copyrighted images and/or audio files. ... See also: 1970s in music. ... Van Halen is the self-titled debut album by American hard rock band Van Halen, released in 1978. ... Nissan Motor Co. ... The Nissan 300ZX, also known as the Nissan Fairlady Z, is a sports car produced by Nissan. ...

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. The PlayStation 2 , abbreviated PS2) is Sonys second video game console, the successor to the PlayStation and the predecessor to the PlayStation 3. ... The Xbox 360 is the successor to Microsofts Xbox video game console, developed in cooperation with IBM, ATI, Samsung and SiS. Information on the console first came through viral marketing campaigns and it was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detailed launch and game information divulged... Guitar Hero II is a music video game and a sequel to Guitar Hero. ... For other uses, see Private Parts (disambiguation). ...

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. Dalek I Love You For other uses, see Dalek I Love You (disambiguation). ... A cappella music is vocal music or singing without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. ...

Oingo Boingo, 1981

Oingo Boingo's 1981 version differed markedly from the original, similar in style to Devo's twisted covers. Oingo Boingo was a critically acclaimed American New Wave rock band better known for their influence, soundtrack contributions, and high energy Halloween concerts rather than their chart successes. ... Devo (pronounced DEE-vo or dee-VO, often spelled DEVO or DEV-O) is an American New Wave group formed in Akron, Ohio in 1972. ...

Sly & The Family Stone, 1983

Sly & the Family Stone covered the song in their last studio album, Ain't But the One Way. Sly & the Family Stone was an American rock band from San Francisco, California. ... Aint But the One Way was the eleventh and final album by Sly & the Family Stone, released by Warner Bros. ...

Toots Hibbert, 1998

A ska cover leads off the CD Ska Father. Ska (pron. ...

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. The Edge FM is a New Zealand youth radio network, playing pop music especially R&B. It is owned by CanWest Global Communications. ... The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ) is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists in New Zealand. ...

Robots In Disguise, 2006

The female electro punk duo Robots in Disguise covered "You Really Got Me" on their 2006 album. Robots in Disguise is an English electro punk band who formed in 2000. ...

Sanjaya Malakar, 2007

The controversial contestant of American Idol's sixth season performed the song during the competition. It has since been released as both a single and a track for his eponymous album on iTunes. Sanjaya Joseph Malakar (Bengali: সঞ্জয় মালাকার , IPA pronunciation: )[1] (born Sanjaya Shekar Malakar on September 10, 1989) was a finalist on the sixth season of American Idol. ... AMERICAN IDOL HAS BEEN CANCELLED DUE TO DEATH OF SIMON ... The sixth season of American Idol premiered on the Fox Broadcasting Company on January 16, 2007 and ran until May 23, 2007. ... An eponym is a person (real or fictitious) whose name has become identified with a particular object or activity. ... This article is about the iTunes application. ...

References