Here wishing founding Kinks lead guitarist Dave Davies a very happy 79th birthday. The talented musician, who was born on February 3, 1947, was an integral contributor to the beloved and influential British Invasion band’s sound.
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Of course, The Kinks’ creative mastermind was Ray Davies, Dave’s older brother—the group’s main songwriter and lead vocalist. That being said, Dave’s powerful guitar riffs and solos were an important driving force on many of the band’s songs. In addition, his high harmony vocals greatly enhanced Ray’s catchy melodies.
[RELATED: “It’s Quite Ridiculous”: The Kinks’ Dave Davies Dispels Rumor Around “You Really Got Me”]
Meanwhile, although Ray wrote the bulk of The Kinks’ songs, Dave also regularly contributed his compositions to the band. His tunes generally received less attention than those written by his brother Ray, though.
In addition, Dave released a few tunes as a solo artist during the 1960s. Then, starting in 1980, Dave began releasing solo albums alongside those his band was putting out. He became even more prolific when he started fully focusing on his solo career after The Kinks’ breakup in the late 1990s.
In honor of Dave Davies’ birthday, here are four underappreciated songs he wrote during The Kinks’ 1960s heyday:
“Wait Till The Summer Comes Along” (1965)
“Wait Till The Summer Comes Along” was the first Kinks song solely written by Dave. It first appeared on The Kinks’ EP Kwyet Kinks, which was released in September 1965.
The tune, which also was sung by Dave, features a country-folk feel. Lyrically, the song is sung from the perspective of a man lamenting over a broken romance and hoping life will get better when summertime comes.
Dave contributed twangy lead guitar, while Ray added some 12-string acoustic guitar.
In the United States, “Wait Till The Summer Comes Along” was released in November 1965 on the U.S.-only album Kinkdom.
“Susannah’s Still Alive” (1967)
“Susannah’s Still Alive” was first released in November 1967 as a Dave Davies solo single. That being said, all of The Kinks played on the song.
The catchy mid-tempo pop-rock tune tells the sad story about a lonely woman who drowns her sorrows in alcohol as she waits for her love, a soldier, to return to her.
The single became a moderate hit in the U.K., reaching No. 20 in the chart. It also was issued as a single in the U.S. in January 1968 but failed to chart there.
“Susannah’s Still Alive” made its album debut in the U.S. on the 1972 Kinks compilation The Kinks Kronikles.
“Creeping Jean” (1969)
“Creeping Jean” is a rocking tune with some psychedelic influences that sounds like a song The Who could’ve recorded.
The tune was first released in January 1969 as the B-side of Dave’s fourth U.K. solo single, “Hold My Hand.” The track, which featured Dave accompanied by his Kinks bandmates, did not chart.
“Creeping Jean” was recorded around the time that The Kinks were working on their acclaimed 1968 album The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society.
The song finds Dave singing, with more than a little vitriol, about an unfaithful girlfriend.
“Creeping Jean” later was included on deluxe reissues of The Village Green Preservation Society and The Kinks’ 1969 studio album Arthur (Or The Decline And Fall Of The British Empire).
“Mindless Child Of Motherhood” (1969)
“Mindless Child Of Motherhood” is a rocking, melodic anthem released in June 1969 as the B-side of “Drivin’,” the lead single from Arthur.
The song clearly was written about a traumatic episode in Dave’s life. At age 15, he got his girlfriend, Sue, pregnant. According to Dave’s 1996 memoir, Kink, his and Sue’s parents then conspired to keep them apart, lying to them that each never wanted to see the other again. He wound up never meeting the daughter he fathered with Sue, Tracey, until she was an adult.
In the song, Dave sings with passion and bitterness about the young woman whom he thought abandoned him.
“Mindless Child Of Motherhood” later was featured as the B-side of the U.S. single featuring The Kinks’ 1970 hit “Lola.” It also was included on The Kinks Kronikles.
The track later was released on the aforementioned deluxe reissue of Arthur.
(Photo by Ivan Keeman/Redferns)
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