The Kinks You Really Got Me

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The Kinks You Really Got Me

You Really Got Me The Kinks

Hard Rock

In the Summer of 1964, The Beatles were exploding on the British and American charts and the Kinks were getting ready to record their third single “You Really Got Me.” The Kinks were a foursome made up of Ray Davies (lead singer), Dave Davies (lead guitar), Mick Avory (drums) and Pete Quaif (bass). Earlier in 1964, lead singer/songwriter Ray Davies had been sitting at his piano at home experimenting with sounds. He came up with a jazzy riff, which eventually became “You Really Got Me.” Davies later said, “I hadn’t been writing songs very long at all. It was one of the first five I ever came up with.”

“You Really Got Me” is built on chords without thirds, later dubbed “power chords,” and was a lasting influence on subsequent genres including power pop, heavy metal and punk. The classic guitar riff was played by Ray’s brother, Dave Davies, who later described the classic track as “a love song for street kids.” Dave created the unique distorted guitar sound by slicing the speaker cone of his amp with a razor blade and then poking it with a pin.

“You Really Got Me” was released August 4, 1964, and was The Kinks’s third single. It reached #1 on the UK Singles Chart in September and stayed there for two weeks. Following its huge success in the U.K., “You Really Got Me” was rush-released in the U.S. on September 2, 1964. It took until September 26th to reach the Billboard Hot 100, and it eventually rose to #7. It has been covered by several artists, most notably by Van Halen, whose 1978 cover version went to #37 on the Billboard Hot 100. Ray Davies later remarked that he enjoyed the Van Halen version because it “made him laugh.”

 

Here are the lyrics to “You Really Got Me” by The Kinks:

“Girl, you really got me goin’
You got me so I don’t know what I’m doin’
Yeah, you really got me now
You got me so I can’t sleep at night

Yeah, you really got me now
You got me so I don’t know what I’m doin’, now
Oh yeah, you really got me now
You got me so I can’t sleep at night

You really got me
You really got me
You really got me

See, don’t ever set me free,
I always wanna be by your side
Girl, you really got me now
You got me so I can’t sleep at night
Yeah, you really got me now
You got me so I don’t know what I’m doin’, now
Oh yeah, you really got me now
You got me so I can’t sleep at night

You really got me
You really got me
You really got me, oh no

See, don’t ever set me free
I always wanna be by your side
Girl, you really got me now
You got me so I can’t sleep at night

Yeah, you really got me now
You got me so I don’t know what I’m doin’, now
Oh yeah, you really got me now
You got me so I can’t sleep at night

You really got me
You really got me
You really got me”

I you are interested in reading about and listening to other songs by The Kinks, please click here for “Sunny Afternoon,” “Tired of Waiting for You,” and “A Well Respected Man.”

To purchase an album of great songs from The Kinks, click on the photo below:

Check Out The Groove Pad for More 1960s Music

The Pass the Paisley Groove Pad is a resting stop, a place to chill out and listen to the featured song on the stereo. If the mood strikes you, click on the juke box to access and listen to the 50+ free online songs there. The TV has several channels, with selections updated twice a week. Every now and then, Pass the Paisley hosts an all-request of 1960s and 1970s songs for a Be-In at the juke box in the Groove Pad. Keep on truckin’. Hope you enjoyed “You Really Got Me” by The Kinks.


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Jane Minogue

3 Comments

  1. […] more songs by The Kinks: “You Really Got Me,” “Sunny Afternoon,” and “Tired of Waiting for […]

  2. […] other songs by The Kinks: “You Really Got Me,” “Tired of Waiting for You,” and “A Well Respected […]

  3. […] listening to other songs by The Kinks, please click here for “Sunny Afternoon,” “You Really Got Me,” and “A Well Respected […]

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