The Kinks

United Kingdom, 1964–1996

Ray Davies's London group combining hard rock with English music-hall tradition and social irony.

MusicRoots documents 3 artists who influenced The Kinks and 16 artists The Kinks influenced in turn. Every connection cites a published source.

Who influenced The Kinks?

• Chuck Berry — Chuck Berry was Ray Davies's starting point, as named in his autobiography.
• Eddie Cochran — Eddie Cochran was 'the first hero' for Ray Davies, by his own account.
• Muddy Waters — Muddy Waters was a key early blues reference for The Kinks in the British blues-rock period.

Which artists did The Kinks influence?

• Blur — The Kinks are Blur's touchstone — Damon Albarn's wry commentary on Englishness consciously echoes Ray Davies, placing Blur in a Kinks-to-Jam lineage of English guitar pop.
• The Libertines — The Kinks' wry, quintessentially English songcraft is a cornerstone of The Libertines' 'Albion' romanticism.
• The Seeds — The Kinks' aggressive guitar sound was the primary British influence on The Seeds and the American garage scene.
• The Sonics — The Kinks' distorted guitar riffs were a key influence on The Sonics' raw, aggressive sound.
• Big Star — The Kinks' melodic British Invasion pop was a touchstone — Bell's pre-Big Star band the Jynx was named as a pun on the Kinks.
• Alice Cooper — 'You Really Got Me' sounded like nothing Cooper had ever heard — the Kinks' proto-hard-rock riffing was a direct spark for his heavier sound.
• The Pretenders — Chrissie Hynde was a devoted Kinks fan — the Pretenders' first single was a cover of the Kinks' 'Stop Your Sobbing', and Ray Davies's melodicism runs through her writing.
• Cat Stevens — The Kinks were among the British acts that shaped Stevens's melodic pop-folk.
• The Kooks — The Kinks' wry, melodic English pop is among the classic-British touchstones Pritchard names behind the Kooks' sound.
• The Shins — The Kinks' wry English melodicism is a clear ancestor of the Shins' skewed guitar-pop.
• The Vines — The Kinks were a staple of the Vines' early sets and a clear source for their British-Invasion-flavoured pop.
• Supergrass — The Kinks' quintessentially English '60s pop is a cornerstone of Supergrass's Britpop songwriting.
• Kaiser Chiefs — The Kinks' melodic, distinctly English character songs are part of the classic British-pop lineage Kaiser Chiefs draw on.
• The Jam — The Kinks' sharp, English character-driven songwriting was a key model for Paul Weller's observational mod-revival songs.
• Queen — One of Queen's documented influences, behind the Beatles and beside Bowie and Led Zeppelin.
• The Stooges — Iggy Pop went to Chicago to learn the blues and came back wanting a version of it that copied nothing; the shape he reached for was garage rock, the Kinks and the Sonics.